Search Results (19)

The dynamic error is the dominant factor affecting multi-axis CNC machining accuracy. Predicting and compensating for dynamic errors is vital in high-speed machining. This paper proposes a novel prediction-model-based approach to predict and compensate for the ball screw feed system’s dynamic error. Based on the lumped and distributed mass methods, this method constructs a parameterized dynamic model relying on the moving component’s position for electromechanical coupling modeling. Using Latin Hypercube Sampling and numerical simulation, a sample set containing the input and output of one control cycle is obtained, which is used to train a Cascade-Forward Neural Network to predict dynamic errors. Finally, a feedforward compensation strategy based on the prediction model is proposed to improve tracking performance. The proposed method is applied to a ball screw feed system. Tracking error simulations and experiments are conducted and compared with the transfer function feedforward compensation. Typical trajectories are designed to validate the effectiveness of the electromechanical coupling model, the dynamic error prediction model, and the feedforward compensation strategy. The results show that the prediction model exhibits a maximum prediction deviation of 1.8% for the maximum tracking error and 13% for the average tracking error. The proposed compensation method with friction compensation achieves a maximum reduction rate of 76.7% for the maximum tracking error and 63.7% for the average tracking error. Full article

Many applications in manufacturing, physical therapy, and machining require linear motion stages to move back and forth at specified rates without exceeding the capabilities of the stages. Growing interest has also been in using integrated servo motors for these applications, which would benefit from the integrated nature of the motor, feedback device, and drive electronics in a single package. This paper introduces a methodology for trajectory planning for the reciprocating motion for a linear motion device. The methodology can be implemented on any device, and a simplified version can be applied to the control software for integrated servo motors. The approach develops motion trajectories, such as triangular or trapezoidal, using a dynamic model of the device and the motor’s torque–speed profile characteristics. The simplified version of the methodology was implemented using an integrated servo motor driving a ball screw stage. Tests were conducted at various motion rates and loads. The experimental results show high accuracy between the predicted and measured motion rates, particularly for rates below three cycles per second. These results suggest that the developed methodology can be a valuable tool for predicting the performance of systems that use integrated servo motors for reciprocating motion applications. Full article

Enhancing the transparency of high-transmission-ratio linear actuators is crucial for improving the safety and capability of high-force robotic systems having physical contact with humans in unstructured environments. However, realizing such enhancement is challenging. A proposed solution for active body weight support systems involves employing a macro–mini linear actuator incorporating an electrorheological-fluid brake to connect a high-force unit with an agile, highly back-drivable unit. This paper introduces the use of an electromagnetic (EM) brake with reduced rotor inertia to address this challenge. The increased torque capacity of the EM brake enables integration with a low-gear-ratio linear transmission. The agile translation of the endpoint is propelled by a low-inertia motor (referred to as the “mini”) via a pulley-belt mechanism to achieve high transparency. The rotor of the EM brake is linked to the pulley. Damping modulation under high driving force is achieved through the adjustment of the brake torque relative to the rotational speed of the pulley. When the brake is engaged, it prevents any relative motion between the endpoint and the moving carrier. The endpoint is fully controlled by the ball screw of the high-force unit, referred to as the “macro”. A scaled prototype was constructed to experimentally characterize the damping force generated by the mini motor and the EM brake. The macro–mini linear actuator, equipped with an intrinsic failsafe feature, can be utilized for active body weight support systems that demand high antigravity force. Full article

