PEEK material, a top-tier specialty engineering plastic, plays an important role in humanoid robot joints and transmission components. With a density only 1/3 to 1/4 that of metals, PEEK has excellent wear resistance and self-lubrication properties. It can effectively reduce friction and wear during the robot's joint movements, lowering energy consumption, and improving the service life and movement precision of joints.
Lightweighting is a crucial step before the commercialization of humanoid robots. It can solve several major issues in the humanoid robot industry, such as endurance, heat dissipation, flexibility, and transportation costs:
Extended Endurance: By reducing gravitational potential energy and rotational inertia, static and dynamic power consumption is lowered, which reduces the battery's energy density requirements.
Reduced Component Requirements, Lower Motor Heating: Weight reduction can decrease the weight and friction of bearings and connectors, reducing motor power demands, and lowering the load on joints and motors.
Increased Flexibility: Reducing component inertia requires lower torque for acceleration and deceleration, allowing the robot to make quicker movements such as fast turns, jumps, and obstacle avoidance. This results in more flexible control and better versatility.
Cost Reduction, Easier Transport: Lightweight materials and structural designs can reduce the amount of material used, lowering material costs. For example, using magnesium alloys, carbon fiber, and high-performance engineering plastics can reduce overall costs despite their higher per-unit prices, because less material is required. Lightweight humanoid robots are also easier to transport and handle, reducing transportation and installation costs.
Currently, humanoid robot lightweighting can be divided into structural lightweighting and material lightweighting:
Structural Lightweighting: Achieved through parameter optimization, topological optimization, integration, and morphological optimization to reduce redundant components.
Joint Module Integration: Integrating servo drivers, motors, reducers, and encoders into a unified joint module to reduce connectors and save space.
Structural Part Integration: Drawing from integrated die-casting technology in the automotive industry to reduce parts and simplify production processes, achieving reduced weight and cost.
Parameter Optimization: Direct structural optimization by changing robot dimensions, component layouts, and material thickness to reduce redundant parts.
Topological Optimization: A mathematical method using advanced algorithms to analyze the stress distribution of structures and identify redundant or insufficient parts, optimizing material configurations through precise calculations.
Integration:
Material Lightweighting: The mainstream approach today is using carbon fiber, magnesium-aluminum alloys, or “plastic replacing steel” to reduce density while meeting performance requirements, such as with PEEK material.
According to China Business Intelligence Network and S&P data, the global PEEK market size in 2024 is estimated to reach 6.1 billion yuan, with a 10.9% year-on-year growth and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.2% from 2018 to 2024. The Chinese PEEK market is projected to grow to 1.9 billion yuan in 2024, with an 11.8% growth rate and a 15.5% CAGR from 2018 to 2024.
The global PEEK market currently has a competitive structure with a dominant player, Victrex, which controls 38% of the global capacity. Other major players include Solvay and Evonik, with market shares of 12% and 8%, respectively.
The market is split into three tiers:
First tier: Victrex, the inventor of PEEK, holds 38% of global production capacity.
Second tier: Solvay and Evonik, holding around 12% and 8% respectively.
Third tier: Emerging players like Zhongyan Co., with about 5% of global market share.
PEEK materials involve raw material suppliers, manufacturing, and a wide range of applications. The raw materials include fluorone (DFBP), hydroquinone, diphenyl sulfone, and sodium carbonate, with fluorone accounting for 60% of the raw material cost. The main manufacturing process includes polymerization, while downstream applications are widespread, including aerospace, automotive, and medical sectors.
Below is an incomplete list:
Upstream: Raw Material Enterprises
Other Raw Materials:
Glass Fiber: China Jushi, Taishan Fiberglass, International Composite Materials, Chongqing International.
Carbon Fiber: Jilin Chemical Fiber, Baojing, Shanghai Petrochemical, Zhongfu Shenying, Zhongjian Technology, Hengshen Co., Guangwei Composite Materials.
Zhejiang Longsheng: A global leader in dye products, with the largest market share in domestic resorcinol.
Brother Technology: A global leader in the vitamin and fine chemicals industry, producing hydroquinone, vanillin, etc. Their products are mainly supplied to domestic acrylic acid producers.
Hydroquinone/Resorcinol: Making up about 15% of the raw material cost, key suppliers include:
Additives (Carbon Fiber, Glass Fiber, PTFE): These make up 20% of the cost in composite-reinforced PEEK materials and 5% in total PEEK materials. Key suppliers include:
Zhongxin Fluoride Materials: Domestic leader in fluorone (DFBP) with a production capacity of 5000 tons/year, closely tied with leading companies such as Victrex, Zhongyan Co., and others. Exclusive supplier of core raw materials for Tesla humanoid robots.
Xinhan New Materials: Supplier of PEEK raw materials, covering 70% of the global fluorone (DFBP) supply, with deep ties to international giants like Victrex and Evonik. In 2024, revenue from specialty engineering plastics business grew by 116.7%.
Xingfu New Materials (New Third Board): Leader in PEEK intermediates, with a 45% global market share, ranking first among global PEEK intermediate producers.
Fluorone (DFBP):
Midstream Manufacturing Enterprises:
Zhongyan Co., Ltd.: The largest domestic PEEK producer in China, ranking fourth globally. From 2022 to 2024, the company’s revenue grew from 248 million yuan to 277 million yuan. The company is the exclusive supplier of Tesla’s Optimus joint shaft and has deep partnerships with top clients like CATL and Mindray Medical.
Kingfa Sci & Tech: Holds the largest modified plastics production capacity (3 million tons/year) globally and has developed its own PEEK polymerization technology. Their 500-ton/year production line caters to the robot joint demand.
Water Group: A leading domestic special polymer material company, covering the industrialization of engineering resins. The company leads the global LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) market and ranks first in China and globally for production capacity. Water Group has already achieved import substitution.
Kaisheng New Materials: The third-largest global PEEK producer. Focused on the aerospace lightweighting industry, the company is working with the Chinese Academy of Sciences to develop prepreg materials for satellite components.
ARKPEEK: Known as PEEK China, the most comprehensive PEEK manufacturer in China, producing PEEK profiles, processed parts, and injection-molded components. After 16 years of development, more international customers are adopting ARKPEEK products and services.
3, Downstream Application Enterprises:
Weike Technology: A leader in precision injection molds for the automotive and e-cigarette industries. The company produces PEEK screws, print heads, and other components, supplying Tesla’s Optimus flexible hand joints.
Zhaomin Technology: The first company in China to apply PEEK in large-scale robot ball screws. It is a supplier of PEEK for Yushu Robotics and has won an actuator order from Tesla.
Kent Shares: Specialized in wear-resistant and high-temperature-resistant PEEK products. Their self-lubricating bearings for robots have 80% less wear, and their lifespan is three times that of metal bearings. Kent supplies ABB.
Kangtuo Medical: A leading supplier of PEEK materials for skull repair, with stable growth in the medical field.
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