Schaeffler presented, in an announcement relayed in mid-August 2026, a high-speed forming process applied to its strain wave gearboxes. The group claims a part obtained in a few seconds, whereas conventional precision machining takes several minutes. The figures that follow are communicated by the supplier and have not been independently verified.

The announced figures

  • Cycle time : a few seconds per part, compared to several minutes in conventional precision machining.
  • Manufacturing cost : over 25 % less per component.
  • Material : over 75 % less consumption per gearbox.
  • Performance : dimensional precision, torque limits and efficiencies announced as comparable to those of a machined gearbox, according to Humanoids Daily.
  • Industrialisation : series production in Germany in 2027, followed by gradual deployment in other regions.

Forming is not new for the supplier: Schaeffler claims over two million strain wave gearboxes obtained by forming have already been delivered to the automotive sector over the last ten years. This industrial track record relates to forming in general, and not to the new high-speed process, whose series production only begins in 2027.

In terms of its catalogue, and again according to Humanoids Daily, the formed gearbox complements a portfolio of actuators that already included an integrated planetary gear actuator, unveiled in late 2025. The announcement is made by David Kehr, president of Schaeffler’s humanoid robotics division.

What is not said

Two elements do not appear in the communications covered by these two sources: the unit price of the formed gearbox and the target production volume. The announced timeline is limited to the start of series production in Germany in 2027, with the mention of deployment in other regions not accompanied by any date. The values for dimensional precision, torque and efficiency are, for their part, given as comparable to those of a machined gearbox, without published figures.

Sources: Robotics & Automation News, “Schaeffler unveils formed strain wave gearboxes for humanoid robots” (14 August 2026) and Humanoids Daily, “Schaeffler Cracks the Cost Bottleneck: Formed Strain Wave Gearboxes Target 2027 Mass Production” (17 August 2026).