This study designs a differential dual-drive micro-feed mechanism, superposing the two “macro feed motions” (“motor drive screw” and “motor drive nut”) using the same transmission of “the nut rotary ball screw pair” structure. These two motions are almost equal in terms of speed and turning direction, thus the “micro feed” can be obtained. (1) Background: Thermal deformation is the primary factor that can restrict the high-precision micro-feed mechanism and the distribution of heat sources differs from that of the conventional screw single-drive system owing to the structure and motion features of the transmission components. (2) Discussion: This study explores the thermal field distribution and thermal deformation of the differentially driven micro-feed mechanism when two driving motors are combined at different speeds. (3) Methods: Based on the theory of heat transfer, the differential dual-drive system can be used as the research object. The thermal equilibrium equations of the micro-feed transmission system are established using the thermal resistance network method, and a thermal field distribution model is obtained. (4) Results: Combined with the mechanism of thermal deformation theory, the established thermal field model is used to predict the axial thermal deformation of the differential dual-drive ball screw. (5) Conclusions: Under the dual-drive condition, the steady-state thermal error of the nut-rotating ball screw transmission mechanism increases with the increase in nut speed and composite speed and is greater than the steady-state thermal error under the single screw drive condition. After reaching the thermal steady state, the measured thermal elongation at the end of the screw in the experiment is approximately 10.5 μm and the simulation result is 11.98 μm. The experimental measurement result demonstrates the accuracy of the theoretical analysis model for thermal error at the end of the screw. Full article

The drive at the center of gravity (DCG) concept-based twin-ball-screw drive mechanism (TBSDM) is vital in automated factories for its robustness and reliability. However, changes in the worktable mass or position result in changes in the center of gravity (CG), significantly affecting the system’s dynamic properties. In this regard, this paper introduces a novel analytical model using improved receptance coupling to analyze vibrations in four modes. A mathematical framework for the twin TBSDM is generated, and the effect of changing the worktable position–mass on each mode is examined. The applicability of the proposed method is verified based on dynamic experiments that were carried out on a TBSDM of a CNC grinding wheel machine tool. After thoroughly analyzing the experimental and theoretical results, it is revealed that changing the worktable position primarily influences the rotational and axial vibrations of the twin ball screw (TBS). Furthermore, changes in the worktable mass significantly affect the coupling vibration among the TBSs and rotors or bearings. Moreover, in terms of performance, the variances between the theoretical and experimental natural frequencies are consistently below 5%. Thus, the proposed method is promising for the improvement of the modeling and analysis of the TBSDM. Full article

This paper presents a minimally invasive surgical robot system for endoluminal gastrointestinal endoscopy through natural orifices. In minimally invasive gastrointestinal endoscopic surgery (MIGES), surgical instruments need to pass through narrow endoscopic channels to perform highly flexible tasks, imposing strict constraints on the size of the surgical robot while requiring it to possess a certain gripping force and flexibility. Therefore, we propose a novel minimally invasive robot system with advantages such as compact size and high precision. The system consists of an endoscope, two compact flexible continuum mechanical arms with diameters of 3.4 mm and 2.4 mm, respectively, and their driving systems, totaling nine degrees of freedom. The robot’s driving system employs bidirectional ball-screw-driven motion of two ropes simultaneously, converting the choice of opening and closing of the instrument’s end into linear motion, facilitating easier and more precise control of displacement when in position closed-loop control. By means of coordinated operation of the terminal surgical tools, tasks such as grasping and peeling can be accomplished. This paper provides a detailed analysis and introduction of the system. Experimental results validate the robot’s ability to grasp objects of 3 N and test the system’s accuracy and payload by completing basic operations, such as grasping and peeling, thereby preliminarily verifying the flexibility and coordination of the robot’s operation in a master–slave configuration. Full article

Vibration in state-of-the-art machining impacts accuracy by diminishing the machine’s dynamic precision and the workpiece surface quality. The dependability of the cutters and productivity becomes a severe problem for optimizing the computer numerical control machine tools’ (CNCMT) efficiency. Therefore, investigating the twin ball screw drive system vibration properties as well as its corresponding control measures is vital. This paper thoroughly reviews the recent works on methods of analyzing and controlling vibration for dual-driven feed systems (DDFS). The research on vibration control technologies, parameter identification, and system modeling are identified and summarized; the merits and drawbacks of various methods are discussed for comparative purposes. Furthermore, the asymmetrical relation between DDFS and single-driven feed systems are thoroughly discussed based on their dynamic properties. Finally, based on existing studies, related research prospects are described systematically, and these research directions are sure to markedly contribute to developing methods for dampening vibrations on DDFS of CNCMT. Full article

