LeaderDrive

Buying LeaderDrive products in the UK

Headquarters

Wuzhong District, Suzhou
China

UK enquiries

LeaderDrive products are available through our supply network. Our engineers handle UK enquiries for pricing, lead times, datasheets, CAD and help choosing the right model.

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LeaderDrive product lines

Who LeaderDrive is

LeaderDrive is the brand of Leader Harmonious Drive Systems Co., Ltd, a Chinese manufacturer based in Suzhou. It specialises in strain-wave gearing, the compact, zero-backlash reduction gear that sits in most industrial and collaborative robot joints, and it also makes rotary actuators, frameless direct-drive torque motors and rotary tables. “Harmonic Drive” is a trademark of Harmonic Drive LLC; strain-wave gearing is the generic term for the technology, and it is the term LeaderDrive itself uses.

History and ownership

LeaderDrive says it has been established for more than 22 years. Its development history begins in 2003 with product development, including a revised tooth profile design for strain-wave reducers. By 2013 it had 14 standardised product series and was selling about 3,000 units a year. In 2020 it listed on China’s Sci-Tech Innovation Board (the STAR Market) and moved into a new automated factory. By 2025 the company reports annual sales of more than 300,000 units across 21 series.

As a listed company, Leader Harmonious Drive Systems is owned by its shareholders; its website does not name the largest holders, so none is stated here. The company reports a research and development team of more than 100 people and R&D and production facilities in China, Germany, Singapore and Japan. It does not publish a total headcount.

Product portfolio

Strain-wave gear component sets and units

LeaderDrive’s core product is the strain-wave gear, offered in two main architectures:

• Cup type. The LCS / LCSG are cup-type component sets for engineers building their own joint, supplied as wave generator, flexspline and circular spline to be mounted in the customer’s housing and bearings. The LCSG high-torque version raises capacity by around 30% over the standard LCS.
• Hollow shaft. The LHS / LHSG are hollow-shaft units with a large central bore for routing cables, air lines and other services through the joint. The LHSG is the high-torque version, with more than 30% extra torque.

For joints where axial length is the limit, there are two ultra-flat designs: the cup-type LCD, which is very short, light and stiff for its size, and the hollow-shaft LHD, which combines very low axial height with a through-bore for wiring.

Actuators, motors and tables

Beyond gearing, LeaderDrive lists rotary actuators (integrated joint modules), frameless direct-drive torque motors and rotary tables. For engineers designing a robot joint, these allow the gear, motor and sometimes the bearing to come from one supplier.

Technologies and standards

The strain-wave principle uses an elliptical wave generator to deform a thin, flexible toothed cup or ring (the flexspline) so it meshes with a rigid circular spline at two points. Because the flexspline has slightly fewer teeth than the circular spline, each turn of the wave generator advances it by a small amount, giving high single-stage ratios with almost no backlash in a compact, light package. LeaderDrive’s own development work started with the tooth profile, which governs torque capacity, stiffness and life.

The company states ISO 9001:2015 (quality management) and ISO 14001:2015 (environmental management) certification, both issued through NSF International Strategic Registrations. It also says it is a main contributor to Chinese GB national standards for robot harmonic drive reducers and their test methods.

Choosing a strain-wave gear

The main selection decisions are:

• Component set or unit. A component set (LCS, LCD) is smaller and cheaper but needs the customer to design the housing, bearings and lubrication. A hollow-shaft unit such as the LHS arrives as an assembly, which simplifies the joint design; check with the datasheet which bearing and seal arrangement each size includes.
• Hollow shaft or not. Choose hollow-shaft types if cables or services must pass through the joint.
• Standard or high torque. The G versions add capacity in the same envelope where peak or repeated peak torque is the limit.
• Size and ratio. Size against the repeated peak torque, the momentary (emergency stop) torque and the average torque, then check life at the average input speed and the stiffness the axis needs.

Our guide to harmonic vs planetary vs cycloidal gearboxes and the frameless motor sizing guide for robot joints explain the method, and the gearboxes hub covers other gear types.

What to send when specifying one

Give the output torque profile (rated, repeated peak and emergency stop), output speed, required ratio, duty cycle and life, allowable backlash and torsional stiffness, the space envelope (outer diameter and axial length), whether a hollow shaft is needed and its bore, and whether you want a component set or a complete unit.

Industries served

LeaderDrive names robotics and automation as its main field, with further applications in optical equipment and reflector telescopes, photovoltaic equipment, precision steering gear, PCB and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and woodworking, plastics and metal machine tools. See our robotics and cobots and semiconductor and electronics pages for how gearing is specified in those sectors.

Global and UK presence

The head office is in Suzhou, with further R&D and production in Germany, Singapore and Japan. LeaderDrive does not list a UK office.

In the UK, its strain-wave gears are available through our supply network. Our engineers can help size and specify them, and provide pricing, lead times, datasheets and CAD models through the enquiry form on this page.

LeaderDrive history: key dates

1. 2003Product development begins, including a revised tooth profile for strain-wave reducers
2. 201314 standardised product series and annual sales of 3,000 units
3. 2020Listed on China's Sci-Tech Innovation Board; moves into a new automated factory
4. 2025More than 300,000 units sold a year across 21 series

LeaderDrive gearboxes

Strain-wave (harmonic) gear

LCS / LCSG

Cup-type strain-wave gear component sets for building your own joint; the LCSG high-torque version lifts capacity by around 30% over the standard LCS.

Strain-wave (harmonic) gear

LHS / LHSG

Hollow-shaft strain-wave gear units with a large central bore for routing cables and services; LHSG is the high-torque version (over 30% more torque).

Strain-wave (harmonic) gear

LCD

Ultra-flat cup-type strain-wave gear with a very short axial length, light weight and high stiffness for its size.

Strain-wave (harmonic) gear

LHD

Ultra-flat hollow-shaft strain-wave gear, combining a very low axial height with a through-bore for wiring.