CAT-R01DOM-02 · Robotics components
Actuators & servo motors
Torque and duty cycle under thermal reality.
A torque figure without a duty cycle is not a specification. Continuous torque at 100% duty, at operating ambient, with your gearbox and your backlash requirement, is the number that determines whether the machine works.
Validation record
RB-11 · Harmonic-drive actuator
01Deciding parameters
The figures that actually decide selection — and why.
Continuous torque
Nm
At 100% duty and operating ambient, not peak.
Backlash
arcmin
Sets achievable repeatability at the end effector.
Gear ratio
—
Trades torque against speed and against stiffness.
Duty cycle
%
The constraint most often omitted from a quoted rating.
Feedback
—
Absolute or incremental changes the homing and safety design.
02Where it is used
Application changes the answer.
- Industrial robotic arms — repeatability and stiffness
- Mobile robot drive — continuous duty and thermal endurance
- Collaborative robots — torque sensing and compliance
- Precision positioning — backlash and resolution
03Decision drivers
What the choice actually turns on.
- Continuous torque at real duty cycle and ambient temperature
- Backlash and stiffness against end-effector repeatability target
- Feedback type and its consequences for safety and homing
- Thermal path and derating in the actual enclosure
04What we hold
The intelligence behind this category.
Manufacturer against integrator against rebrand, held apart
Torque curves reconciled to one common test basis
Gearbox source, since it is frequently a third party
Service life and observed failure modes by duty class
05What to watch for
Where selection in this category turns.
Sizing on peak torque and discovering the duty limit in production
Ignoring backlash until repeatability is measured at the end effector
Overlooking the gearbox as a separately sourced risk
Assuming bench thermal behaviour holds in the enclosure
Beyond this page
SKU-level intelligence sits behind the requirement.
Validated supplier records, per-SKU parameter data, pricing bands, MOQ patterns, and lead-time history for actuators & servo motors are released against a stated application — because a shortlist is only meaningful once the operating conditions are known.
06Coupled decisions in robotics components
Actuator · drive · encoder · controller share one control loop. Selecting any one of these without the others is the most common source of rework in this domain.
Start with the application
Sourcing actuators & servo motors?
Send the application and the operating conditions. We map the landscape, validate the claims, and return a shortlist with the reason each option is on it.