In this paper, we present a parallel structure controller for flexible ball screw drive systems with dynamic variations mainly caused by variations in table position and workpiece mass. The controller consists of two parts: a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) controller with the aim of tracking reference trajectories with high response and accuracy and an interpolated gain-scheduled controller used to restrain system vibration. To damp out the varied resonant modes, the controller is obtained by a set of μ-synthesis linear time-invariant (LTI) controllers interpolated via Youla parameterization. Comparison experiments are conducted to confirm the performance of the proposed controller with a ball screw drive experimental setup. We demonstrate that the parallel structure controller achieves high performance in tracking, vibration suppression and disturbance rejection. Full article

Dual-ball-screw feed drive systems (DBSFDSs) are designed for most high-end manufacturing equipment. However, the mismatch between the dynamic characteristic parameters (e.g., stiffness and inertia) and the P-PI cascade control method reduces the accuracy of the DBSFDSs owing to the structural characteristic changes in the motion. Moreover, the parameters of the P-PI cascade controller of the DBSFDSs are always the same even though the two axes have different dynamic characteristics, and it is difficult to tune two-axis parameters simultaneously. A new application of the combination of the grey wolf optimization (GWO) algorithm and the P-PI cascade controller is presented to solve these problems and enhance the motion performance of DBSFDSs. The novelty is that the flexible coupling model and dynamic stiffness obtained from the motor current can better represent the two-axis coupling dynamic characteristics, and the GWO algorithm is used to adjust the P-PI controller parameters to address variations in the positions of the moving parts and reflect characteristic differences between the two axes. Comparison of simulation and experimental results validated the superiority of the proposed controller over existing ones in practical applications, showing a decrease in the tracking error of the tool center and non-synchronization error of over 34% and 39%, respectively. Full article

This paper introduces a novel dual-drive micro-feeding system (DDMS) to obtain precise micro-feed synthetic motion by rotating both the screw and the nut, which eliminates the effects of nonlinear friction at low micro-feeding speeds and has good resistance to external disturbances. For the DDMS system, firstly, the frictional force of the screw–ball–nut contact surface is analyzed, and the dynamic system model based on the unique frictional coupling model is established for the DDMS. Secondly, a velocity squared term is added to the Stribeck model to characterize the influence of the frictional coupling on the system. The correctness of the modified model is verified through experiments and frictional parameters identification by combining with the genetic algorithm (GA). The dynamic trend of the frictional parameters with different speed combinations is studied, and the method of fitting parameters using the modified Stribeck model is proposed. Finally, the DDMS three closed-loop error compensation model and the proportional derivative position controller with the friction feedforward compensator are put forward to realize the accurate position-tracking function. Experiment results show that the method reduces the average tracking error by about 60% compared to the conventional PD controller. Full article

A ball screw is a mechanical part that converts rotational motion into translational motion, but when it receives an excessive axial load, permanent deformation occurs inside. As ball screws are mostly used for precise driving, permanent deformation has a fatal effect on the operation of the system. As this permanent deformation mostly occurs on the contact surface between the ball and other parts, it is necessary to observe the change of internal stress caused by the contact of the parts in order to determine whether permanent deformation occurs. Theoretical calculations or finite element analysis (FEA) are mainly used for the analysis of rotating parts, but existing methods have difficulty in observing stress changes occurring on the narrow contact surface of ball screws. In this paper, a new FEA model that can efficiently estimate the stress caused by internal contact inside the ball screw is presented. This model is a synthetic model that applies theoretical calculation results to a 3D FEA model. Factors derived by theoretical calculation include the shape of the contact surface where the ball and other parts meet and the contact pressure at the contact surface, which were derived by a method based on Hertz contact theory. As a result of observing the internal stress distribution of the ball screw estimated by the model, it was confirmed that the shape was similar to that of the actual stress distribution and, compared with the analysis results of other conventional methods conducted with the same mesh shape, the results of the model presented in this paper were more valid. Full article

