Humanoid Robot Core Components: Motor + Reducer + Screw, 6 Companies with Increased Shipments and Accelerated Expansion

In 2026, the shipment speed of humanoid robots has significantly accelerated. According to statistics from market research firm SAG, the global shipment volume for the first half of the year was approximately 19,100 units, exceeding the annual level of 2025. IDC provided higher data for the same period, close to 25,000 units. Although the two institutions have different statistical criteria, both reflect that the shipment volume of humanoid robots is growing rapidly.

Although overall sales have increased, the profit pressure for companies remains significant. Humanoid robots still need continuous improvement in motion control, reliability, and other performance aspects. R&D and commercialization investments are high, and with some manufacturers lowering prices to secure orders, revenue growth has not yet fully translated into profits.

Upstream component manufacturers have shown different operational conditions. Some motor and gear reducer manufacturers have delivery capabilities of over 100,000 units, and their products can also be used in industrial robots and other automated equipment. As orders increase, companies can improve the utilization rate of existing production lines, spreading fixed costs such as equipment depreciation across more products.

Recently, Zishang Securities released a deep research report on the core components industry of humanoid robots, focusing on three areas: planetary roller screws, frameless torque motors, and harmonic reducers. I will combine the technical principles, business data, and mass production progress mentioned in the report to provide a detailed overview.

I. Increase in Humanoid Robot Sales

Currently, humanoid robots have begun entering factories, but there are still many issues to be resolved before they can take on large-scale production tasks.

In 2025, the main applications of global humanoid robots were still in entertainment performances, scientific research and education, data collection, and tour guidance, with these four scenarios collectively accounting for more than 85%. Although industrial manufacturing and warehousing logistics have already started pilot projects, the scale of actual daily production is still relatively limited.

When industrial customers purchase robots, they need to consider not only the purchase price, but also work efficiency, operating time, failure rate, and subsequent maintenance costs.

For example, if a factory plans to have a robot perform part handling tasks, it needs to confirm whether it can continuously complete the tasks in line with the production rhythm. If the robot frequently experiences motion errors or requires frequent manual intervention and repairs, it may not save much labor cost and could even affect the normal production of other equipment.

Therefore, whole-machine manufacturers need to continuously improve their products to enhance the stability of robots in complex environments. At the same time, to attract more industrial customers, they also need to try to reduce the price of whole machines. These investments and price pressures mean that some whole-machine manufacturers are still unable to profit in the short term.

Upstream component companies, however, have a certain manufacturing foundation.

Many motor and reducer manufacturers originally supplied components for industrial robots and automated equipment, and already have mature processing technologies and production equipment. The new application demands from humanoid robots mean that some products, after specification adjustments, can also be supplied to different brands of whole-machine manufacturers simultaneously.

Zishang Securities listed two sets of business data;

From 2023 to 2025, the revenue of Green Harmonic's harmonic reducers and metal parts business increased from 317,000,000 yuan to 476,000,000 yuan, and the gross profit increased from 131,000,000 yuan to 175,000,000 yuan.

During the same period, the revenue of Leisai Intelligent's servo system increased from 636,000,000 yuan to 922,000,000 yuan, and the gross profit increased from 152,000,000 yuan to 259,000,000 yuan.

II. How Humanoid Robots Move, and the Roles of the Three Types of Components

To complete actions such as raising hands, turning, squatting, and walking, humanoid robots rely on actuators installed in their joints.

Actuators can be understood as the power units for joints. After the control system issues a command, the actuator drives the joint movement through the motor and transmission components, controlling the direction, speed, and force of the action.

Currently, the actuators used in humanoid robots are mainly divided into rotational and linear types.

Rotational actuators mainly work with motors and reducers, suitable for joints that require direct rotation. Linear actuators can convert rotational motion into linear motion through motors and screws, and then use mechanical structures to drive the joints.

Taking Tesla's early disclosed Optimus plan as an example, its body has a total of 28 actuators, with 14 being rotational actuators and the other 14 being linear actuators.

According to the whole-machine cost calculation cited in the report, screws account for about 19% of the component cost, frameless torque motors account for about 16%, and reducers account for about 13%.

This data corresponds to a specific robot design. Different manufacturers will choose different transmission components based on the force that joints need to withstand, motion speed, internal space, and manufacturing costs.

Let's look at each of these three areas separately.

III. Frameless Torque Motor

Motors provide the power needed for robot movement.

