Targeted Technologies

Reduction gears are an effective way to get a high amount of torque from a small motor by reducing its rotation speed. They also support the flexible movement of machines in a range of fields, and are indispensable to ensuring accurate positioning. For example, reduction gears are used in the joints of industrial robots on automobile manufacturing lines, in automatic tool changers for machining centers, and in semiconductor production equipment.

In 1985, when Nabtesco released its very first precision reduction gears, industrial robots were vulnerable to shock and excessive vibration in their arms. Nabtesco’s precision reduction gears presented a solution to these problems, and the products soon became widely used in industrial robots in Japan and abroad.

Nabtesco is a world leader in the design and manufacture of precision reduction gears, which today are used in a number of manufacturing sectors, ranging from medical to food to semiconductors, in addition to the automotive sector.

An automated guided vehicle is a robot that follows markers or wires in the floor, or uses vision, magnets, or lasers for navigation. They are most often used in industrial applications to move materials around a manufacturing facility or warehouse. Nabtesco offers an extensive portfolio of cycloidal gears, as well as drive concepts for a wide range of applications. We can also develop customized gears that are adapted to customers’ exact requirements.

Mining and infrastructure construction are sometimes performed under challenging conditions – in wild desert country, on a steep mine slope, in dense tropical forests, or deep underwater. Nabtesco’s hydraulic technology, which helps get tremendous power out of small units, is ideal for the high-precision construction machinery required for such environments. For example, we provide traveling units for hydraulic excavators, and control valves for motors. Nabtesco is a leading manufacturer of hydraulic equipment systems, and is constantly innovating to improve the technology.

As a world-class high-speed railway system, the Shinkansen represents Japanese technology at its best. Because the speed of these trains exceeds 300 km/h, the technology used to control them must ensure absolute safety and reliability.

Nabtesco manufactures core components for Shinkansen trains: brake systems and door-operating units. Our advanced technologies are widely used not only in high-speed trains but also in local trains and new transportation systems. Today, railway operators are increasingly interested in reducing the size and weight of equipment, to create more cabin space and increase energy efficiency. With these goals in mind, Nabtesco is developing technology for the next generation of rail transportation.

In Japan’s rapidly aging society, the aged-care industry is expanding. In particular, there is strong demand for mobility devices. To meet this need, Nabtesco has applied the advanced technology it has accumulated in the field of industrial machinery to the healthcare sector, designing microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee joints, electric wheelchairs to reduce the burden on caregivers, rollators with speed control, and other devices that help people get around safely and comfortably. We are committed to contributing to the creation of a society where everyone can live the life they want.

Nabtesco’s corporate slogan is “Moving it. Stopping it.” Our company is a leader in motion control technology, providing customers with high-precision and high-efficiency products. Our goal for the future is to enhance our sensor technology, and expand the range of solutions we have available. We are working on improving preventive maintenance by combining the monitoring of products and their surrounding environments with big-data analysis. We will continue to provide high-value-added products while enhancing the maintenance, repair and overhaul process.

3D printer technology is advancing from rapid prototyping to additive manufacturing. Nabtesco’s R&D Center for 3D printing technologies is equipped with a metal 3D printer and a resin (stereolithography) 3D printer – areas in which CMET, a Nabtesco Group company, has expertise. In our R&D process, we use the printers as innovative production technology that drives manufacturing innovation. We are also putting our resources into the development of new materials for use in additive manufacturing.

Surface treatment and heat treatment technologies have contributed to increased energy conservation and product longevity for a range of industrial machinery. The Nabtesco R&D Center is at the forefront of developing and testing cutting-edge technologies in this field. The Center verifies their effectiveness in its laboratories, discloses the results internally, and applies the results to products and components in collaboration with Nabtesco’s manufacturing divisions.

An extensive regulatory framework combined with the ever-growing complexity of rail systems make traditional, document-centric system development laborious, inflexible and expensive. The automotive sector has already started to reduce the documentation load by establishing model-based development of safety-critical systems. In future, we expect that this type of development will prove to be an effective solution in the highly competitive railway sector. Model-based design can increase system-development productivity by 40% compared to document-centric approaches. In addition, it significantly reduces the incidence of design flaws, eases the bid process, helps master complexity, and reduces lead time.