Abstract

Strain wave gears are widely used in applications that require high reduction ratios, compact designs, and high positioning accuracy. However, increasing torque capacity remains a key challenge, particularly due to the high stresses at the flex spline tooth root. This study presents the development and investigation of a new strain wave gear variant. The tooth profile is defined using a quadruple-arc geometry with tangential transitions. A two-dimensional tooth engagement analysis evaluates the meshing behavior under flex spline deflection and identifies potential collisions during the design phase. Consequently, an FE simulation was conducted to investigate stress distribution. In the final step, the developed strain wave gear was assessed for overall performance and load capacity. Performance evaluations, including hysteresis loss, showed that the developed strain wave gear performed equally well or better than a leading strain wave gear manufacturer across seven key performance metrics. In terms of load capacity, the maximum torque at 50% failure probability (T50%) reached 106.7 Nm, which is 30% higher than the development target of 82 Nm, thereby confirming the validity of the tooth-profile design.

• Keywords: Strain wave gear, Quadruple-arc profiles, Tooth engagement analysis, Performance and load capacity tests