Design and implementation of a diagnostic system for measuring high-precision reducers

Abstract

At present, the industry is in a phase where there is an effort to maximize the automation of production processes. In many places, human power is being replaced by automated machines and industrial robots. Automation makes it possible to increase work efficiency, significantly reduce production costs and also increase the quality of the final product. A precondition for increasing the quality of production is to achieve high accuracy of specialized machines and industrial robots, resp. the accuracy of positioning of individual parts. Due to the drive system and the achieved speed, the gear unit includes a gearbox. Reducers used in robotic joints are the most complex subsystems of robots. For very precise applications, the designers will reach for the so-called backlash-free reducers for their characteristic properties (minimum values of backlash in teeth, angular transmission errors, hysteresis and others). Despite many positive properties, high-precision reducers also show their characteristic nonlinearities, which influence the behavior of the whole system and it is so important to know their behavior. Given these facts, this article deals with the design and implementation of mechatronic diagnostic equipment for the identification of nonlinearities, static and dynamic parameters, vibrodiagnostic measurements and measurements of the efficiency of bearing reducers.