Nowadays, the advanced degree of industrial robots is amazing. Especially those five-axis and six-axis robots with so many joints can also transmit motion and instructions accurately. All parts work closely together to complete complex tasks. It makes people wonder what their transmission system is and what the joints are. What about the structure?


For example, this one

Japan's Ankawa Robot Cuts Peas with a Sword


Speaking of joints, mainly refers to the most important basic components of industrial robots, but also the core components of motion: precision reducer. This is a precise power transmission mechanism, which uses the speed converter of gears to reduce the number of rotations of the motor to the desired number of rotations, and get a larger torque device, so as to reduce the speed and increase the torque.

Did you build the precision reducers used in the joints of industrial robots all over the world? The Japanese say kneeling, few robots in the world can stand....


Nowadays, there are not many large-scale and reliable precision reducer manufacturers in the world. Most of the global market share is occupied by Japanese companies. On the precision reducer of industrial robot joints, the global market share of Nabtesco (Nabtesco) products reaches 60%, especially in medium/heavy load robots. On the other hand, the market share of RV reducer is as high as 90%. Harmonica's harmonic reducer accounts for about 15%, and Sumitomo Heavy Industries (SUMITOMO, not found out).


Now let's take a look at these famous robotic reducer enterprises.


1. Nabtesco Nabotsk


Nabtesco (Nabtesco) was founded in September 2003 and looks like a post-100 company. In fact, it is made up of two Japanese companies, Teijin Seiki (founded in 1944) and Nabco (which produced the first automatic door in Japan in 1956). As a manufacturer of motion control systems and components, these two companies have mastered high-end core technology and controlled a high market share in their specific business areas. So Nabtesco was the first in Japan and even in the world when it was founded. Most of the world's robotics manufacturers are from Nabtesco. Patented RV reducer benefits and brings success.

As the world's largest manufacturer of precision cycloidal pinwheel reducers, Nabtesco produces high-performance reducers, hollow shaft reducers, and single-axis servo actuators and controllers. Its precise equipment has high torque, high rigidity and high resistance to overload impact load, as well as high precision and very low return clearance. It is widely used in industrial automation fields such as satellite, radar antenna, industrial robot, semiconductor and welding technology.


Nabtesco has several small videos that can visually display its products on various industrial robots. One of the six-axis robots is shared with you.


Joints of 6-axis Robot


Since the founding of Emperor Precision Machine in 1944, it began to operate in the aircraft manufacturing industry. In 1947, it entered the field of textile machinery manufacturing. In 1955, it began to manufacture aircraft parts. In 1959, it expanded to the machine tool manufacturing industry. Nabtesco's RV reducer, the predecessor of which is the mainstream product of Diren Seminar, has been used as the core component of the driving motor of excavation equipment since the 1970s. In the early 1980s, in response to the requirements of the world's major robotic manufacturers, Diren Precision Machine improved the RV reducer to make it more accurate and reliable, in line with the strict requirements of the robotic manufacturing industry. After obtaining the patent of precise cycloidal pinwheel RV reducer, mass production began in 1986, and the joint application of modern industrial robots has been matched since then.


Dismantling and viewing the internal structure

The line can easily pass through the hollow part of the reducer. This design not only has higher torque, higher compression ratio and near zero backlash, but also loads a larger set of supporting axles which provide greater momentum without external supporting equipment. In this way, the cost is further saved and the design work of end users is simplified.


Nabtesco: Hollow Center Gear


2. Harmonica Hamenako

Harmonic Drive Systems Inc. (HDSI) is the leading enterprise of overall motion control in Japan. Its Harmonic Drive combined harmonic reducer has the characteristics of light weight, small gear clearance and high torque capacity. It is widely used in industrial robots, humanoid robots, semiconductor liquid crystal production devices and photovoltaic devices. Optical instruments, precision machine tools and other cutting-edge fields. The wave gear in the electric drive wheel of Apollo Lunar rover is made of Hamenaco.~~


HDSI products also involve Harmonic Planetary, a precision planetary gearbox type harmonic reducer, in order to cover areas where harmonic reducers cannot achieve low reduction ratios. The unique inner gear ring deformation technology can make the planetary gear mesh tighter and eliminate backlash, which has reached the precision level of transmission error.

