Schaeffler has unveiled a low-cost way to make strain wave gears — a key but expensive part of humanoid joints. Instead of precision machining, the company forms components under high pressure in seconds, cutting cost by more than 25%. Mass production is set to start in 2027 in Germany.
Key takeaways
- Forming instead of machining: shaping the component under high pressure in seconds
- Cost cut by over 25% and material use by over 75%
- Mass production from 2027 in Germany, then a gradual rollout to other regions
- Over 2 million formed strain wave gears shipped to the auto sector over the past decade
- Customers: Hexagon (1,000+ AEON robots) and the company Humanoid (rollout in late 2026)
Why it is a bottleneck
Strain wave gears?Strain wave gears: Compact zero-backlash gears with very high reduction ratios, used in the precise joints of robots. deliver zero backlash, high reduction ratios and high precision in a very compact housing — ideal for sensitive joints: wrists, ankles and elbows. The catch is cost. Actuators can account for up to half of a humanoid's manufacturing cost, and the gear is their heart. Cheap, scalable production of this part is one of the industry's real bottlenecks.
Forming, not machining
Instead of slow machining, Schaeffler stamps and shapes components under high pressure in seconds. The company cites its "automotive DNA": over the past decade it shipped more than 2 million formed strain wave gears for cars. The result is more than 25% lower cost and over 75% less material use, while keeping dimensional accuracy, torque limits and efficiency comparable to machined units. That is a direct challenge to incumbents like Harmonic Drive, built on classic precision machining.
| Metric | Formed (Schaeffler) | Machined |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | over 25% lower | baseline |
| Material use | over 75% lower | baseline |
| Accuracy, torque, efficiency | comparable | comparable |
Customers and timeline
Validation is complete, and mass production is scheduled for 2027 in Germany, expanding later to more regions. Named customers include Hexagon, which prioritized strain wave gears for its AEON platform (1,000+ robots) back in April 2026, and the company Humanoid with a rollout in the thousands late in 2026. The program is led by David Kehr, President of Humanoid Robotics at Schaeffler.
Why it matters
Humanoid scale depends not on demos but on cheap component production. If Schaeffler really holds precision at a quarter lower cost, it lowers the barrier for robot makers and shifts the advantage from labs toward component suppliers. It shows that the industry's future is increasingly decided by the supply chain, not software alone.
What's next?
- The 2027 mass-production start in Germany will test the claimed cost and quality
- Deliveries to Hexagon (AEON platform) and the company Humanoid will show whether formed gears hold up in real robots
Sources
- Humanoids Daily — Schaeffler Cracks the Cost Bottleneck: Formed Strain Wave Gearboxes Target 2027 Mass Production
- Schaeffler — Official site
