Luoyang Hongyuan occupies more than 90% of the market in the field of robot bearings

In a performance full of joy and festivity, 16 humanoid robots in flowery cotton jackets demonstrated smooth and uniform handkerchief dancing skills accompanied by cheerful yangko tunes and rhythmic gongs and drums. On the stage of this year's Spring Festival Gala, the wonderful performances of these humanoid robots that twisted yangko and twirled handkerchiefs were amazing. However, what is less known is that behind the flexible movements of these robots, there is a seemingly ordinary component - bearings.

The coordinated movement of the human body depends on joints, while the "joints" of robots need to rely on bearings to support, guide rotation and reduce friction, ensuring that their movements are smoother and with lower energy consumption. HONB Bearing Technology Co., Ltd. ("HONB Bearing"), as a national key specialized "little giant" enterprise, produces turntable bearings and cross roller bearings that occupy more than 80% of the domestic market share, and more than 90% of the market in the field of robot bearings, which can be called a leader in the subdivided field.

According to Lv Ruifang, technical director of HONB Bearing, the harmonic reducer is a key component in industrial robots. It realizes the conversion of high-speed input to low-speed high-torque output through the elastic deformation and tooth meshing of the flexible wheel, which is similar to the process of slowly pulling a heavy object with a rubber band, thus ensuring the stable operation of the robot. The precision bearings provided by HONB Bearing make the work of the harmonic reducer more precise and extend the service life of the product.

Walking into the HONB Bearing production workshop in Mengjin District, Luoyang City, you can see the processed special bearings for harmonic reducers. They not only have a full texture in appearance, but also show excellent smoothness and damping when manually turned. However, back 14 years ago, when a scientific research institution first found HONB Bearing with a sample of special bearings for robot harmonic reducers, almost no one in the company knew about this technology. "We started from scratch and after numerous trials and improvements, we finally brought our product quality up to international standards," recalled General Manager Wu Qiaoling. "After seven years of unremitting efforts, our products are finally comparable to similar foreign products, and we have started exporting to Japan and other countries since 2020."

Today, HONB Bearing has more than 500 employees, including more than 80 professionals focusing on research and development. The company invests more than 8% of its revenue into technology research and development each year, and uses most of its profits for equipment upgrades. As market demand grows, HONB Bearing is accelerating the expansion of its production capacity to meet the growing demand for orders. Wu Qiaoling revealed that at the beginning of this year alone, the company received an order for humanoid robot bearings worth 120 million yuan, and the production plan has been scheduled until June. The new plant is expected to be put into production in May, and the production capacity will double by then.

The successful case of HONB Bearing not only demonstrates the breakthrough of China's manufacturing industry in the field of high-end equipment manufacturing, but also provides valuable experience for other companies. Through continuous technological innovation and strict pursuit of quality, HONB Bearing is becoming an important force in promoting domestic robots to the world. Facing future challenges, HONB Bearing will continue to be committed to technological innovation, constantly optimize production processes, and contribute to China's manufacturing.