The Complete Robot Joint Module Selection Guide: Harmonic, Planetary, RV, Cycloidal & Quasi-Direct Drive — Vendor Research and Configurations by Robot Weight Class
How should robot joint modules actually be selected? Drawing on 200+ joint-module/reducer entries in the RobotWorld knowledge base, product research on leading vendors (Harmonic Drive, Nabtesco, Leaderdrive, Laifual, Leadshine, EYOBOT, ZeroErr, JIECANG, CubeMars, ENCOS), and item-by-item verification of the supply chains behind Tesla, Unitree, UBTECH, AgiBot and Fourier, this guide systematically compares harmonic, planetary, RV, cycloidal and quasi-direct-drive (QDD) transmission routes on performance and cost, provides a torque-tier product cheat-sheet (0.5-200 N·m) and full configuration recipes by robot weight class (small <=25kg / mid 30-55kg / large 60-100kg), plus a practical pitfall-avoidance playbook.
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Joint modulesHarmonic reducersPlanetary reducersQuasi-direct driveHumanoid robots
