Spur gears and gear boxes for space

Spur gears for the fuel pump 
for the Ariane 5 launcher

The ESA (European Space Agency) operates the Ariane 5 ECA rocket. Sauter Bachmann supplies high-precision grinded and honed spur gears for the HM7B type cryogenic propulsion system of the 2nd stage of the Ariane 5 ECA. The requirements placed on the spur gear set are extreme: the acceleration from 0 rpm to over 60,000 rpm takes place within one second. Another major challenge is the temperature differences to be overcome, as well as the lubrication-free start-up of the spur gear set. The oil of the regular lubrication reaches the spur gears only after a few seconds. To bridge this time without damage, the spur gear set is coated with MoS2, which is a dry lubricant, by means of a PVD process (physical vapour deposition). A quality assurance certified and stringent according to aviation standards, as well as a complete traceability of the production process is a condition to act as a supplier in this industry at all. Sauter Bachmann has been single source for the HM7B drive for several years now, which is supplied by the company Snecma – Space Engine Division – Safran group for the Ariane 5 ECA.

Eccentric gears
for satellites - solar panels

For the alignment of solar panels for satellites, Sauter Bachmann manufactures so-called eccentric gears. These special gears consist of an internally and externally toothed ring. Due to the exceptional application in space, the two gears have to be grinded very precisely. In addition, the outer ring is coated in order to have better sliding properties in the gearing area.