Ordinary servo motors usually have independent housings, bearings, and output shafts. When installed in robot joints, they occupy a lot of space and increase the weight of the joints.

Frameless torque motors eliminate some of the external structures of traditional motors, mainly consisting of stators and rotors, and can be directly installed inside robot joints.

In this way, the motor can be integrated with reducers, bearings, and other components, reducing unnecessary structures inside the joint while leaving space for sensors and wiring.

However, the requirements for motors in robot joints are very high;

For example, when a robot lifts an object, the motors in the shoulder and elbow need to provide sufficient torque. Torque can be understood as the force that causes a joint to rotate.

When a robot holds an object stationary, the relevant joints may also need to continuously output torque to maintain the position of the arm.

This requires the motor to have sufficient output power and the ability to work for a long time.

Continuous operation of a motor generates heat. If the heat dissipation is poor, excessive temperatures can not only affect the motor's own performance, but may also impact the lubrication of nearby reducers and the operation of sensors.

Therefore, manufacturers need to reduce the weight of the motor as much as possible within the limited joint space, improve output capability, and control temperature rise.

Currently, domestic frameless torque motors have already achieved relatively clear batch delivery records;

1. Rease Intelligent

Rease Intelligent mainly produces motion control products, including servo drivers, servo motors, and related control systems.

In the field of humanoid robots, the company has launched the FM series of frameless torque motors, and also provides matching encoders, drivers, and joint modules.

Among them, the FM2 series mainly focuses on improvements in motor temperature rise, continuous torque, and dynamic response. Continuous torque reflects the amount of force a motor can stably output during long-term operation, while dynamic response affects the robot's reaction speed during acceleration, deceleration, and changes in motion.

In 2025, the actual delivery of Rease Intelligent's frameless torque motors exceeded 120,000 units.

As of the end of the first half of 2026, the company disclosed that it has more than 1,000,000 units of frameless torque motors on order, and is currently building an automated production capacity of 3,000,000 units per year.

The completed deliveries, pending orders, and planned production capacity need to be viewed separately. The actual future delivery volume will also depend on customer procurement arrangements and the operation of new production lines.

2. Bukke Shares

Bukke Shares mainly provides motion control products and robot power systems, with products including frameless torque motors, servo drivers, and joint modules.

The company's FMK series of frameless torque motors use a large middle hollow structure, making it convenient for robot manufacturers to install bearings, reducers, and lay out wiring inside the joint.

Bukke has also improved the internal winding, electromagnetic structure, and potting process of the motor to enhance the motor's continuous output capability and improve heat dissipation performance.

In 2025, the company shipped approximately 83,000 units of frameless torque motors. In the first half of 2026, the actual shipment reached 113,600 units, representing a year-on-year growth of 422.90%.

Currently, frameless torque motors can be used with reducers in rotational actuators or with screws in linear actuators.

Since both types of actuators may require this type of motor, the application range of frameless torque motors is relatively broad.

For companies that have already achieved batch delivery, after expanding production, they still need to improve automation levels, reduce labor assembly and inspection costs, and control dimensional errors, temperature rise, and performance fluctuations to ensure that motors from different batches can be used stably.

IV. Harmonic Reducers

Once a robot has a motor, it still needs a reducer to control the joint's rotational speed and output force.

Motors rotate relatively fast, but when a robot lifts its hand, bends its waist, or picks up an object, the joint needs to move slowly and accurately, and also be able to bear a certain weight.

The reducer is installed between the motor and the joint output end, reducing the rotational speed to increase the output torque, allowing the motor to drive the joint to perform the corresponding actions.

The reducers used in humanoid robots mainly include harmonic reducers, precision planetary reducers, and cycloid reducers, among others.

Among them, harmonic reducers are small in size and light in weight, and can achieve a large gear ratio in a small space, making them particularly suitable for joints with high positioning accuracy requirements.

It is mainly composed of a wave generator, a flexible wheel, and a rigid wheel.

During operation, the wave generator drives the flexible wheel to produce regular elastic deformation, causing the teeth of the flexible wheel and rigid wheel to continuously mesh, thus achieving gear reduction transmission.

One advantage of this structure is the very small transmission clearance.

Transmission clearance can be understood as the slight clearance between mechanical parts when a joint changes its direction of rotation. If the clearance is too large, the motor may have already started rotating in the opposite direction, but the joint has not yet responded immediately, which would affect the positioning accuracy of the action.

Manufacturing harmonic reducers, one of the most difficult parts to process is the flexible wheel.

