Adjustment of Robot Joint Gear Backlash Using the Robot Joint Test Excitation Technique

Abstract

A technique has been developed for the precise adjustment of gear backlash of the joints of an industrial robot. Bandli mited random excitation signals were injected into the drive system of the joint under test, and the output response of the joint link was monitored using an accelerometer. The coher ence function was measured and used to adjust the joint gear backlash to minimize the effect of the backlash nonlinearity on the joint drive system. Tests were performed while the joint was both loaded and unloaded and for several different steady-state positions. The test results indicate that this technique can be used for both the adjustment of the joint gears and the periodic automatic inspection of their condition.