Types and functions of joint reducers for industrial robots
Due to the gradual increase in labor costs and rapid technological advancements, industrial robots are experiencing explosive development, leading manufacturing companies to increasingly prefer the use of more efficient, mechanized, and cost-effective robotic equipment. When it comes to industrial robots, one must mention one of the core and important components inside the body, the reducer. Of course, because the performance and operating environment of each industrial robot are different, the reducers used in them will also be different.

There is not only one type of industrial robot, but also a variety of types, such as coordinate robots, cylindrical coordinate robots, multi joint robots, planar multi joint robots, and so on. At the application level, multi joint robots are widely used. Under the premise of joint motor drive, considering the driving torque, a reduction mechanism is normally required.

The operation control of industrial robots mainly relies on three major components: servo motors, controllers, and reducers. Among them, reducers are used to accurately control the joint motion of robots and transmit greater torque. At present, the most common types of reducers are mainly divided into two types: RV reducers installed on the heavy load positions of the industrial robot arm and shoulder, and harmonic reducers installed on the light load positions of the wrist and forearm.

The joint reducer used in industrial robots is a component used to reduce clearance and improve system accuracy. It achieves this by reducing the rotational clearance between gears, which can reduce errors during the movement of components and comprehensively improve the overall accuracy of industrial robots.

In addition, the joint reducer of industrial robots can also provide the function of transmitting greater torque. When the joints of industrial robots require excessive load, it is not cost-effective to increase the power of the servo motor. Instead, the output of the reducer can be increased within an appropriate speed range. In addition, the servo motor is prone to heating and vibration at low frequencies, which cannot accurately and reliably guarantee the long-term and periodic operation of industrial robots.
In articulated robots, common reducers include RV reducers and harmonic reducers. In industrial robots with small loads and multiple axes at the end of large robots, harmonic reducers are a type of harmonic transmission device composed of key components such as rigid wheels, flexible wheels, bearings, and generators. The number of teeth on the rigid wheel is slightly greater than that on the flexible wheel. Harmonic reducers used for small robots have the characteristics of light weight, small size, high load-bearing capacity, and high motion accuracy.

RV reducers have the advantages of small size, high torque, high positioning accuracy, strong impact resistance, large reduction ratio, and low vibration. Therefore, they are mainly used in industrial robots, machine tools, and medical industries. Due to its strong impact resistance and high precision, RV reducers are particularly suitable for medium and heavy-duty applications. The RV reducer needs to transmit large torque, withstand the impact of large overload, and ensure the expected service life. In the design process, relatively complex positioning structures were used, making manufacturing processes and cost control difficult. There is no elastic deformation force component inside the RV reducer, so it can withstand a certain amount of torque. The bearing of the RV reducer is its weak point, which can easily exceed the bearing force limit, causing abnormal wear or fracture of the bearing. This issue is particularly prominent during high-speed operation, so the rated torque of the RV reducer decreases significantly with increasing input speed.

With the widespread application and continuous development of technology in industrial robots, the importance of reducers in robot design has become increasingly prominent, providing greater support and improvement for the efficient movement and precise operation of industrial robots.