What is the difference between wind power planetary carrier and planetary gearbox?

In wind power systems, the planet carrier and the planetary gearbox are two critical and interrelated components with different functions. They each play an important role in the drive system of a wind turbine, but have significant differences.

Planet carrier:
The planet carrier is one of the main components of the planetary gear transmission. It has a complex structure and is mainly used to support and install the planet wheel shafts or bearings. When the planet wheel is used as the basic component, the planet carrier is the part in the mechanism that bears the largest external torque. The structural design and manufacturing of the planet carrier has an important impact on the load distribution between the planet wheels, the load-bearing capacity of the transmission device, noise and vibration, etc.
High strength: The planet carrier needs to withstand the load transmitted by the gear and transmit all the power to the output shaft.
High manufacturing accuracy: Especially the position accuracy of the planet wheel shaft (or support) hole has an important impact on the uniform distribution of loads between planet wheels and the uniform distribution of loads along the meshing tooth width.
Stiffness requirements: The stiffness of the planet carrier should ensure the correct contact of the gear teeth when the planet gear meshes with the sun gear and the internal ring gear, so as to avoid uneven load distribution due to deformation.
The structure of the planet carrier is diverse, depending on the use function, manufacturing method and assembly conditions. A reasonable planet carrier structure should have small outer dimensions, light weight, and ensure even load distribution among the planet wheels. In heavy-duty planetary gear transmission, the structural design of the planet carrier also needs to consider the input or output torque from the middle part of the support column to ensure that the load is evenly distributed along the meshing tooth width.

Planetary gearbox:
Planetary gearbox, also known as planetary reduction box or gearbox, has a structural feature in which multiple planetary gears rotate around a sun gear, which is used to reduce the transmission speed ratio and increase the motor torque proportionally. It is a key component in wind turbines that converts the rotor speed into generator speed.
Smooth transmission: Compared with similar ordinary gearboxes, planetary gearboxes have the characteristics of smooth transmission.
Large carrying capacity: Due to the special structure of the planetary gear, the planetary gearbox can carry large torque and load.
High space utilization: In a small space, the planetary gearbox can achieve a large transmission ratio.
Planetary gearboxes are widely used in various mechanical transmission systems, especially in wind power generation, sunshade industry, office automation, smart home, production automation, medical equipment, financial machinery and game consoles. Its small size, light weight and large transmission ratio make it the preferred component in these fields.

Summary of the differences between the two:
Different functions: the planet carrier is mainly used to support and install the planet wheel shaft or bearing, while the planetary gearbox is used to reduce the transmission speed ratio and increase the motor torque proportionally.
The structural characteristics are different: the structural design of the planet carrier needs to consider factors such as strength, manufacturing accuracy and stiffness to ensure uniform load distribution and stable operation of the transmission device; while the planetary gearbox focuses on the optimization of the transmission ratio and the smoothness of transmission.
Different application fields: Although both are used in mechanical transmission systems such as wind power generation, the planetary carrier exists more as a key component of the transmission device, while the planetary gearbox is directly involved in the conversion of transmission speed ratio and torque.