Application Of Harmonic Reducer In Industrial Robot Arm

27 Mar.,2025

 

With the rapid development of science and technology, industrial robots have become an indispensable part of the manufacturing industry. Their applications range from automobile manufacturing to electronic product assembly, and are everywhere. In this field, high precision and high efficiency transmission device is very important. Among the many transmission devices, harmonic reducer have emerged in the field of industrial robots with their unique design and excellent performance.

 

Industrial robots are mainly composed of controller, servo and reducer. These three components work together to achieve controllable, stable and accurate completion of the standard action of the robot, and each component is indispensable.

1. Controller: As the brain of the robot, it controls the position, posture and trajectory of the robot through the combination of hardware and software;

2. Servo motor: as the driving force of the robot, it outputs torque according to the command sent by the controller to dynamically control the speed and position of the robot;

3. Reducer: Servo motor generally output high speed, small torque, can not meet the needs of the robot body movement, so need to reduce the speed and increase the torque through the reducer.

Application Of Harmonic Reducer In Industrial Robot Arm

The reducer is the highest cost part of the industry robot body

Reducers belong to the upstream component parts of the robot industry chain. The midstream of the industrial chain is the manufacturing of robot bodies, and the downstream is integrated applications. According to Statista data, reducers account for the highest proportion of the total cost of industrial robots, accounting for more than 35%.

Application Of Harmonic Reducer In Industrial Robot Arm

The number of reducers used in industrial robot arm

Generally speaking, the six-axis robot can use six harmonic speed reducers, the cooperative robot can use 6-7 harmonic drive reducers, a SCARA robot can use 2 harmonic reducers, the humanoid robot's legs, arms, waist and neck use a total of 15-40 reducers, each leg is equipped with 6 harmonic drive gears. The reducer usage increases with the increase in usage and complexity of the limbs. According to the requirements of load, volume, speed and accuracy, the robot manufacturer chooses and combines the harmonic reducers or other types of reducers.

Application Of Harmonic Reducer In Industrial Robot Arm

The number of reducers used in industrial robot arm

Generally speaking, the six-axis robot can use six harmonic speed reducers, the cooperative robot can use 6-7 harmonic drive reducers, a SCARA robot can use 2 harmonic reducers, the humanoid robot's legs, arms, waist and neck use a total of 15-40 reducers, each leg is equipped with 6 harmonic drive gears. The reducer usage increases with the increase in usage and complexity of the limbs. According to the requirements of load, volume, speed and accuracy, the robot manufacturer chooses and combines the harmonic reducers or other types of reducers.

What are the advantages of harmonic gear reducers?

1.High precision

Harmonic gearbox have extremely high transmission accuracy, usually can reach the level of several arc seconds. This high accuracy ensures the accuracy and stability of industrial robots in various complex tasks.

2.High torque

The harmonic gear reducer can provide extremely high torque density while being compact in size. This means that in 

a limited space, industrial robots can obtain higher torque output and are suitable for various

application scenarios with high torque requirements.

3.High efficiency

Compared with traditional reducers, harmonic reducer have higher transmission efficiency. 

During long-term operation, they can reduce energy loss, improve the overall efficiency 

of the system, and reduce the usage costs.

4.Small size and light weight

Compared with ordinary gear devices, the volume and weight can be greatly reduced, 

achieving miniaturization and lightweight.

5.Long service life

The harmonic reducer uses high-strength materials and advanced manufacturing processes 

to have a long service life, which means that industrial robots can operate more reliably 

and reduce downtime caused by transmission component failure.

 

Arcsec Drive: Your trusted harmonic gearbox manufacturer in the world

As one of China's leading manufacturers of high-precision harmonic reducers, Arcsec Drive has been 

committed to the research, development and application of harmonic reducer technology for many years. Currently,  it has achieved full  coverage of four series of 8-40 models, and its 

products have been exported to more than 100 countries around the world, and has been  unanimously recognized by customers.

“G”series strain wave gear

G series strain wave gear is a product developed for high torque customers, with compact structure to meet the requirements of high torque, high load and high reliability. Compared with LH and LS standard series, the torque capacity is increased by more than 30%, and the service life is increased by more than 43%.

“N”series harmonic gear

N series harmonic gear is a lightweight product of our company. Through the optimization of structure and material, the weight of N series harmonic reducer is reduced by more than 30% compared with the standard series under the condition of ensuring sufficient rigidity, strength and service life. Not only the lightweight of mechanical equipment itself, but also the lightweight of industrial robots can realize its high-speed and increase the load weight.

“Mini”series harmonic drive

8-type and 11-type miniature harmonic drive are the mini product series launched by Arcsec Drive. With its small volume (coin size), low backlash and high torque, it has become an excellent choice for industrial robots to operate in smaller spaces.