Harmonic gear drive is a kind of gear transmission system which uses wave generator to make flexible gears produce controllable elastic deformation and mesh with rigid gears to transfer motion and power from scratch. Harmonic drive reducer was patented by Clarence Walton Musser (1909-1998-06-08) in 1957 (US Patent No. 2906143). In addition, the longevity inventor who had worked for 15 years in the US Department of Defense had 250 major inventions in his life, such as military recoilless rifles, aircraft catapults, underwater explosions. Test instruments and so on.


Sounds like a big industry category, but Harmonic Drive is actually a trademark of Harmonic Drive Systems Inc. In 1960, USM successfully put harmonic drive reducer into operation for the first time, and then Hasegawa Gear Works (Ltd.) obtained USM production license. In October 1970, Hasegawa and USM each contributed 50% to the establishment of Harmonic Drive Systems Inc. in Tokyo.


Hamenako is the leading enterprise of overall motion control. Its Harmonic Drive combined harmonic reducer has the characteristics of light weight, small gear clearance and high torque capacity. It is widely used in industrial robots, humanoid robots, semiconductor liquid crystal production devices, photovoltaic equipment, optical instruments, precision machine tools and so on. Various cutting-edge areas.


Harmonic Drive L.L.C., a joint venture company, was established in Massachusetts on January 1, 2006 by Hamernack and the American subsidiary of Abtesco described above.


In order to cover areas where harmonic reducers can not achieve low reduction ratio, the product also involves precision planetary gearbox harmonic reducers (Harmonic Planetary). The unique inner gear ring deformation technology can make the planetary gear mesh tighter and eliminate backlash, which has reached the precision level of transmission error.


Dismantling Harmonic Reducer to View Internal Structure

Harmonic Planetary Gears


3. SUMITOMO Residents


Sumitomo SUMITOMO is a construction machinery manufacturer of Sumitomo Group, one of the world's top 500 companies with a history of more than 400 years. It enjoys a high reputation all over the world. After Sumitomo developed its first hydraulic excavator in 1967 with its own technology, Sumitomo hydraulic excavator is active all over the world. Sumitomo Drive Technologies, Sumitomo Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd., has started self-manufacturing of motors and speed reducers in Japan.


Sumitomo reducer includes various types of reducers, such as Sumitomo large helical gear reducer, Sumitomo planetary gear reducer, Sumitomo helical gear reducer, Sumitomo worm gear reducer and so on. The deceleration ratio is large and the efficiency is high: the deceleration ratio of primary drive is 9-87, the deceleration ratio of double drive is 121-5133, the multi-stage mixing can reach tens of thousands, and the meshing surface of pin-tooth meshing system is not sliding, so the first-stage deceleration efficiency is 94%.


In October 1995, Sumitomo Heavy Machinery Industry Co., Ltd. and Sumitomo Commercial Co., Ltd. jointly funded the establishment of Sumitomo Heavy Machinery Reducer (China) Co., Ltd. in Tianjin, China. In 2001, the Shanghai Branch was established as the sales headquarters of its products in China. At the same time, there was a maintenance center in Songjiang, Shanghai.


On the other hand, compared with foreign countries, China's research on precision reducer for industrial robots is relatively late, technology is not mature, and there is a big gap with foreign advanced technology, forming a situation that precision reducer can not be self-sufficient, which relies heavily on imports. This seriously restricts the development of industrial robots in China. Especially in the period of gradual industrialization of industrial robots in China, the breakthrough of key technology of precision reducer of industrial robots becomes more urgent. "Made in China 2025" issued by the State Council puts forward "breaking through the technical bottlenecks of the integrated design and manufacture of key parts and systems such as robot body, reducer, servo motor, controller, sensor and driver."