Recently, due to the miniaturization of electronic products, printed circuit boards (PCBs) have also become smaller. This trend has led to the need for high-precision electrical test equipment to check PCBs for disconnections and short circuits. The purpose of this study is to improve the position repeatability of the platform unit up to ±2.5 μm in linear stage type test equipment. For this purpose, the causes of the position errors of the platform unit are analyzed. The platform unit holding the PCB is driven by a single-axis linear ball screw drive system offset from its geometric center due to design constraints. The yaw rotation of the platform is found to have a dominant effect on position repeatability. To address this problem, adding balancing weights to the platform unit and adjusting the stiffness of the LM Guides are proposed. These methods reduce the yaw rotation by moving the centers of mass and stiffness closer to the linear ball screw actuator. In the verification tests, the position repeatability was decreased to less than ±1.0 μm. Full article

Due to the errors of the servo system and the errors of the ball screw drive system, the positioning errors inevitably occur in the process of CNC machine tools. The measurement of traditional equipment is limited by a fixed measurement radius and a single degree of freedom, which can only be measured within a fixed plane. In this paper, four different positioning errors of CNC machine tools are first measured at full scale by using J-DBB (a modified double ball bar with one spherical joint connecting two bars) method. The J-DBB device uses a three-degree-of-freedom spherical joint as a connecting part, which realizes that the measurement radius can be continuously changed, and the measurement space is a spatial sphere. First, the principle of the J-DBB method is briefly introduced. Next, four typical positioning errors of CNC machine tools are analyzed and examined, which contain the uniform contraction error of ball screw and linear grating, periodic error of the ball screw and linear grating, interference of measurement devices error, and opposite clearance error. In the end, the trajectories of the CNC machine tool spindle with a single positioning error are simulated by using the J-DBB method. The results reveal that this method can be used for the positioning error of machine tools, which helps to better understand the spatial distribution of CNC machine tool errors and provides guidance for the reasonable selection of working areas to improve the machining accuracy of parts. Full article

In this paper, a variable preload force control structure utilizing piezoelectric actuators (PEAs) is proposed for the stability control of the feed drive system. Three PEAs are installed between the two nuts to exert preload force on the ball screw, leading to an elimination or substantial reduction of the backlash, which is the main cause of instability of feed drives. This results in better machining precision throughout the operation process. In addition, the force analysis of the whole preload feed drive system is established. Moreover, the hysteresis of the PEAs is determined with reference to the Prandtl–Ishlinskii (P-I) model. Lastly, the P-I model-based feedforward controller is applied to the feed drive system to improve the resultant machining precision. Based on the modeling and experiments, to demonstrate the efficacy and high-performance of the proposed P-I model-based control algorithm against conventional PID control system, comparative experiments are conducted, showing satisfactory results. Full article

In the context of automated driving, Electric Power Steering (EPS) systems represent an enabling technology. They introduce the ergonomic function of reducing the physical effort required by the driver during the steering maneuver. Furthermore, EPS gives the possibility of high precision control of the steering system, thus paving the way to autonomous driving capability. In this context, the present work presents a performance assessment of an EPS system designed for a full-electric all-wheel-drive electric prototype racing in Formula Student Driverless (FSD) competitions. Specifically, the system is based on the linear actuation of the steering rack by using a ball screw. The screw nut is rotated through a belt transmission driven by a brushless DC motor. Modeling and motion control techniques for this system are presented. Moreover, the numerical model is tuned through a grey-box identification approach. Finally, the performance of the proposed EPS system is tested experimentally on the vehicle through both sine-sweep profiles and co-simulated driverless sessions. The system performance is assessed in terms of reference tracking capability, thus showing favorable results for the proposed actuation solution. Full article