Sumitomo Drive Technologies

Manufacturer information and published contact details

Sumitomo Drive Technologies contact details

Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. headquarters

ThinkPark Tower, 1-1 Osaki 2-chome
Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-6025
Japan

Website emeia.sumitomodrive.com

SM-Cyclo UK Ltd.

29 Bergen Way
Hull HU7 0YQ
United Kingdom

Telephone +44 1482 790340

Web emeia.sumitomodrive.com/en-gb/our-locations

Sumitomo (SHI) Cyclo Drive Germany GmbH (European headquarters)

Cyclostraße 92
85229 Markt Indersdorf
Germany

Telephone +49 8136 660

Web emeia.sumitomodrive.com/en-gb/our-locations

Show Sumitomo Drive Technologies headquarters on the map Open in Google Maps →

Contact details as published by Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd., checked 2026-10-30. Specify Motion is not affiliated with Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd..

Sumitomo Drive Technologies product lines

Who Sumitomo Drive Technologies is

Sumitomo Drive Technologies is the power transmission business of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. (SHI), the Japanese industrial group. It is known worldwide for the Cyclo speed reducer, a cycloidal gear that transmits torque through rolling contact between a lobed disc and a ring of pins, and for Fine Cyclo, the zero-backlash precision version used in robots, positioners and machine tools. Cyclo and Fine Cyclo are trademarks of their owner.

Alongside cycloidal products, the business makes right-angle gearmotors, industrial gearboxes and custom gears, and through acquisitions it also owns Hansen Industrial Transmissions, the Lafert motor group and Invertek Drives.

History and ownership

The Cyclo principle is German in origin. Lorenz Braren invented the Cyclo reducer mechanism in 1926, and Cyclo GmbH was established in 1931 and began production in Munich; that company is today Sumitomo (SHI) Cyclo Drive Germany GmbH. Sumitomo signed a licence agreement with Cyclo GmbH in 1938 and began making Cyclo reducers at its Niihama Works in Japan in 1939. SHI’s own history goes back much further, to construction work at the Besshi copper mine.

Sumitomo expanded the range and its overseas network through the post-war decades: an American company in 1966, a partnership with Hansen Transmissions of Belgium in 1973, and a German sales company in Munich in 1976. A Cyclo mechanism for precision control, the basis of the Fine Cyclo range, was launched in 1984, followed by the Hyponic reducer in 1988 and the Paramax and Altax ranges in the early 1990s.

In 2003 the 10 millionth Cyclo reducer was produced and “Sumitomo Drive Technologies” was introduced as the global brand. Hansen Industrial Transmissions became a wholly owned subsidiary in 2011, the Lafert Group of Italy in 2018 and Invertek Drives in 2019. Sumitomo Drive Technologies remains a division of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Product portfolio

Fine Cyclo precision reducers

The Fine Cyclo A-Series (F1, F2, F3 and FC types) is the single-stage core of the range, with allowable peak torques from 335 to 7,610 Nm, ratios 29:1 to 179:1 and lost motion under 1 arcmin. For cables and services through the axis, the C-Series has a 99 mm hollow bore and peak torques up to 6,278 Nm, the DA-Series offers a hollow-shaft option with zero backlash, and the W-Series combines a very large hollow shaft with a built-in pre-stage, rated 6,130 to 10,000 Nm.

The double-stage UA-Series reaches allowable peak torques of 30,000 Nm with ratios up to 283:1, and the T-Series covers 417 to 11,000 Nm; both quote lost motion under 0.5 arcmin. Our gearbox hub and the harmonic vs planetary vs cycloidal guide explain when a cycloidal reducer is the right choice.

Servo gearboxes and industrial drives

The IB Series precision gearboxes and a Cyclo inline servo gearbox are offered for servo motor mounting. For general industry, Cyclo Drive 6000 and Cyclo BBB reducers, Hyponic right-angle gearmotors and Paramax industrial gearboxes are the main lines.

