News - Ceramic Lead Screws: A Key Technology for Advancing Humanoid Robot Dexterous Hands

As the degrees of freedom (DoF) in robotic dexterous hands increase—for example, Tesla’s single hand now boasts 22 DoFs and employs a micro lead screw solution—the demands on actuation components intensify. Ceramic lead screws, with their lightweight, high strength, low noise, and low heat generation properties, are emerging as a superior alternative to traditional metal screws, especially in high-precision, compact applications like humanoid robot hands.

Why are Ceramic Lead Screws a Focal Point for Dexterous Hands?

Performance demands in dexterous hands, such as those on Tesla’s Optimus, are extreme. These systems require numerous, very small lead screws packed into a tiny space, where traditional steel ball screws face challenges like unacceptable noise levels, significant temperature rise, loss of positioning accuracy, and potential jamming. These issues are critical in consumer-facing (ToC) and office (ToB) environments where quiet operation and reliability are essential.

The ceramic lead screw solution addresses these pain points directly. It typically uses a composite structure where the screw and nut remain metal, but the traditional steel balls are replaced with balls made from advanced ceramics like silicon nitride (Si₃N₄).

Core Advantages of Ceramic Lead Screws: Beyond Light Weighting

The properties of silicon nitride ceramic balls translate into significant system-level improvements. The following table compares the key performance metrics of ceramic lead screws against traditional metal counterparts:

Performance Metric	Ceramic Lead Screw (Silicon Nitride Balls)	Traditional Metal Lead Screw (Bearing Steel)	Advantage Interpretation
Density	~3.3 g/cm³	~7.85 g/cm³	60% lighter, significantly reducing the weight of the end-effector and lowering movement inertia .
Hardness	≥78 HRC	Lower than ceramic	Higher strength and wear resistance, significantly extending the lead screw’s service life .
Friction Coefficient	As low as 0.001	Higher than ceramic	Low-noise, low-friction operation, generating less heat and providing a smoother user experience .
High-Temperature Resistance	Up to 1200°C	Prone to softening at high temps	Excellent thermal stability, ensuring joint reliability during long-term operation .
Corrosion Resistance	Resistant to acids, alkalis, salt spray	Susceptible to rust	Wider environmental adaptability, suitable for special industrial or outdoor scenarios .

In practical terms, the ceramic screw solution can enable over 70% weight reduction in the drive components, potentially leading to a total weight reduction of more than 1 kilogram for both hands. The low friction and thermal stability are crucial for allowing hands to operate continuously without overheating.

Market Potential and Application Prospects

The value of ceramic lead screws extends beyond performance, with promising applications in two key areas:

Humanoid Robot Dexterous Hands: This is the most direct and potential-rich market. As leading manufacturers like Tesla push towards mass production, the dexterous hand becomes a core incremental component. Analysis suggests that if ceramic lead screws are widely adopted, 1 million humanoid robots could create a market space of approximately 10.4 billion RMB (around $1.46 billion USD) for upstream core component suppliers.
New Energy Vehicle 800V High-Voltage Platforms: The 800V platform places higher demands on bearing corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and insulation. Ceramic balls, as natural insulators, can prevent electrical current from breaking down the oil film, making them increasingly necessary. It is projected that by 2035, the total market space for ceramic balls in both robotics and new energy vehicles could grow to nearly 40 billion RMB.

Technical Challenges and Supply Chain Landscape

The manufacturing of ceramic lead screws, particularly the high-precision ceramic balls, involves significant technical barriers. The process includes powder preparation, forming, sintering, and precision machining, with yield rate control being a key challenge.

Currently, Chinese companies like Lixing Shares and Guoci Advanced Materials are actively developing their capabilities in ceramic ball processes. Through innovation in raw materials and processing techniques, they have achieved substantial cost reductions of 70-90%, breaking the price monopoly of overseas manufacturers and paving the way for commercial application.

Looking ahead, as humanoid robot mass production advances and the new energy vehicle industry grows, ceramic lead screw technology is poised to become a key growth area in precision transmission.

I hope this overview is helpful! If you have further interest in specific applications or technical details, feel free to ask.

Post time: Dec-12-2025