Plastic gearbox

The gearbox technology

Gearboxes are used to adapt the speed and torque of motors so that they are suitable for the specific requirements of machines and processes.

Our drygear® gearboxes made of high-performance plastic: lubrication-free, lightweight and impact-resistant

All igus® plastic gearboxes are modular; they can be extended as required and integrated into existing systems.
The drygear® gearboxes are especially popular for robot arms used in quality control or sorting. Gearboxes also come into play with rotary axes or sliding applications, pusher applications or format adjustments.
Our gearboxes are the ideal solution for various automation processes.

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Our gearbox solutions

Versatile and flexible applications with modular gearboxes

Strain wave gear

Compact, quiet and efficient
Areas of application: Precise motion transmission, low torques
Suitable for: Small robot arms

Buy strain wave gear

Worm gears

Robust and long-lasting
Areas of application: High torque, slow movement, secure position holding
Suitable for: Conveyor technology, robotics, lifting systems, swivel drives

Buy worm gears

Rotary axis with motor

Compact and easy to install
Areas of application: 360° movement
Suitable for: Rotary tables for installation applications, camera panning in photography

Buy rotary axis & motor

Apiro the modular gearbox system

Modular lightweight construction
Areas of application: Wide range of requirements, flexibility in design
Suitable for: Automation, robotics, industry, manual and motorised drives

More information

Buy Apiro® gearbox

Planetary crank gearbox

High transmission ratios
Areas of application: High torque in a compact design
Suitable for: CNC machines, robotics, packaging machines

Buy planetary gearbox

Other gearboxes and drive components
Discover our wide range of high-quality solutions for industrial systems and robotics applications. Optimise your application's performance with gearbox technology!

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Advantages of drygear gearbox technology

Cost-effective

Manufacturing with injection moulding or 3D printing guarantees cost efficiency and creates the geometrical freedom to optimise use of installation space. The flexible modular system allows the gearboxes to be expanded as desired and integrated into existing systems.

Ideas for automation systems

Lubrication and maintenance-free

The drygear gearbox technology uses plastic gears made from high-performance polymers. The gearboxes do not require any external lubricants and are therefore insensitive to dirt. Maintenance and the associated costs are eliminated.

More about our lubrication-free products

Sustainable

Our gearboxes require not a single drop of lubricating oil. This benefits not only our users, but also the environment. Our tribologically optimised materials also generate less abrasion, which means less energy is needed.

More about the sustainability of plastics

Quiet

drygear plastic gearboxes impress with ultra-light materials thanks to motion plastics. This results in significantly less noise and vibration. For you as an operator, plastic gears - for example in robots - lead to an application that is up to four times quieter.

Temperature-resistant

Gearboxes that function reliably in either particularly warm or cold environments? The drygear gearbox technology products withstand almost all conditions. We also have gearboxes and motors in our product range that are suitable for extreme temperatures from -30°C to +180°C.

Tested and proven

Around 50 in-house drygear test stations are available for individual customer tests. We also test our gearboxes daily for active research and development.

Application examples for gearbox technology

VW Golf production at a 1:18 scale for trainees

In their vocational training at Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg, Germany, trainees from various departments work on simulating VW Golf delivery at a 1:18 scale.
The smart factory consists of twelve individual stations that, when pushed together, form two parallel production lines.

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Format adjustment in the packaging industry

Successful use of the conveyor belt with drygear® Apiro® gearboxes

How innovative technology handles the challenges of transporting food packaging and allows flexible format adjustment for product channelling with igus® drygear® Apiro® gearboxes.

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Low-cost components for astrophotography

Strong, precise 3D-printed gearbox.
vhw Digitalart has developed a device that compensates for the Earth's rotation in order to image celestial bodies in their real form. The requirements for the plastic gearbox were a rotation of 360 degrees in exactly 24 hours, enough load capacity to support the camera and its lens, and high individual component strength and abrasion resistance.

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low-maintenance gearbox solution and energy supply systems in an ice cream vending machine

The sec°mat IC One, made by Bochum-based Seco Manufaktur, turns the sales process into an event. The next-generation ice cream vending machine features our Apiro robot kinematics, not only for durable, low-maintenance operation, but also for user experience.

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More application examples

Here you will find many more application examples from our customers from all industries. Discover applications in which igus® plastic gearbox solutions have already been used.

To application examples

Automated format adjustment for the packaging and beverage industry

Simple operation - manual or automated

Perform format adjustments simply, quickly and easily.

With the modular Apiro gearbox system, you can set up your own lane adjustment using different gear ratios and length variants.

Learn more

You may also be interested in these product areas

Plastic gears from igus - light, durable, lubrication-free

Our gears made of high-performance plastics impress with their wear resistance and maintenance-free operation - without any lubrication.

Thanks to versatile manufacturing processes such as injection moulding, mechanical processing and 3D printing, we offer the right solution for every application, whether as a single piece or in series production.

Learn more now!

Practical PDF downloads: Solutions and ideas for your systems

12 automation solutions

The modular Apiro® gearbox system is now available with 12 iDeas templates so that you can easily recreate your own structures.

Download now

Optimised production lines

Conveyor technology in the beverage industry

Our brochure "Conveyor iDeas" shows you how you can optimise your production processes with maintenance-free solutions, save time and bring down operating costs.

Download now

Format adjustments

With our modular gearbox system, you can integrate aisle, curve and side guides in conveyor systems efficiently and in a space-saving manner into existing systems.

Download now

Consulting

I look forward to answering your questions

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