Harmonic Gear System Replacement in Space Application Actuator

Moog, Inc. Engineering, 2017-18

Liaison(s): Jason Ro ’99, Armand Asadurian
Advisor(s): Philip D. Cha
Students(s): Luis Viorney (TL-S), Angelica Virrueta (TL-F), Giulia Castleberg (F), Alex Nunes (F), Derrick Chun (S), Jacob Garcia (S), Nate Smith (S)

Strain wave gear reduction technology has dominated the aerospace rotary transmission industry for half a century due to its simplicity, efficiency, and accuracy. Moog, Inc. has sponsored a Harvey Mudd Clinic team to develop an alternative for use in the sponsor’s satellite actuators. The team’s solution relies on hypocycloidal geometry to achieve a high reduction ratio, zero backlash, and superior performance.