Technologies and standards

Cycloidal reducers carry the load on many pins and lobes at once, which gives high shock-load capacity and stiffness in a compact package. Fine Cyclo data separates allowable peak (acceleration) torque from emergency-stop torque, and lists torsional stiffness, for example up to 1,100 Nm/arcmin on the FC-A45G and 540 Nm/arcmin on the DA-Series. When sizing, check the acceleration torque of each repeating move against the allowable peak, emergency stops against the emergency-stop rating, and the tilting moment against the output bearing. The FC-A45G and DA-Series pages both give an input speed of 6,150 rpm.

Industries served

Sumitomo groups Fine Cyclo under robotics, where it is used in robot joints, positioners and turntables. Its wider gearmotor, industrial gearbox and centrifuge drive ranges serve general and heavy industry. Our robotics and cobots page covers the other components a joint needs.

Global and UK presence

The EMEIA website lists subsidiaries in Germany (European headquarters in Markt Indersdorf, Cyclostraße 92, +49 8136 660), Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, India and Turkey. In the UK the listed company is SM-Cyclo UK Ltd., 29 Bergen Way, Hull HU7 0YQ, telephone +44 1482 790340. UK engineers can deal with SM-Cyclo UK directly or use the contact form on the EMEIA site.

What to have ready for a Sumitomo enquiry

Quote the full model code from the nameplate (series, frame size, ratio and mounting type) and whether the unit is a reduction kit without output bearing or a complete gearbox. Give the motor make and flange, required output torque at acceleration and in emergency stop, output speed, duty cycle, tilting moment and any hollow-bore requirement.

Sourcing Sumitomo parts through Specify Motion

Specify Motion is independent of Sumitomo Drive Technologies and Sumitomo Heavy Industries and is not affiliated with them. We can help source Fine Cyclo and other Sumitomo gearboxes for an existing machine, or propose cycloidal, strain-wave or planetary gearboxes from our supply network that meet the same published figures. Find a replacement takes the model code and the requirement.

Sumitomo Drive Technologies history: key dates

1. 1926Lorenz Braren invents the Cyclo reducer mechanism in Germany
2. 1931Cyclo GmbH established; Cyclo production begins in Munich
3. 1938Licence agreement between Cyclo GmbH and Sumitomo
4. 1939Sumitomo begins Cyclo production at Niihama Works, Japan
5. 1984Cyclo mechanism for precision control launched
6. 2003Sumitomo Drive Technologies introduced as global brand; 10 millionth Cyclo reducer
7. 2011Hansen Industrial Transmissions NV becomes wholly owned
8. 2018Lafert Group of Italy becomes wholly owned
9. 2019Invertek Drives becomes wholly owned

Sumitomo Drive Technologies gearboxes

Cycloidal gearbox

Fine Cyclo A-Series (F1, F2, F3, FC types)

Single-stage zero-backlash cycloidal precision reducers with concentric shafts, allowable peak torques from 335 to 7,610 Nm, ratios 29:1 to 179:1 and lost motion under 1 arcmin.

Cycloidal gearbox

Fine Cyclo C-Series

Cycloidal precision reducer with a large 99 mm hollow bore for cables and services, allowable peak torques of 540 to 6,278 Nm, ratios 29:1 to 119:1 and lost motion under 1 arcmin.

Cycloidal gearbox

Fine Cyclo DA-Series

Zero-backlash cycloidal reducer with optional hollow shaft, allowable peak torques of 613 to 4,000 Nm, momentary peak up to 6,377 Nm and ratios 29:1 to 119:1.

Cycloidal gearbox

Fine Cyclo UA-Series

Double-stage high-torque-density cycloidal reducer with concentric shafts, allowable peak torques from 625 to 30,000 Nm, ratios 60:1 to 283:1 and lost motion under 0.5 arcmin.

Cycloidal gearbox

Fine Cyclo T-Series

Double-stage high-precision cycloidal reducer with concentric shafts, allowable peak torques from 417 to 11,000 Nm, ratios 81:1 to 171:1 and lost motion under 0.5 arcmin.

Cycloidal gearbox

Fine Cyclo W-Series

Cycloidal precision reducer with an extremely large hollow shaft and built-in pre-stage on a parallel input, allowable peak torques of 6,130 to 10,000 Nm, ratios 64:1 to 87:1 and lost motion under 1 arcmin.