The Hidden Hero of Automation - Linear Transmission Components

From time to time, I hear the words "transmission components" in industry news. Most of them mention that Taiwanese precision component manufacturers rely on "linear slides" to successfully enter the world's automated manufacturing factories, or machine manufacturers through cooperation with high-tech manufacturers. The integration of precision performance "ball screw" products has successfully entered the aerospace or automobile manufacturing industry. But in fact, the "transmission component" referred to here is not only "ball screw" or "linear slide", but the real "transmission component", because it is not only related to manufacturing, but also appears in the surrounding of life all the time.

A complete "linear transmission component" manufacturer must supply four necessary transmission components at the same time, namely linear slides, ball screws, ball splines and single-axis robots.

The main function of the slide rail is to move the object that needs to be moved, and lock the object on the sliding seat. The sliding seat is regarded as the carriage of the train, and the sliding rail is the rail on the ground. Free running, that is, the concept of carriages walking on rails. But the slider is just a carriage and cannot move by itself, so a servo motor is needed to combine with a ball screw to convert it into a linear motion through the circumference, drag the slider to make a linear displacement, and combine the servo motor with the ball screw. Think of it as a powered locomotive.

The example just now refers to the rails laid on the ground, but if you want to change the train to move in mid-air today, like the concept of an elevated train, you must replace the linear slide with a ball spline, because the ball spline is a cylinder As long as it is supported by the front and rear, the outer cylinder of the ball spline can be linearly displaced in mid-air, and this displacement is not only limited to transporting the workpiece to be processed, but can also be combined with the movement of small processing equipment. , to process other workpieces, similar to the concept that the nozzle head above can also run linearly quickly when our printer is printing.

The last mentioned is the single-axis robot, which is a concept of the combination of linear slides and ball screws, that is, the combination of locomotives, carriages and rails, making it more convenient for customers to install and use in a modular way. The use of single-axis robots is very common in semiconductor-related manufacturing.

In the past, most of the linear transmission components were dominated by Japanese manufacturers. In the past, the demand for slide rails in Japan's local manufacturing industry was very strong. Therefore, there is often a situation in which the domestic supply is in short supply and not enough for export.

In the past, due to the trend of increasing international automation demand, the Japanese factories were unable to supply sufficient product opportunities, and gradually emerged. The three major Taiwan manufacturers (HIWIN, TBI MOTION, Chieftek) have greatly improved their stability, precision, and durability in recent years. Products of almost the same level as the Japanese factory can also provide a higher price advantage, helping manufacturers who intend to import automation equipment to choose a better and economical choice.

In recent years, due to the large demand for automation in mainland China, many manufacturers in mainland China have also entered the market of linear transmission components. However, because the technical capabilities of the mainland factory are still far behind that of Taiwan and Japanese manufacturers, and the projects that the mainland factory focuses on are often based on price rather than quality. Therefore, although some Chinese factories are actively grabbing the market, the impact is only limited to suppliers with less advanced technical capabilities in Taiwan, and the three major factories have strong technical capabilities, relatively competitive prices, and high integration capabilities. It is an excellent first choice for manufacturers who intend to introduce automation, and the development strength is amazing.