A Novel Cycloid Tooth Profile for Harmonic Drive with Fully Conjugate Features

A harmonic drive (HD) is a precision reduction device widely utilized in the core joints of high-end equipment such as spacecraft and robots. The design of an excellent tooth profile is the core challenge related to the performance of HD. This investigation aims to propose a design method of a fully...

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Main Authors: Yunpeng Yao, Longsheng Lu, Xiaoxia Chen, Yingxi Xie, Yuankai Yang, Jingzhong Xing
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Actuators
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/14/4/187
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author Yunpeng Yao
Longsheng Lu
Xiaoxia Chen
Yingxi Xie
Yuankai Yang
Jingzhong Xing
author_facet Yunpeng Yao
Longsheng Lu
Xiaoxia Chen
Yingxi Xie
Yuankai Yang
Jingzhong Xing
author_sort Yunpeng Yao
collection DOAJ
description A harmonic drive (HD) is a precision reduction device widely utilized in the core joints of high-end equipment such as spacecraft and robots. The design of an excellent tooth profile is the core challenge related to the performance of HD. This investigation aims to propose a design method of a fully conjugated cycloid tooth profile (CTP) for HD. Firstly, the rationality of CTP use for HD is analyzed, and the cycloidal characteristics of the tooth trajectory are studied by use of canonical warping distance. Then, initial CTP equations are constructed, adopting the trajectory mapping results. Presetting the addendum CTP of circular spline, the conjugate CTP of flexspline is then designed using the envelope method. Subsequently, the envelope of the designed flexspline addendum is used to reverse-design the circular spline dedendum. The backlash is calculated to evaluate the CTPs designed with different radial displacement coefficients. Research shows that the tooth trajectory has cycloidal characteristics; therefore, the HDs that use CTP can realize a fully conjugate engagement. Moreover, the variable control parameters enable the proposed CTP expression to have excellent fitting characteristics, resulting in small and uniform mesh backlash distribution. The CTP is expected to become one of the ideal tooth profiles of HD.
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institution OA Journals
issn 2076-0825
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publishDate 2025-04-01
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series Actuators
spelling doaj-art-942983d12ce6419fa02539a3f9aca1df2025-08-20T02:17:14ZengMDPI AGActuators2076-08252025-04-0114418710.3390/act14040187A Novel Cycloid Tooth Profile for Harmonic Drive with Fully Conjugate FeaturesYunpeng Yao0Longsheng Lu1Xiaoxia Chen2Yingxi Xie3Yuankai Yang4Jingzhong Xing5School of Mechanical & Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, ChinaSchool of Mechanical & Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, ChinaSchool of Mechanical & Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, ChinaSchool of Mechanical & Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, ChinaSchool of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, ChinaA harmonic drive (HD) is a precision reduction device widely utilized in the core joints of high-end equipment such as spacecraft and robots. The design of an excellent tooth profile is the core challenge related to the performance of HD. This investigation aims to propose a design method of a fully conjugated cycloid tooth profile (CTP) for HD. Firstly, the rationality of CTP use for HD is analyzed, and the cycloidal characteristics of the tooth trajectory are studied by use of canonical warping distance. Then, initial CTP equations are constructed, adopting the trajectory mapping results. Presetting the addendum CTP of circular spline, the conjugate CTP of flexspline is then designed using the envelope method. Subsequently, the envelope of the designed flexspline addendum is used to reverse-design the circular spline dedendum. The backlash is calculated to evaluate the CTPs designed with different radial displacement coefficients. Research shows that the tooth trajectory has cycloidal characteristics; therefore, the HDs that use CTP can realize a fully conjugate engagement. Moreover, the variable control parameters enable the proposed CTP expression to have excellent fitting characteristics, resulting in small and uniform mesh backlash distribution. The CTP is expected to become one of the ideal tooth profiles of HD.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/14/4/187harmonic drivecycloid tooth profiletooth trajectory
spellingShingle Yunpeng Yao
Longsheng Lu
Xiaoxia Chen
Yingxi Xie
Yuankai Yang
Jingzhong Xing
A Novel Cycloid Tooth Profile for Harmonic Drive with Fully Conjugate Features
Actuators
harmonic drive
cycloid tooth profile
tooth trajectory
title A Novel Cycloid Tooth Profile for Harmonic Drive with Fully Conjugate Features
title_full A Novel Cycloid Tooth Profile for Harmonic Drive with Fully Conjugate Features
title_fullStr A Novel Cycloid Tooth Profile for Harmonic Drive with Fully Conjugate Features
title_full_unstemmed A Novel Cycloid Tooth Profile for Harmonic Drive with Fully Conjugate Features
title_short A Novel Cycloid Tooth Profile for Harmonic Drive with Fully Conjugate Features
title_sort novel cycloid tooth profile for harmonic drive with fully conjugate features
topic harmonic drive
cycloid tooth profile
tooth trajectory
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/14/4/187
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