(Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Hideyuki Kasuga; hereinafter "hide kasuga 1896") is pleased to announce that it has succeeded in developing a new gear made of lightweight, low-friction polyethylene (UHMW-PE), which is being developed by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. in collaboration with a research group in the Takanishi Laboratory, Institute of Science and Engineering, Waseda University (hereinafter "Waseda University"), through industry-university joint research. Ltd. ("Mitsui Chemicals") and Waseda University ("Waseda University") through an industry-academia joint research project with a research group in Takanishi Laboratory, Science and Engineering Research Institute, Waseda University.

Developed through joint research by industry-academia collaboration

This is a joint research project between Mitsui Chemicals, Waseda University, and hide kasuga 1896.
hide kasuga 1896 has been working with the Takanishi Laboratory of Waseda University for many years on the "fusion of materials and robots" as it aims to build a recycling-oriented society. This time, we have conducted R&D on the application of high-performance ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene developed by Mitsui Chemicals to robots in an attempt to reduce energy consumption, which is one of the major environmental issues that robots are facing.

Project Members

Mitsui Chemicals: Gear development of UHMW-PE (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene)
Waseda University: Application research for robot parts
hide kasuga 1896: Industry-university collaboration R&D management

Lightweight, low-friction gears made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene developed

TO REDUCE ENERGY CONSUMPTION OF THE ROBOT BY REDUCING FRICTION IN THE DRIVE UNIT, WE FOCUSED ON UHMW-PE* (1 ULTRA-HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT POLYETHYLENE), WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED BY ITS LIGHT WEIGHT, HIGH STRENGTH, AND EXCELLENT SLIDING PROPERTIES.

THE CHEMICAL STRUCTURE OF UHMW-PE, CONSISTING ONLY OF CARBON AND HYDROGEN ATOMS, GIVES IT THE FOLLOWING ADVANTAGES OVER OTHER PLASTICS

➀Low specific gravity allows for weight reduction of parts
➁Better abrasion resistance than POM (polyacetal), fluoropolymers, and PA66 nylon
➂Impact resistance superior to PC (polycarbonate), which can improve product durability
➃Stable against various chemicals and has excellent chemical resistance
➄Low water absorbency and dimensional stability can be maintained even in areas where water is used.

Based on the above features, we believe that UHMW-PE (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) is suitable as a material for gears of robots that are subject to
high loads and high speed rotation.
We will continue our verification of this material.

LUBMERTM RESIN FOR IMPROVED SLIDING, DURABILITY AND QUIETNESS

Among UHMW-PE products, "LUBMER TM" is a resin product developed by Mitsui Chemicals based on its proprietary polymerization technology. It offers excellent sliding, friction, and chemical resistance, as well as quietness and durability. It also has the important feature of being able to be injection molded among UHMW-PE. In this study, gears made of LUBMERTM (0.97 g/cm3) provided by Mitsui Chemicals were incorporated into a robot finger, and a comparison of energy consumption during joint movement showed that gears made of LUBMERTM achieved a reduction in energy consumption of approximately 3% compared to metal gears.

The research results were published in IEEE access, published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world's largest academic research organization with more than 400,000 members worldwide, on Monday, September 19, 2022 (local time) *1.

*1 Paper information
Journal:IEEE access
Article title:Energy Efficiency Improvement of a Robotic Finger with Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyeth- ylene Gear
Author(s):Takuya Otani*a, Hiroki Mineshita*a, Keigo Miyazawa*a, Yuri Nakazawa*a, Hideyuki Kasuga*b, Ryuki Kawai*c and Atsuo Takanishi *a
*a-Waseda University, *b- hide kasuga 1896 Inc., *c-Mitsui Chemical Inc.
Publication date (local time):September 19, 2022
URL:https://ieeexplore. ieee.org/document/9895260
DOI:10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3207752

Social Impact of Development

BY SIMPLY REPLACING CONVENTIONAL METAL GEARS WITH GEARS MADE OF LUBMERTM IN THE FINGER SECTION OF A ROBOT, THE COMPANY HAS ACHIEVED AN APPROXIMATELY 3% REDUCTION IN ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND AN APPROXIMATELY 89% REDUCTION IN PART WEIGHT COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL GEARS. THIS ACHIEVEMENT, WHICH ENABLES A 3% REDUCTION IN ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY SIMPLY CHANGING THE MATERIAL OF ONE PART OF A ROBOT WITHOUT ANY DESIGN CHANGES, WILL HELP REDUCE ENERGY CONSUMPTION OF VARIOUS ROBOTS AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE REALIZATION OF A CARBON-NEUTRAL SOCIETY. THE LOW FRICTION AND SELF-LUBRICATING PROPERTIES OF THE MATERIAL MAKE ROBOTS THAT REQUIRE NO LUBRICATING OIL AT ALL NEARLY OILLESS, ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR PERIODIC OIL CHANGES AND OTHER MAINTENANCE. LOW-FRICTION GEARS ALSO REDUCE DRIVING NOISE, WHICH WILL INCREASE THE QUIETNESS OF DRIVING REQUIRED IN A SOCIETY WHERE ROBOTS ARE WIDELY USED. THE RESULTS OF THIS RESEARCH ARE EXPECTED TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WIDE RANGE OF INDUSTRIES, INCLUDING THE MOBILITY INDUSTRY, WHICH IS MOVING TOWARD EVS, AS WELL AS ROBOT-RELATED INDUSTRIES, BY REALIZING ENERGY SAVINGS, REDUCED PERIODIC MAINTENANCE, AND QUIETNESS.

Presentation of research results

On Friday, December 16, 2022, we will hold an event to present the results of our research. In addition to an exhibition of the research results, the event will also feature an exhibition of products curated around materials developed by Hideyuki Kasuga (Ph.D., Engineering), the president of the company.

Summary of Research Results Presentation

Date: Friday, December 16, 2022
Venue: gallery de kasuga
URL:https://www.gallerydekasuga.com/ja/
Time: 13:00 ~ 19:00
T E L:03-6427-7319