EP-HAB Series High Rigidity Planetary Gearbox — ≤3 Arcmin Ultra Precision, IP65 Sealed

The EP-HAB is the flagship of the Korea Ever-Power planetary gearbox line — the series specified when every arcminute of backlash and every newton-metre of stiffness directly impacts product quality or process yield. With single-stage backlash held to ≤3 arcmin and torsional stiffness reaching 50 N.m/arcmin on Frame 145, the EP-HAB high rigidity planetary gearbox sets the performance ceiling for the entire catalogue.

Unlike the round-flange or square-flange output designs used in the EP-PL/PF and EP-PBL/PBF families, the EP-HAB planetary reducer features a square housing with four-face mounting provisions. This rigid planetary gearbox box-section construction increases the housing’s resistance to bending and torsion under combined radial and axial loads — a critical advantage in CNC machining centre rotary tables and industrial robot base joints where the planetary reducer must absorb cutting forces and payload moments simultaneously.

Four frame sizes — EP-HAB60, EP-HAB90, EP-HAB115, and EP-HAB145 — span motor power from 100 W to 4,500 W. IP65 sealing, OP2 split-type input coupling, and single-stage or two-stage configurations are standard across the series.

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A square cross-section has a higher second moment of area than a circular cross-section of equivalent material volume. This means the EP-HAB housing deflects less under the bending moments created by radial loads on the output shaft — directly preserving gear mesh alignment and maintaining the ≤3 arcmin backlash specification under working loads.

The flat faces of the square housing provide four orthogonal mounting surfaces with tapped bolt holes. Engineers can mount the EP-HAB planetary gearbox on any face without adaptors or brackets, simplifying integration into machine frames where the output axis orientation may need to change between machine variants.

The EP-HAB90 permits a maximum radial load of 3,100 N and axial load of 1,950 N at the output face — significantly higher than the EP-PBL/PBF at equivalent torque class. This enables direct-drive mounting of heavy cutting tools, robotic end-effectors, and indexing platens without additional support bearings.

◆ CNC Machining Centre Rotary Tables

Fourth-axis and fifth-axis rotary tables on CNC machining centres position workpieces under cutting loads that combine radial force, axial thrust, and overturning moment simultaneously. The EP-HAB145 at ≤3 arcmin and 50 N.m/arcmin torsional stiffness maintains angular accuracy under the full cutting force envelope. The 3,100 N radial load capacity absorbs side forces from the milling cutter without requiring supplementary support bearings.

◆ Industrial Robot Base & Wrist Joints

The J1 base joint and J6 wrist joint of a six-axis robot experience the highest moment loads and demand the tightest repeatability. The EP-HAB90 or EP-HAB115 provides the combination of ≤3 arcmin backlash and high radial load capacity that these joints require. The square housing simplifies integration into the robot casting, and IP65 sealing protects against the welding spatter, coolant mist, and abrasive dust common in automotive manufacturing cells.

◆ High-Speed Pick-and-Place Theta Axis

Component placement machines rotate the pick head at speeds exceeding 600 rpm with precise angular locking at each placement position. The EP-HAB60 at ≤3 arcmin provides the angular settling accuracy needed to place 0201-size passive components at throughput rates above 40,000 CPH. The 7 N.m/arcmin stiffness enables the servo controller to achieve settle times below 8 ms, directly improving the machine’s placement rate. Connect the output through a drive shaft where the nozzle assembly requires an articulating coupling.

◆ Precision Optical & Metrology Positioning

Telescope mounts, interferometer stages, and coordinate measuring machine turrets require sub-arcminute repeatability with zero perceptible backlash during slow bidirectional scanning. The EP-HAB60 at 3:1 single-stage reduction provides the smoothest possible motion with minimum lost motion at direction reversals, keeping the total angular uncertainty at the measurement probe below the instrument’s inherent uncertainty budget.

This high rigidity planetary gearbox accepts a wide range of servo motor shaft diameters through its OP2 split-type hoop clamp coupling. The split design allows motor replacement without disturbing the gearbox mounting — essential for precision applications where the reducer is accurately aligned to the machine frame.

Output shaft options: S1 (smooth), S2 (keyed), and T (custom specification). For frequent-reversing applications such as servo press drives and oscillating mechanisms, the OP4 reinforced coupling is recommended instead of the standard OP2.

Achieving ≤3 arcmin backlash consistently demands the tightest manufacturing controls in the Korea Ever-Power production system. The EP-HAB planetary gearbox undergoes a dedicated production workflow:

The EP-HAB planetary gearbox sits at the apex of the Korea Ever-Power precision drive platform. When the full ≤3 arcmin specification is not required, alternative series offer significant cost savings:

“We replaced a premium European brand on our CNC 4th-axis rotary table with the EP-HAB115. Measured backlash was 2.7 arcmin — better than the stated ≤3 arcmin specification. Angular positioning accuracy under a 1,200 N cutting load remained within ±0.01°. At roughly 45% of the European unit’s price, this is now our standard specification.”

“The EP-HAB90 handles our SCARA robot J1 base joint perfectly. We tested 50,000 pick-and-place cycles at full payload and saw no measurable backlash degradation. The square housing simplified our robot arm casting design — no need for a separate adapter plate. IP65 passed our automotive paint shop environmental validation without issues.”

“We evaluated three brands for our high-speed chip shooter theta axis. The EP-HAB60 delivered settle time of 7.2 ms at the test bench — the best of all three units tested. Placement rate increased from 38,000 to 42,000 CPH after the retrofit. Korea Ever-Power’s engineering team responded to our initial technical query within 3 hours. Outstanding support.”

“Solid product for the price. The EP-HAB145 drives our heavy-duty indexing table for aerospace part machining at 5:1 ratio. The 720 N.m output torque handles our largest workpiece without issue, and the 50 N.m/arcmin stiffness keeps deflection within our CMM verification tolerance. Only minor note: lead time was 18 days for our specific shaft configuration.”

“We build precision optical positioning stages for the Korean semiconductor industry. The EP-HAB60 at 3:1 ratio provides the smoothest motion and lowest lost motion we have measured from any planetary gearbox at this size. Bidirectional repeatability verified at ±0.005° over 10,000 cycles. This is now the benchmark for all our new stage designs.”