Research on Part Tolerances for RV-40E Reducer Based on Virtual Prototype Technology

The RV-40E reducer is the representative model of the a typical RV reducer, where transmission accuracy and manufacturing cost are two important optimization indicators, while transmission accuracy depends on both the selection of accuracy levels for components, such as bearings, and the design of tolerance values for parts such as cycloidal gears. The selection of accuracy levels, such as bearings, is relatively simple, and studying manufacturing costs requires the use of a large amount of data from manufacturing equipment and processing methods. Therefore, this article mainly studies the design optimization problem of tolerance values closely related to transmission accuracy. The RV-40E reducer is designed based on the experience of engineers. So far, it is unclear whether the tolerance value design of parts such as cycloidal gears meets the optimization requirements of transmission accuracy. This article first explains the research background and the necessity of tolerance value design for RV-40E components. Next, it details the reducer’s structural composition and lists specific part tolerance values. Subsequently, a virtual prototype is established to evaluate transmission errors under different component and part combinations. Finally, through the design of experiment analysis, optimal tolerance values are derived for selected parts as recommended in the final table. The results demonstrate that the optimized tolerance values for RV-40E reducers are basically consistent with the empirical tolerance values designed by engineers, achieving similar results.