There are two main types of retarders widely used in joint robots: RV retarder and harmonic retarder. So, for these two reducer, which has the advantage? What are the principles, advantages and disadvantages of the two? Can they replace each other? Let's find out.

Harmonic reducer is used for industrial robots with small loads, or several axes at the end of large robots, harmonic reducer for small robots are characterized by small size, light weight, large carrying capacity, high motion accuracy, and large single-stage transmission ratio.

The harmonic reducer is one of the harmonic transmission devices, and the harmonic transmission device includes an accelerator and a reducer. The main structure of harmonic reducer is rigid wheel, flexwheel, bearing and wave generator, all of which are indispensable. Among them, the number of teeth of the rigid wheel is slightly greater than the number of teeth of the flexible wheel.

RV reducer is often used in the robot joints with large torque, specifically the three joints of the leg waist and elbow, the load is large industrial robots, and the RV reducer is used in one, two and three axes. RV reducer compared with the harmonic reducer has higher fatigue strength, stiffness and life, the disadvantages of harmonic reducer also include, with the use of time growth, motion accuracy will be reduced, with the harmonic reducer light weight small size of the advantages of the opposite, RV reducer disadvantage is its heavy weight, large size.

Both are less tooth difference meshing, the difference is that a key gear in the harmonics is flexible, the need for repeated high-speed deformation, and therefore more vulnerable, so the bearing capacity and service life of the harmonic reducer compared with the RV reducer, the bearing capacity is low and the life is short. RV reducer is generally used cycloidal needle wheel, harmonic used before the involute tooth shape, and now some manufacturers use double circular arc tooth shape, which is more advanced than the involute.

Compared with the harmonic reducer, RV reducer is a new rise of transmission products, RV reducer is actually developed on the basis of the traditional needle and thread reducer, not only to overcome the shortcomings of the general needle pendulum transmission, but also has more advantages, such as long life, maintain stable accuracy, high efficiency, smooth transmission, small size, light weight, speed change ratio range.

For the question of whether the two can be replaced, there are actually two kinds of statements in general.

1. It can be replaced, but only some models can be replaced. The RV reducer we have mentioned earlier has much higher fatigue strength, rigidity and life than the harmonic drive commonly used in robots, and the precision of the return difference is stable, and the accuracy of the motion will be significantly reduced as the harmonic drive with the increase in the use of time. Therefore, many countries of high-precision robot transmission more RV reducer, so there is a development trend, RV reducer gradually began to replace the harmonic reducer in advanced robot transmission.

Harmonic reducer is characterized by light and small, in this respect, the planet and RV is difficult to do. Therefore, all kinds of reducers can only be replaced in a part of the case, but it is unrealistic to replace another product in a full range of products.

For the question of whether the two can be replaced, there are actually two kinds of statements in general.

These products do have an alternative relationship on some models, but these types of reducers can only be partially replaced. In most cases, various types of reducer are difficult to replace.

2, The second is that all kinds of reducer can not be replaced, only complementary.

The two types of reducer, RV and harmonic, are complementary, but they do not exclude the formation of local competition in some application areas after structural design optimization and manufacturing process breakthroughs.

This is the comparison of RV reducer and harmonic reducer, between the two can not be said to be completely can replace each other, and the function of each reducer and the advantages are very different, enterprises should integrate the use of robot joints and the different performance of the reducer, choose the reducer products more suitable for the development of enterprises.