The M3PVHF60 vertical hollow shaft gear unit puts the size 60 vertical parallel-shaft frame over a bored output, so the driven shaft travels up through the unit and out of the top. It is the arrangement chosen when the process shaft is long, when headroom above the vessel is short, or when the plant wants one bearing system instead of two. On a top-entry mixer that means the impeller shaft is keyed inside the bore and the gear unit carries the loads a separate pedestal bearing would otherwise take.
What the Through Bore Buys the Layout
With a solid shaft the driven machinery needs its own bearing housing, a coupling and an alignment exercise between two independent supports. A hollow bore removes the coupling and the second housing: the shaft passes straight through, is keyed or clamped in place, and the unit output bearing becomes the support. The stack above the vessel shortens, the number of parts to align drops to one face, and the maintenance schedule loses a lubrication point. On a tall column mixer or a vertical pump set in a pit, the saving in height alone can decide whether the installation is possible.
Decoding the Designation
| M | Three-stage industrial gear unit family |
| P | Parallel-shaft helical gearing, no right-angle stage |
| V | Vertical axis with the output facing down into the process |
| H | Hollow output shaft bored for the through-going process shaft |
| F | Foot and flange mounting on a vessel head or fabricated frame |
| 60 | Frame size within the vertical range |
What Size 60 Means Once the Shaft Goes Through
Because the process shaft is carried inside the unit, the numbers that decide the frame are not the same ones that decide a coupled drive. Bore diameter and keyway or clamp detail must match the shaft drawing exactly, the combined radial and axial load at the bore has to sit inside the bearing rating, and the seal has to be selected for whatever sits directly beneath it - dry air above a fan stack, vapour above a heated vessel, dust above a silo cone. Torque is still checked, but it is rarely the binding constraint at this size; the shaft interface usually is.
Machine groups this unit is specified into: Top-entry agitators keyed straight onto the impeller shaft Vertical process pumps with a rising shaft through the unit Silo stirrers driven from a centre hub above the cone Vertical screw conveyors with an extended through shaft Induced-draught fan stacks on packaged boilers Vertical elevator boot shafts in grain and feed mills Basin aerators carried on a walking bridge Column mixers where the drive shaft enters from the top head
Installing a Hollow Vertical Drive
The mounting face must be machined flat and square to the shaft axis, because any tilt in that face is transferred directly to the bore and to the seal. Shaft end float is set to the figure on the drawing: too little preload on the process shaft bearings and the unit runs hot, too much and the thrust is carried in the wrong place. Oil level is read at standstill in the mounting posture marked on the unit, and the breather is fitted at the position specified for a vertical frame - a horizontal breather on a vertical unit will weep oil within a week. Finally, the torque reaction has to be taken by the housing flange, not by the shaft, which is why the bolt pattern on the headplate matters as much as the bore.
Documentation and Lead Time
Each unit ships with a dimensional drawing, an oil chart and a nameplate that records ratio, frame and mounting position. Ratios, bore size and the seal variant are agreed before release, so the delivered unit matches the drawing set the plant filed. Standard export packing is a wooden crate; larger vertical frames are braced against the shaft so nothing moves in transit.
Model Range and Centre Distances
| Model | Centre distance | Output | Typical duty |
|---|
| M3PSF50 | size 50 | solid shaft, foot | conveyors, feeders |
| M3PSF60 | size 60 | solid shaft, foot | crushers, mixers |
| M3PSF70 | size 70 | solid shaft, foot | ball mills, shredders |
| M3PSF80 | size 80 | solid shaft, foot | kilns, heavy conveyors |
| M3PSF90 | size 90 | solid shaft, foot | mill and kiln drives |
| M3RSF50 | size 50 | solid shaft, foot, right-angle | inclined conveyors, elevators |
| M3RSF60 | size 60 | solid shaft, foot, right-angle | screw classifiers, feeders |
| M3RHF70 | size 70 | hollow shaft, foot, right-angle | agitators, drum drives |
| M3PHT80 | size 80 | hollow shaft, torque arm, parallel | shaft-mounted conveyors |
| M3RHT90 | size 90 | hollow shaft, torque arm, right-angle | heavy shaft-mounted drives |
Frame sizes in this series follow a widely used industrial dimension ladder: foundations, couplings and guards of the existing installation are reused as they are.
Proven Installations
Ship loader slew drive
A port terminal selected heavy-duty gear units for the travel drives of its ship loader. Salt-laden air is handled by the heavy-duty coating option, and spare seal kits are held on site for the annual service.
Sugarcane carrier drive
A sugar mill drives its cane carriers with industrial gear units sized for fully loaded starts. The generous torque margin covers cane jams, and the right-angle build keeps the motor clear of the carrier slat path.
![gearbox applications in quarry food and water plants]()
Conveyor, mixer, crusher and wastewater duties share the same gear family.
Selection Example: Silo stirrer driven from a centre hub
Take a 37 kW motor at 1480 rpm turning the stirrer shaft at 24 rpm. The ratio follows directly: 1480 / 24 = 61.7, so a ratio near i=62 is selected and the bore plus clamp detail are matched to the stirrer shaft drawing. In this case the hollow bore carries the stirrer shaft through the cone head, which keeps the drive low and leaves the discharge path clear beneath it. Motor speed over target speed gives the ratio; the driven machine decides the service factor, and the two together decide the model.
![industrial gear unit sizing procedure diagram]()
The four inputs the online selector asks for.
Request the Datasheet and Dimension Drawing
Need documentation for approval? Work out the ratio, torque and frame size yourself with the WGT Motor & Gearbox Online Selection System, then send the result - we confirm it in writing.
We issue complete technical files on request: dimension drawing, rating table, test record format and material certificates, in English and ready for your engineering or purchasing approval package. Looking for a gear reducer for food processing machine? Tell us the duty point and we will confirm the model in writing.
FAQ: Selection, Mounting and Maintenance
Which lubricating oil should be used?
GB L-CKC220~460 or Shell Omala 220~460 as supplied. Under normal duty the housing is lubricated for life; in hot or continuous-duty environments an oil change after the first 400 hours and then every 4000 hours is recommended.
What warranty and documentation come with the gearbox?
A one-year warranty covers material and workmanship. Each unit ships with a test record (noise, temperature rise, backlash), a dimension drawing and an installation manual.
