Accuracy improvement of electrically preloaded rack-and-pinion drives through model-based compensation of transmission errors

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Alexander Verl
• Subject Area: Production Automation and Assembly Technology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 521502188

Modern manufacturing equipment is expected to deliver high production quality coupled with high dynamic performance. Both properties are largely determined by the drive systems installed. Especially machines with long travels and high acceleration and feed forces often rely on rack-and-pinion drives (RPD). To negate the negative effects of backlash in the gearing, electrically preloaded drives are commonly used. As a result, the non-ideal transmission behavior, which is caused by manufacturing and assembly tolerances as well as structural deformations, represents a dominant source of error. Within the scope of the project, the aim is to investigate how the accuracy of electrically preloaded RPD can be increased by compensating for the transmission errors. Therefore, the non-ideal transmission behavior of electrically preloaded RPD will be investigated comprehensively through experimental studies. Subsequently, a methodology for the identification and modeling of transmission errors as well as the integration of an error compensation into the control system of electrically preloaded RPD will be developed. On completion of the project, the developed approach will be implemented and validated on a test bench and verified for robustness.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Dr.-Ing. Armin Lechler