On September 1, Hengerda New Materials (Fujian) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Hengerda”) signed the Technological Development (Commission) Contract with Northwestern Polytechnical University through its wholly-owned subsidiary Fujian Hengwang Linear Drive Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Hengwang Technology”, agreeing that the technical team of School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University will take the lead to cooperate with Hengwang Technology on the “Technical Project for Performance Verification of Thread Grinder Equipment Dedicated to Planetary Roller Screw”. This marks that both sides will integrate production, education and research resources, make joint efforts in the core technology of domestic planetary roller screw machining equipment and achieve key breakthroughs, thus injecting strong impetus into the autonomous and controllable humanoid robot industrial chain in China.

Planetary Roller Screw Product

As agreed by the development contract, Researcher Ma Shangjun, as the project leader, leads the research team to establish an internal and external thread grinding simulation model around the goal of localization and specialization of internal and external thread grinder equipment dedicated to planetary roller screws, study the interrelationship between thread design parameters and grinding parameters, guide the machining of high-precision thread parts for machine tools through the trial production and test of internal and external thread key parts of planetary roller screws, and verify the technical indicators such as the grinding performance, efficiency, precision and consistency of the machine tools.

SMS Grinder Equipment

Among partners of this technical cooperation, Hengerda, as a national high-tech enterprise and a national-level specialized, sophisticated, distinctive and innovative “little giant” enterprise, enjoys three core independent intellectual property rights and technological advantages of heat treatment technology, metal processing and special equipment, which are accumulated over more than two decades, and has a profound foundation in the R&D, production and sales of intelligent CNC equipment and machine elements. In recent years, focusing on the application scenarios and domestic substitution opportunities of products in high-end manufacturing fields such as machine tools and humanoid robots, our company has continuously carried out the layout of R&D and industrialization. After wholly-owned acquisition of SMS Maschinenbau GmbH (hereinafter referred to as “SMS”), a world-leading thread grinder company, in May 2025, our company gathered the world’s top experts in mechanical design and grinding technology from Germany and its neighboring countries such as Switzerland, Austria and Italy, set up a European R&D and Design Center for Grinders and Machine Elements, collected global talents and technological resources, achieved breakthroughs and advantages in core and key links such as the product design, machining technology and special grinders of planetary roller screws/ball screws for humanoid robots, mastered independent core technology and core competitiveness, and ultimately formed our differentiated competitive advantages. Meanwhile, our company is rapidly promoting the localization of SMS thread grinders and specialization of ball/roller screw grinders, achieving the strategic layout of “technology from Europe, made in China, market worldwide”. In addition, Hengerda has reached a partnership agreement with Tiangong International on the research, design, and industrialization of special metal material components of planetary roller screws/ball screws for humanoid robots, which not only achieves product lightweighting, but also enhances wear resistance and machining efficiency.

Shanxi Engineering Laboratory for Transmissions and Controls

In Northwestern Polytechnical University, one of the “Seven Sons of National Defense”, the “Shaanxi Engineering Laboratory for Transmissions and Controls” is a provincial engineering experiment platform approved by the Shaanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission, which has undertaken more than 100 projects, including national key research and development programs of China, special projects at two levels, 973, 863, National Science and Technology Support Plan, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and industrialized projects, and has transformed the research achievements of the high-thrust planetary roller screw pair transmission design and manufacturing technology into actual productive forces and applied them to multi-type equipment. Researcher Ma Shangjun, as the project leader, and his team have been engaged in the research on the fundamental theories and key technologies of electromechanical servo systems and planetary roller screw transmission for nearly 20 years. The total amount of research funds has exceeded 100 million yuan, more than 300 academic papers have been published, and over 50 authorized invention patents have been obtained. Related theoretical and technological foundations can provide strong support for the application of planetary roller screws and electromechanical servo systems in the field of robotics.

Tesla Humanoid Robot

This time, Hengerda, through its subsidiary Hengwang Technology, worked with the technical team of Northwestern Polytechnical University on the strategic demand of national advanced manufacturing and new quality productive forces. This is a systemic connection between an innovative manufacturing enterprise and a university’s cutting-edge intelligent technologies, as well as an important measure of Hengerda to rapidly promote the localization of SMS thread grinders and specialization of ball/roller screw grinders. Through the cooperation between both sides in China and the introduction of SMS resources, comprehensive advantages of universities, enterprises and all parties at home and abroad can be fully exploited and integrated to promote their in-depth cooperation in areas such as transformation of scientific research achievements, talent cultivation, breakthroughs in united technologies, resource sharing and technological innovation, thus jointly advancing the high-quality development and transformation of machine tool and humanoid robot industries.