The flexible wheel needs to be made thin enough to continuously undergo elastic deformation, while also having sufficient strength to withstand long-term repeated operation. If the material treatment or processing precision control is not good, the flexible wheel may wear out prematurely, or even develop fatigue cracks.

Therefore, the production of harmonic reducers involves multiple processes such as gear shape design, material treatment, precision machining, and assembly, and the product lifespan also requires long-term verification.

Domestic harmonic gear reducers have matured over many years of development and now have established production capabilities. However, with intensified industry competition, the prices of some products have started to decline continuously.

3. Green Harmonic

Green Harmonic mainly produces precision harmonic gear reducers and related transmission products, which are applied in industrial robots, automated equipment, and humanoid robots.

The company has long focused on improving product quality through material improvements for flexible wheels, gear design, specialized bearings, and precision manufacturing processes, to enhance transmission accuracy and service life.

From 2023 to 2025, the sales volume of Green Harmonic's harmonic gear reducers increased from 211,500 units to 425,200 units, nearly doubling.

During the same period, the gross margin of related products dropped from 41.17% to 36.77%, and further declined to 32.79% in the first half of 2026.

Nevertheless, the company still expanded its business revenue by increasing sales. In the first half of 2026, the revenue from harmonic gear reducers and metal components reached 288,000,000 yuan, representing a 46.32% year-on-year increase.

4. Lai Fu Harmonic

Lai Fu Harmonic mainly produces harmonic gear reducers, joint modules, and related precision transmission components.

The company improves production efficiency by refining gear design, material treatment, and manufacturing processes, and develops products suitable for different joint and load requirements.

According to the prospectus, in 2023, the average selling price of the company's harmonic gear reducers was about 802 yuan, which dropped to 573 yuan by 2025.

Although the selling price decreased, product sales grew rapidly.

In the first half of 2026, Lai Fu Harmonic's harmonic gear reducers shipped approximately 239,000 units, representing an 112% year-on-year increase. During the same period, the gross margin of related products reached 29.60%, an increase of 8.9 percentage points year-on-year.

This indicates that the company improved its gross margin while expanding its shipment scale.

From the operational data of these two companies, it can be seen that an increase in harmonic gear reducer sales does not guarantee a simultaneous increase in gross margin. With intensified market competition, customers have more supplier options, and price pressures have also increased.

For manufacturers, reducing the processing cost per unit product, minimizing scrap losses, and improving equipment utilization rates will directly affect the final gross margin.

Five, Planetary Roller Screw

Planet roller screws are mainly used to convert the rotational motion of a motor into precise linear motion.

For example, when a humanoid robot uses a linear actuator to drive a leg joint, the motor rotates the screw, causing the actuator to extend or retract, and then the knee joint bends or straightens through mechanical structures such as linkages.

Common types of screws include trapezoidal screws, ball screws, and planet roller screws.

Ball screws transmit force through rolling balls between the threads, while planet roller screws use multiple threaded rollers to share the load.

Because the contact area between the rollers and other components is larger, planet roller screws can withstand greater forces within a smaller volume, making them suitable for robot joints with high loads and limited space.

However, this structure also requires higher precision in manufacturing.

Inside a planet roller screw, multiple rollers work simultaneously. If there are minor dimensional errors between the rollers or if eccentricity occurs during the machining of the screw and nut, it can lead to uneven load distribution among the rollers.

Several rollers may long-term bear excessive loads, leading to localized wear and affecting the overall precision and service life of the screw.

Therefore, companies must strictly control the machining errors of the screw, rollers, and nut when mass-producing planet roller screws, and ensure that the assembled products can operate normally.

This relies heavily on high-precision thread grinding machines;

After heat treatment, the metal hardness of parts such as screws is high, and fine threads must be machined. The grinding machine must accurately control the pitch, tooth shape, and concentricity, otherwise, transmission errors may occur after assembling multiple parts.

According to Zheshang Securities, a planet roller screw investment plan of Wuzhou Xinxin involves 332 main production equipment, including 206 grinding machines, with an investment amount of approximately 133,000,000 yuan, accounting for 59.4% of the related equipment investment.

Precision grinding equipment occupies a significant proportion, reflecting the high demand for precision machining capabilities in this process.

5. Shuanglin Shares

Shuanglin Shares' original business mainly involved automotive precision components and transmission systems. In recent years, the company has started to expand into reverse planet roller screws used in humanoid robots.

