Gearing Up for Robotics

Jim Ness -- Nidec-Shimpo America

Nidec Corporation

- $13.5B in annual sales

- 130,000 employees

Nidec-Shimpo

- $440M in annual sales

- 2400 employees

Nidec-Shimpo Corporation

Planetary Gearing for Robotics Applications

• 1-3 arc-min of mechanical backlash • Relatively noisy • Vibration • Velocity ripple • Good stiffness • Steel construction -- weight

Planetary Gearboxes in Robots

Delta Robots AGVs / Warehouse Robots Social / Security Robots

Cycloidal Gearing for Robotics Applications

• 0-1 arc-min of mechanical backlash • Relatively noisy at higher speeds • Moderate Vibration • Moderate velocity ripple • Good stiffness • Steel construction -- weight

Cycloidal Gearboxes in Robots

Strain Wave Gearing for Robotics Applications

• No backlash • Relatively quiet • Very little vibration • Low velocity ripple • Moderate stiffness • Relatively low weight

Strain Wave Gearboxes in Robots

Market for Strain Wave Gearing 2016 - 2018

• Demand has doubled over a two year period

• Deliveries have gone from a few weeks to half a year or more

Nidec-Shimpo Plant Capacity

September 2015 -- 5,000 units per month (1 factory) January 2018 -- 12,000 units per month (1 factory) September 2018 -- 25,000 units per month (2 factories) June 2019 -- 60,000 units per month (3 factories) December 2019 -- 100,000 units per month (3 factories) Locations: Kyoto Japan, Nagano Japan, Subic Philippines

Q & A