PLANETARY GEARS WITH INTEGRATED OVERLOAD PROTECTION FACILITIES FOR PLOUGH SYSTEMS.

German coal mining is under pressure to make coal extraction more cost-effective and efficient. This is resulting in cutting being concentrated at ever fewer faces and thereby the necessity of increasing the drive output of the winning and conveyor systems accordingly. The reliability of planetary gears has been proven in numerous underground applications, mainly in conveyor systems. Specific development of these planetary gear drives then led to versions with integrated overload protection for use in plough installations. The first system of this type, manufactured by the Dorstener Maschinenfabrik AG, in the form of a two-stage concentric planetary gear has come through its trial period in ten months of use at the Fuerst Leopold mine.