TQ-RoboDrive

Manufacturer information and published contact details

TQ-RoboDrive contact details

TQ-Systems GmbH (headquarters)

Gut Delling, Mühlstraße 2
82229 Seefeld
Germany

Telephone +49 8153 93080

Email info@tq-group.com

Website tq-group.com/en/products/tq-robodrive

TQ-Systems USA Inc. (RoboDrive distributor)

Chesapeake, Virginia
United States

Web tq-group.com/en/distributors-partners/tq-robodrive/distributors

TQ-Systems Shanghai Co., Ltd. (RoboDrive distributor)

Shanghai
China

Web tq-group.com/en/distributors-partners/tq-robodrive/distributors

Show TQ-RoboDrive headquarters on the map Open in Google Maps →

Contact details as published by TQ-Systems GmbH (TQ-Group), checked 2026-10-30. Specify Motion is not affiliated with TQ-Systems GmbH (TQ-Group).

TQ-RoboDrive product lines

Who TQ-RoboDrive is

TQ-RoboDrive is the frameless motor business of the German electronics and technology group TQ. It sells frameless brushless servo kits: a wound stator and a magnet rotor without housing, bearings or shaft. A designer builds them directly into a robot joint, a medical instrument or an aerospace mechanism. TQ highlights torque density, precision, low weight and a generous hollow shaft, which leaves room for cables, a gearbox input or an encoder through the centre of the joint.

TQ says its frameless technology has its roots in DLR robotics, the robotics research of the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

History and ownership

TQ was founded in 1994 by Detlef Schneider and Rüdiger Stahl as a two-person company. It earned ISO 9001 certification in its first year and grew into the TQ-Group, with sites across Bavaria and beyond. The group headquarters is at Gut Delling in Seefeld, Bavaria.

TQ’s history page records that in 2012 it set up a drive technology division (Embedded Drive). The division built lightweight torque servo motors based on RoboDrive technology. TQ-Drives production moved to Inning in 2019. Other group milestones include the purchase of the Seefeld Technology Park in 2014 and annual financial statements above €500 million for the first time in 2023. The legal entity behind RoboDrive is TQ-Systems GmbH.

Product portfolio

TQ-RoboDrive’s catalogue consists of two frameless series, sold as servo kits.

• The ILM Servo-Kits are the premium series, built for torque density, precision, smooth running and custom configuration. Stator diameters run from 25 mm (ILM25x04: 0.033 Nm nominal, 0.106 Nm peak, 16 g) to 115 mm. The ILM115x25 gives 3.9 Nm nominal and 12.7 Nm peak at 1,400 rpm and 48 V, with a 74 mm rotor bore, a 1,070 g kit and up to 93% efficiency. The smaller sizes are 24 V windings and the larger ones 48 V.
• The ILM-E Servo-Kits are the cost-optimised series for scalable applications and higher volumes, with Hall and temperature sensors integrated as standard. Sizes run from ILM-E50x08 to ILM-E85x30. The largest gives 3.3 Nm nominal and 10.6 Nm peak at 48 V, with a 52 mm rotor bore and 822 g mass.

In the model code, the first number matches the stator outer diameter (115 mm on the ILM115x25, 85 mm on the ILM-E85x30). Published electrical values are for star-serial interconnection, and the datasheets give other interconnections.

TQ also offers actuators and system integration support and a “Design Check” service to help customers go from a motor kit to a complete joint.

Technologies

A frameless kit gives the designer full control of the joint: bearing arrangement, gear stage (often a strain-wave gear), encoder and brake. The price is integration effort. You must hold the air gap concentric, manage heat through your own housing and qualify the assembly. Key checks when choosing a RoboDrive kit:

• Continuous torque at your real cooling conditions, not the nominal rating on a test fixture.
• The bore size you need for cabling and the gear input.
• Drive voltage and current: 48 V windings at about 10–14 A nominal on the larger kits.
• Whether the standard Hall and temperature sensors (ILM-E) are enough or you need a separate high-resolution encoder.

Our guides to frameless motor sizing for robot joints and how to select a frameless torque motor work through these steps, and harmonic vs planetary vs cycloidal covers the gear stage.

Worked example: sizing a kit for a geared joint

A robot joint must deliver 100 Nm continuous through a 100:1 strain-wave gear. Ignoring losses, the motor must supply 1 Nm. If the gear maker quotes 75% efficiency at your speed and temperature, the motor needs about 1.33 Nm continuous. On the ILM list, the ILM70x18 (1.25 Nm nominal) falls just short and the ILM85x13 (1.44 Nm nominal) fits. The ILM85x13 is also rated 2,938 rpm, which gives about 29 rpm at the joint. Check the peak torque against your acceleration and impact cases, and confirm the bore leaves room for the gear’s input.

Industries served

TQ names robotics, medical technology, industry, aerospace and mobile systems as RoboDrive’s applications. See robotics and cobots, surgical and medical robotics and aerospace.

Global and UK presence

RoboDrive’s distributor list names TQ-Systems USA (Chesapeake, Virginia), TQ-Systems Shanghai, Pamoco in Italy, A2V Mécatronique in France, ASPINA (Shinano Kenshi) in Japan and Medital Comotech in Israel. No UK distributor is listed, so UK engineers usually contact TQ in Germany directly.

What to send when specifying a frameless motor

Send the continuous and peak torque, speed, bus voltage and current limit, the available outer diameter and length, the minimum bore, the cooling path through the housing, the feedback you plan to use and the expected volumes.

Specify Motion is independent of TQ and is not a distributor for the company. Our engineers can help source RoboDrive kits or propose equivalents from our supply network on published figures; see find a replacement or the frameless torque motors hub.

TQ-RoboDrive history: key dates

1. 1994TQ founded by Detlef Schneider and Rüdiger Stahl
2. 2012Embedded Drive division set up, building lightweight torque servo motors on RoboDrive technology
3. 2014TQ acquires the Seefeld Technology Park
4. 2019TQ-Drives production moves to Inning
5. 2023TQ annual financial statements exceed €500 million for the first time

TQ-RoboDrive direct-drive and torque motors

Frameless torque motor

ILM Servo-Kits

Premium frameless torque motor kits (stator and rotor) with DLR-derived design, from 25 mm (ILM25x04) to 115 mm (ILM115x25) stator diameter: up to 3.9 Nm nominal, 12.7 Nm peak and 570 W at 48 V, with up to 93% efficiency.

Frameless torque motor

ILM-E Servo-Kits

Cost-optimised 48 V frameless motor kits for higher volumes, with Hall and temperature sensors as standard, from ILM-E50 to ILM-E85 frames: up to 3.3 Nm nominal and 10.6 Nm peak (ILM-E85x30) and 444 W.