Harmonic Gearbox Design

Composition of Harmonic Gear Reducer

Harmonic reducer has three basic components：a wave generator,a flexspline and a circular spline.

01Wave Generator

Harmonic Gear Reducer is made up of a ball bearing and an elliptical cam. The wave generator is usually attached to the input end, the inner ring of the harmonic drive bearing is fixed around the cam causing the outer ring of the bearing deforms to an elliptical shape.

02Flex Spline

It is an elastic thin-walled component with gear teeth on the outer surface. Harmonic Gear Reducer is usually fitted to the output end.

03Circular Spline

It is a rigid steel ring with internal teeth. Harmonic Gear Reducer usually has two more teeth than the flex spline, and generally mounted onto a housing.

Harmonic Drive Working Principle

As a reducer, the harmonic gear reducer is often in status as the wave generator drives, the circular spline is fixed, and the flex spline is output end.

When the harmonic wave generator is put inside of the flex spline, the flex spline is forced into an elliptical shape causing the flex spline teeth to engage with the tooth profile of the circular spline along the major axis of the ellipse, with the teeth completely disengaged across the minor axis of the ellipse.

The rotation of the wave generator makes the flex spline deform continuously, the teeth change operating state in the process of engagement and disengagement, thus the power harmonic drive transmission between wave generator and flex spline is realized.

Characteristics of Harmonic Gear Reducer

High accuracy

A good percentage of harmonic gear reducer's teeth are meshed at all times and are engaged at two zones 180 degrees apart. This means influences of tooth pitch errors and accumulated pitch errors on rotational accuracy are neutralized, which assures high positional and rotational accuracy.

High speed reduction ratio

A harmonic gear reducer has high single-stage reduction ratios also known as harmonic drive gear ratio or harmonic drive ratio of 1/30-1/500. Three basic components along same axle without complex structures can provide high reduction ratios.

High torque capacity

Each tooth subjected to a negligible amount of force yet provides a high torque capacity because of the way the teeth come into contact with each other and because a good percentage of the teeth in the flex spline is engaged at all times.

Small-sized and light weight

While being less the size of conventional gearing mechanisms and less the weight, the harmonic gear reducer provides the same levels of torque and speed reduction ratios as its conventional counterparts enabling machinery and equipment to be made smaller and lighter.

Superior efficiency and long life time

As a professional harmonic drive company and strain wave gear manufacturer in China, Laifual Drive produces harmonic drive reducers with superior harmonic drive efficiency and long service time.

Quiet and minimal vibration operation

Laifual Drive's harmonic drive reducers also operate with quiet and minimal vibration.

If you need harmonic drive gear, please contact us.