Plastic gears for robot arms made from Stanyl PA46 – injection molded for cost-efficient mass production.
SMF Drives
Rotterdam (NL)New on Amplifa
About SMF Drives
SMF Drives is a gearbox concept for robot arms jointly developed by Envalior, SENTImotion and Frencken Group and presented for the first time in 2025 at automatica in Munich. At its core is a gear made from the high-performance thermoplastic Stanyl PA46 (polyamide 46), which through weight optimization is about half as heavy as comparable metal gears and, thanks to precision injection molding, enables around 50 % lower production costs. The gear design features an integrated intrinsic backdrive lock, eliminating separate brake systems and further reducing weight, part count and costs. The design and CAE simulation of the gear components focus on manufacturability and mechanical reliability; series production is handled by Frencken Group as industrial partner with injection molding and automated assembly. Target applications are humanoid and service robotics, logistics, retail and patient care. The location is in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
- Site
- Rotterdam
- Processes
- Injection molding (precision injection molding of gear components in mass production), Assembly (series assembly of gears and associated plastic parts), Manufacturing of plastic parts with robotic systems (automated manufacturing), Development and design of custom plastic gears (robot arm gears), Injection molding production of the gear components (industrial partner Frencken Group)
- Materials
- Stanyl® PA46, Stanyl® PA46 (Polyamide 46)
- Industries
- Service robotics, Humanoid robots, Retail/Logistics, Patient care, Industrial robotics
- 01
Gear development and design incl. CAE simulation
- 02
Material selection and Plastic Gear Design (Stanyl PA46)
- 03
Precision injection molding of the gear components
- 04
Assembly of the gears and associated plastic parts
- 05
Delivery to robotics manufacturers
Materials and Processes
Stanyl® PA46 (Polyamide 46)
High-performance thermoplastic for lightweight, wear-resistant and durably resilient gear components in robotics.
Sites
Rotterdam
NLSite
- Lot size
- Mass production / large-scale series production
- Materials
- Stanyl® PA46 (plastic)
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Injection molding (precision injection molding of gear components in mass production)Plastic | tight tolerances (no exact value given) | – | – | – | Stanyl® PA46, Polyamide 46, |
| Engineering | – | – | – | – | Plastic (Stanyl® PA46) |
| Assembly (series assembly of gears and associated plastic parts)Assembly | – | – | – | – | Plastic (Stanyl® PA46) |
| Manufacturing of plastic parts with robotic systems (automated manufacturing)Plastic | – | – | – | – | Plastic |
Additional services
History
- 2025
First presentation of the SMFdrives gear concept at automatica in Munich; co-developed by Envalior, SENTImotion and Frencken Group.
- 2025
Start of the pre-order phase via smf-drives.com.