Posted to News on 21st Nov 2024, 10:30
Next level strain wave gears
Nabtesco says it has taken quality, precision, production and service to a new level with a new range of zero backlash strain wave gears manufactured by Ovalvo. They feature maximum precision, availability and cost-effectiveness, to guarantee outstanding performance and efficiency.
The flexible modular product system with extensive customising and integration options, in combination with exceptional engineering services, allows for maximum freedom in the design and construction of the gears.
In addition to absolute zero backlash and outstanding repeatability, they require no maintenance throughout the entire service life and have a high torque capacity (up to 15 % higher than conventional strain wave gears) - all in a compact and lightweight module.
All strain wave gears can also be customised for the particular application in terms of performance, geometry, material and interfaces, including functional, component and system integration, as required. The gears are based on a flexible modular product system, with a large selection of sizes, versions, materials, and additional components such as motors, bearings, shafts, seals, housings, sensors, brakes, and ECUs.
Gear properties, such as backdriving torque, overload capacity, transmission precision, main bearing, efficiency, weight and inertia can also be customised. This means there are no compromises in the design of the customer's machines and robots.
Specially designed for low torques
Whether for use in robotics (industrial robots and cobots), testing and measuring technology, machine tool construction, medical engineering, the semiconductor industry, or active exoskeletons, the high-precision, lightweight, robust and compact strain wave gears are especially suitable for low-torque applications and are used wherever high performance is required in a tight installation space.
Automotive-compliant production (certification to IATF 16949) and modern, semi-automated production concepts at the Ovalo location in Limburg/Lahn allow for maximum flexibility and guarantee the highest quality, the best availability, short development times, and gapless traceability - from one-piece flow to large-scale production. Other enterprises can also benefit from Nabtesco's infrastructure and high level of process competence as an outsourcing partner, for example for the pre-assembly of cobots.
Smart, compact plug and play modules
"We also succeeded in developing a sensor-based strain wave gear with the same dimensions as a standard gear unit," explains Daniel Obladen, Director Sales and Marketing at Nabtesco Precision Europe. A sensor measures torque, temperature, and vibration, and this data is analysed in the integrated electronic evaluation unit (EEU).
There are considerable benefits to the user in terms of condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, overload detection, calculation of the actual service life, and gear error analysis.
With the strain wave gears, Nabtesco's product portfolio achieves full scalability from 7 to 28,000 Nm. That allows the company to implement suitable precision gear solutions for literally every axis and every application - from very small to extremely large. This is unique in the market.
