Lightweight and requiring very few components to manufacture, harmonic drives are critical for robotic arms, providing additional accuracy of movement to compensate for robotic arms’ low load tolerance. However, the global manufacturing of harmonic drives primarily originates from Japan, driving up overhead costs or causing delays for innovative companies researching and developing (R&D) robotics technology.
The top harmonic drive manufacturer in the world, the Japan-based Harmonic Drive Systems, currently guarantees 7,000 to 10,000 hours of use, a standard Main Drive is confident of matching despite being still fresh on the scene. Main Drive is also confident that it provides an alternate solution for those seeking lower overhead for quality products.
First established in 2018, Main Drive Corporation is one of the few companies able to provide a stable source of harmonic drives. This is primarily due to Main Drive General Manager Chuck Chen's first-hand professional knowledge of harmonic drives from working at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) three decades ago.
A large portion of Main Drive’s R&D personnel had also originated from the ITRI and has provided immeasurable and valuable insight into the company’s harmonic drives production endeavors.
The company plans to increase production at its Miaoli County Tongluo Township manufacturing plant to produce 100,000 harmonic drives annually, an ambitious goal that would put it on par with the current second-largest harmonic drive manufacturing plant.
To ensure that its drives are not deficient in quality while mass-produced, the company has set strict standards for the work environment, demanding that the temperature on the manufacturing floor be kept at 22 degrees Celsius and that all lathe-produced products retain precision ratings within 10μ.
Since the manufacturing plant started delivering products in 2020, it has never received a complaint from its clients.
With manufacturing beginning to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) in production lines, robotic technology has become increasingly prevalent in the semiconductor, metals manufacturing and medical industries.
Robotic arm products, such as Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arms (SCARA) or automated guided vehicles (AGV), will be playing a role that will hold more weight with time, and it is only inevitable that the standards for such products will become more stringent.
Fewer harmonic drives will meet the increasingly high standard in the future, and the company is confident that quality will be the byword for future harmonic drive manufacturing.
Main Drive, with deep ties to the ITRI, had applied for and received approval from the ITRI for technology transfers for the entire series of testing equipment the ITRI developed when it first began researching harmonic drives. The suite of systems included repeatability test machines, transmission error machines, rigidity machines, efficiency test machines and life test machines.
The move marked Main Drive as the only company to have received ITRI approval for technology transfers.
Obtaining the suite of systems is a large part why Main Drive products were considered qualitatively equal with Japanese products at a product comparison made during the COVID-19 pandemic attempting to resolve the issue of harmonic drive shortages.
The robotics industry is one of advanced technology, and the unique characteristics of harmonic drives - the need to be light and have a high load tolerance - mean that each client’s request is essentially a custom job.
Harmonic drives, when paired with different components at different frequencies, will have other functions, and only through trial and error can one find the best product design, Chen said.
Even with decades of experience at their fingertips, Main Drive’s R&D division still needs to constantly contact the client and test, simulate, change and fine-tune the product to meet client specifications.
We want to provide our clients the best harmonic drives and ensure that the harmonic drive can be mass produced as soon as possible, the company said.
In addition, Main Drive recognizes that the concentration of harmonic drive production in the hands of a few companies causes R&D and delivery time delays, placing greater stress on innovative entrepreneurs.
The company is offering the option to provide a preliminary solution in the least amount of time possible, with a two-month period after the initial product request and, after more client feedback, Main Drive can schedule product delivery and manufacturing for its clients.
Main Drive is also offering modularity services for robotic arm manufacturers, providing more robotic arm joint solutions to satisfy clients' needs in different regions. Main Drive’s products, providing better value for money, enabled them to become the go-to company for repairs or component swap-outs.
With the focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and the automated industry growing, the emphasis on the robotics industry is increasing demand for harmonic drives. With mature technology in the field of harmonic drives under its belt, Main Drive believes that it, alongside the ITRI, will be able to help Taiwanese-made robotics claim a seat in the international robotics market.
