Robotics components from China: actuators, sensors and where they are made

Aslan runs robotics components as a factory search project, quoted per project: it screens the factories in China that make the part, visits the shortlist, negotiates in Chinese, pulls samples and hands you a ready-to-order file. Aslan holds no standing partner factory in robotics or electronics and has no engineers, so your drawing or specification is the reference for every part: Aslan does not review parameters or designs. Visits, audits and inspections are billed at a day rate with travel at cost, and when Aslan manages the order it charges the buyer a commission of 4 to 8 percent of order value, as shown on the pricing page.

Aslan’s direct vacuum relationship covers wet and dry and cordless vacuums. Robot vacuums go through the same factory search as everything else on this page. This page is general information and does not replace legal or engineering advice.

Component families and the parameters to specify

MEMS means micro-electro-mechanical systems; nm is nanometres.

Where the industry sits in China

The International Federation of Robotics reported in September 2025 that 295,000 industrial robots installed in China in 2024, 54 percent of global demand, with Chinese suppliers holding a 57 percent share at home. Clusters sit in the Yangtze River Delta around Shanghai and in the Pearl River Delta around Shenzhen. Local figures below use different definitions and years.

This page names no suppliers. A factory search screens makers against your specification.

Checks when buying in low volume

• Sample policy in writing: quantity, price, and whether samples come from the production line
• Datasheet figures measured on your own bench: torque, backlash, encoder resolution, sensor range
• Communication protocol and firmware documented, with an agreed process for firmware changes
• EU export controls checked if you will ship parts or robots out of the EU
• Chinese export licence status confirmed by the supplier before you pay
• Pre-shipment inspection booked: how inspection and acceptance quality limits work

EU side. Under the Dual-Use Regulation (EU) 2021/821, exporting an item listed in Annex I needs an authorisation. Annex I includes entry 2B007 for robots with characteristics such as radiation hardening, and 7A001 for certain accelerometers. Article 4 can require authorisation for unlisted items when the authority informs the exporter of a weapons-related or embargoed military end use, and an exporter who knows of such a use must notify the authority. Check it before you export from the EU, including re-exports of a finished robot.

China side. China’s Ministry of Commerce published its Dual-Use Items Export Control List, in force since 1 December 2024, covering about 700 items. Ask the supplier whether your part is listed before ordering.

EU rules for a finished robot

• Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 applies from 20 January 2027, the date set by a corrigendum to the published text. Its Annex I, Part A, the machinery whose conformity assessment must involve a notified body, an independent assessment body designated by an EU country, lists at point 6: “Machinery that has embedded systems with fully or partially self-evolving behaviour using machine learning approaches ensuring safety functions that have not been placed independently on the market, in respect only of those systems.”
• Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU covers wireless products: safety and health, electromagnetic compatibility and spectrum use. The Commission states that its cybersecurity rules have applied since August 2025.
• AI Act. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 moved the Machinery Regulation to Section B of the AI Act’s Annex I. AI safety requirements for machinery will be added to the Machinery Regulation by delegated acts that apply by 2 August 2028.
• Customs codes depend on the exact part and its use. Leave classification to your broker.

The wider compliance picture is in EU compliance for AI wearables and connected devices.

Questions buyers ask

Does Aslan have robotics factories it works with? No. Every robotics part is a factory search project from your specification.

Can you recommend an actuator brand? No. This page names no suppliers; the search compares makers against your parameters and your samples.

Do we need an export licence to buy robot parts from China? It depends on whether the part is on China’s dual-use list. Confirm with the supplier before payment.

When does the Machinery Regulation apply? From 20 January 2027.

We need the whole product built. Where do we look? See AI hardware contract manufacturing.