Reverse planet roller screws can be designed with more compact transmission structures, making them suitable for linear actuators with limited internal space in robots.

The company has already mastered high-precision internal and external thread grinding and related manufacturing technologies, and has developed its own grinding machines for screw manufacturing.

In 2025, Shuanglin Shares' actual production of planet roller screws was approximately 1,500 sets.

After entering 2026, the company's first phase 100,000 set annual production line has already reached mass production capacity and obtained project appointments from domestic leading new power automotive companies. Currently, it is in the small-scale production stage.

The company previously announced a mass production price of 499 yuan for C3 precision planetary roller screws.

C3 is a precision grade for screws, with relatively strict requirements for machining errors and positioning accuracy.

Currently, Shuanglin Shares has already achieved certain conditions for mass production. The actual production volume that can be achieved later depends on customer orders, equipment utilization rate, and how many products can pass the precision and reliability tests during the production process.

6. Wuzhou XinChun

Wuzhou XinChun originally mainly engaged in bearing and related precision parts manufacturing, and in recent years has started to expand into robot transmission business.

The company has already developed products such as reverse planetary roller screws, miniature ball screws, and cross roller bearings, flexible bearings, etc.

Among them, reverse planetary roller screws are mainly used in compact linear actuators, while miniature ball screws can be applied to smaller areas such as robot dexterous hands.

In the first half of 2026, Wuzhou XinChun's multiple robot parts are undergoing customer validation and small-scale delivery, with related business generating revenue of approximately 20,000,000 yuan, but has not yet turned a profit.

This revenue includes various robot parts such as screws and bearings, and is not entirely from planetary roller screws.

In terms of production capacity, a fundraising project of the company plans to add 980,000 sets of planetary roller screws annual production capacity.

According to the fundraising calculation, with a product unit price of 500 yuan and a unit cost of 318.77 yuan, the estimated gross margin after production is 36.25%.

These figures are calculated based on the project being completed and reaching the predetermined production level, and are not the current sales prices, production costs, and gross margins of the company.

After the production line is put into operation, the enterprise still needs to go through equipment commissioning, process adjustment, and product testing, gradually increasing the output of qualified products. Actual procurement orders and production costs may also differ from the fundraising estimates.

Currently, domestic planetary roller screw companies have gradually started to push forward product sample submission, customer designation, and new production line construction. Some manufacturers have begun small-scale supply, but the industry as a whole still lacks sufficient large-scale delivery data.

Especially for high-precision products, even if the company has achieved an annual production capacity of 100,000 sets, if the production process has a low pass rate, it will still result in significant machining losses, increasing the manufacturing cost per unit product.

Six, After the scale-up of humanoid robots, which issues still need to be resolved

Currently, frameless torque motors have already achieved relatively clear delivery records at the level of 100,000 units, and some companies continue to increase their in-hand orders. After expanding production scale, companies need to ensure order delivery, improve manufacturing efficiency, and control material and processing costs.

Harmonic reducers have already formed a relatively mature production system, but as sales increase, the prices of some products continue to decline. If the product price drops faster than the manufacturing cost, the company's gross margin will be affected.

Planetary roller screws are still expanding production scale. Domestic companies have already completed the development of some high-precision products and have obtained customer designation and small-scale orders. After the new production line is put into use, the actual production volume, product pass rate, and unit cost will reflect whether these projects can reach the expected production level.

In addition, robot manufacturers are still adjusting designs according to the load, motion speed, and cost requirements of the joints. Different robot models will use harmonic reducers, precision planetary reducers, ball screws, or planetary roller screws, and the specific number of uses will vary accordingly.

From the perspective of the whole machine market, humanoid robots are increasing shipments for industrial and commercial purposes.

According to SAG statistics, in the first half of 2026, industrial and commercial applications accounted for more than 70% of the global shipments of humanoid robots. However, this classification includes various application scenarios and should not be interpreted as these robots already performing daily tasks on industrial production lines.

Industrial customers still need to judge whether the robots can meet production requirements through actual use.

For example, in tasks such as part handling and material distribution, how long the robot can continuously operate, how many tasks it can complete per hour, how long it takes to recover after a failure, and whether the purchase and maintenance costs are lower than the existing solution, will all affect whether the company will increase procurement later.

After industrial customers increase procurement, the whole machine companies can obtain more continuous delivery orders, and further purchase parts from motor, reducer, and screw suppliers.

The above is a summary of industry and supply chain information, for reference only, and does not constitute any investment advice.

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