LM Systems BV is THK’s partner since the early 90’s and operates from Veenendaal, the Netherlands as a stock holding distributor and engineering partner for THK Europe. THK’s creative ideas and unique technology made the company worldwide pioneers in the development of the Linear Motion (LM) Guide mechanism. Today, our LM Guide devices are an indispensable component of mechanical and electronic systems in a wide variety of industries. THK has also developed many other unique mechanical components, including the Ball Spline, Ball Screws and Link Balls, which are manufactured by us for supply to customers worldwide.
A machine’s moving parts can be classified as rolling, linear, or a combination of both. With the development of rolling bearings about 110 years ago, rolling contact became the standard method for accomplishing rolling motion. This brought about a great technological revolution. Rolling contact not only saved motion energy, but also kept frictional resistance to a minimum and thus greatly improved the performance of machinery. However, even though a similar development in the field of linear motion would have been ten times as valuable, linear motion through rolling contact was a long time in coming. THK solved the problem, previously considered too difficult, of linear motion with rolling contact by applying its unique technological capabilities, and in 1972, it became the first company in the world to develop and commercialize the Linear Motion (LM) Guide. Our linear motion system enabled rapid improvements in the accuracy, speed and labor-saving potential of advanced mechatronic instruments. With THK’s LM Guides, machine tools and industrial robots become capable of ultra-precise operations, and semiconductor-manufacturing devices can operate in submicron units. More recently, the system has been applied in liquid crystal manufacturing lines, railway carriages, assistive vehicles, medical equipment, skyscrapers and residences, and amusement devices. The use of LM Guides has truly expanded beyond all prior boundaries.
About THK
THK’s R&D department is based in the Technology Center established in Tokyo in 2005. Approximately 150 researchers work in research and development. The technology development control department plays a central role in product development, and our project-oriented development system is making product development speedier than ever. New organizations such as MRC Center and CAP project groups have also been formulated, to help with product development and expansion into new fields. Since 2005, our technology center has employed the slogan “making products that move people.” Based on the key ideas of “large-scaling,” “micro-fabrication” and “attenuation of mechanical vibrations,” we will promote the development of next-generation products designed to meet the requirements of a market five ten years and beyond into the future, including needs that customers do not yet recognize. In addition, as we continue to refine and develop our most of our global manufacturing and sales systems. We will expand our product development systems in appropriate places including the Americas, European and Asian countries and other areas, so that we can respond even more effectively and efficiently to customer needs and fully satisfy their requirements.
