The present paper deals with research of strength characteristics in manufacturing engineering. The introduction of the work describes findings about the importance of the given subject. The publication is divided into two basic parts, namely the theoretical and the practical part. The theoretical part provides a detailed description of theoretical assumptions on solutions in the field of research, and it also describes optimization of structural units in manufacturing engineering, while the practical part analyses strength characteristics of the selected structural unit which is the drive of a manufacturing machine. The conclusion of the work presents the obtained results.