This section provides an overview for cycloidal reducers as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 11 cycloidal reducer manufacturers and their company rankings.
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Cycloidal reducer refers to gears with a trochoidal curve (a smooth curve) and can reduce speed with less slippage. Therefore, they are characterized by less wear and vibration and longer service life than gears with rectangular teeth. They are often used inside products that drive equipment by rotation, such as motors and pistons. The structure is such that a large-diameter gear has a smaller-diameter gear inside, and there are many products that can achieve high reduction ratios.
Cycloidal reducers are used in production lines for industrial robots and equipment, pumps, automobile drives, ship screws, aircraft propellers, and wind turbine propellers. They are used to convert the rotation and torque obtained from engine pistons and electric drive motors to the level of torque and speed used in other equipment. When selecting cycloidal reducers, the reduction ratio, losses due to friction, size, and ease of maintenance should be considered.
Cycloidal reducers consist of two mounting shafts, two reduction gears, bearings supporting the shafts, and eccentric bearings supporting the gear section. The gears are in the form of a trochoidal curve, a gear with teeth in the curved form of the locus of the outer point of the circle as the circle moves without slipping on the curve. The gear is a mechanism with another gear inside one gear.
During operation, rotation is transmitted from the shaft with the higher rotation speed to the gear on the high-speed rotation side. The high-speed gear is often an internal gear that, together with an eccentric bearing, rotates around the inner circumference of the external low-speed gear. The rotation of the external gears rotates and reduces the speed, which is transmitted from the output shaft at a lower speed and with a higher torque than the input torque.
Some products have holes in the gears and use external pins or other mechanisms to reduce the load on the eccentric bearings.
Cycloidal reducers offer the following three advantages.
First, they have a high reduction ratio and can be set up to 1/150 because they can be designed with a small difference in the number of teeth between gears.
The second is compactness. Since a high reduction ratio can be obtained with a single gear, there is no need for multiple gears, and a thin design is possible.
Thirdly, it is highly efficient. Since it is not a sliding gear but a rolling gear, friction loss is small and transmission efficiency is high.
Because of these features, it is known as a typical reduction gear used in various applications.
Cycloidal reducers use lubricating oil. The amount of lubricating oil can be checked with an oil gauge. This is because the amount of oil fluctuates during operation, so the exact amount of oil cannot be determined.
Too much or too little oil has adverse effects. If too much oil is used, the oil may enter the motor side, leak, or the temperature may rise abnormally. If too little, the gears and bearings may not be sufficiently lubricated, causing abnormal wear, or the temperature may rise due to insufficient cooling effect.
The guidelines for oil replacement are described in the technical data of each company, but the oil level should be checked periodically and replenished to the proper amount. Generally, the first oil change should be done early in the year, and then periodically thereafter.
If there is iron powder or other contaminants in the oil, wear may have occurred in the gears and bearings, and inspection and maintenance of the gears and bearings may be necessary. A drop in viscosity, etc. can also cause malfunctions.
During periodic inspections, abnormalities can be detected at an early stage by comparing not only the amount of oil and the condition of the oil (dirt, etc.) but also whether there are any oil leaks in the surrounding area, temperature rise during rotation, noise during rotation, etc. with those during normal operation. Therefore, recording data (temperature, vibration, sound, etc.) during normal operation is useful for maintenance.
*Including some distributors, etc.
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