According to the Japanese news agency Nikkei, Nidec’s investment in the Nidec-Shimpo production plant on the island of Luzon, will more than double its 36,000m2 of floorspace and boost the number of staff employed from around 600 to 1,000. It will also raise Nidec’s total production capacity for gear reducers from around 30,000 per month at present, to 80,000 by 2025.
Nidec is hoping to tap into a growing demand for precision gear systems for applications such as robots and chip-making equipment. As well as raising production capacities and cutting lead times for existing products, Nidec is also developing new products for this market.
Nidec’s Flexwave harmonic gears promise zero backlash, good positioning accuracy and repeatability, and high torque densities. They have three internal elements – a flexspline, a circular spline and a wave generator. The elastic properties of the flexspline and the teeth differential between the flexspline and the circular spline are said to result in “unique” reduction characteristics.