Reverse Engineering Run Amok: Chinese Gearbox Manufacturing.

Things are really coming to a head in the geared motor industry, as Chinese gearbox manufacturers continue to produce look-alike models and dump them on markets around the world.  In Australia, copies of nearly every SEW-Eurodrive offering are being supplied as substitutes to the real thing, not as pass-offs but as explicit alternatives.

Not content with the SEW range, Motorvario wormboxes are rich pickings for the copiers, as are Cyclodrives and even Var-Spe units.  Chinese manufacturers have reverse-engineered nearly every geared motor that is available on the market today.

Many gearbox brands are manufacturing components in China and importing them for local assembly, which manages to keep a handle on production quality.  Unfortunately, the range of fully-imported copies is poor by comparison and I sincerely hope that customers do not suffer for it too soon.