Automated Assembly of Mechatronic Products

The synergetic combination of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronics and information technology enables mechatronic products to offer high levels of flexibility and performance. This interdisciplinary interaction requires changes in product structure and accordingly adapted in production strategies. The approach outlined in this article shows the specific use of the product structure with a view to increasing assembly efficiency. The product is actively integrated in the assembly process by setting up an IT link and making use of its sensor/actuator equipment and software, thus providing support for the production system. This makes it possible to increase the efficiency of automation while at the same time reducing assembly costs.     

Mechatronic Systems for Machine Tools

This paper reviews current developments in mechatronic systems for metal cutting and forming machine tools. The integration of mechatronic modules to the machine tool and their interaction with manufacturing processes are presented. Sample mechatronic components for precision positioning and compensation of static, dynamic and thermal errors are presented as examples. The effect of modular integration of mechatronic system on the reconfigurability and reliability of the machine tools is discussed along with intervention strategies during machine tool operation. The performance and functionality aspects are discussed through active and passive intervention methods. A special emphasis was placed on active and passive damping of vibrations through piezo, magnetic and electro-hydraulic actuators. The modular integration of mechatronic components to the machine tool structure, electronic unit and CNC software system is presented. The paper concludes with the current research challenges required to expand the application of mechatronics in machine tools and manufacturing systems.     

An integrated approach for simulation of mechatronic systems applied to a hexapod robot

Mechatronics is the integration of mechanism, electronics and computer control to produce a functional system. The design process involves application of many engineering areas and various approaches are possible. Computer programs are available in different engineering areas. Engineers define systems and inputs, and user-friendly programs establish mathematical models, solve them and give simulation outputs. In this study, SolidWorks is used for solid modeling and assembly, CosmosMotion is used for rigid body dynamics, CosmosWorks is used for finite element vibration and strength analyses, and Adlink module is used for actuator control. The integration of the design process is achieved with a main program developed in Visual Basic, which uses the application programming interface (API) capabilities. The procedure is applied to a hexapod robot. The robot has been produced to develop and test the procedure. CosmosMotion results are verified by the analytical results obtained from the dynamic equations of the hexapod. Besides known kinematic workspace definition of robots, kinetic and rigidity workspace concepts are introduced. Mechatronic systems can be designed and evaluated easily and effectively by using the design process developed in this work.     

Optimal control for chatter mitigation in milling—Part 1: Modeling and control design

Active structural methods constitute a promising way to mitigate chatter vibrations in milling. This paper presents an active system integrated into a spindle unit. Two different optimal control strategies are investigated. The first one only considers the dynamics of the machine structure in the controller design and minimizes the influence of cutting forces on tool tip deviations. The second one takes explicitly the process interaction into account and attempts to guarantee the stability of the overall closed-loop system for specific machining conditions. The modeling and formulation used for both strategies are presented in this first part. A simulation allows the comparison of their respective working principle. The validation of the proposed concept in experimental conditions is described in the second part.     

Optimal control for chatter mitigation in milling—Part 2: Experimental validation

The productivity of milling operations in chatter-free conditions can be improved using active structural methods. This paper presents the use of a mechatronic system integrated into the spindle unit combined with two different optimal control strategies. The first one aims to minimize the influence of cutting forces on tool tip deviations. The second one explicitly considers the process interaction and attempts to stabilize the overall closed-loop system for specific machining conditions. The first part of this two-part paper describes the modeling and formulation used for both strategies. In this second part, the experimental validation of the proposed concept is presented.     

A systematic approach to design high-performance feed drive systems

A systematic design methodology for the mechatronic system composed of mechanical and control subsystems is proposed to design high-speed and high-precision feed drive systems. Strict mathematical modeling and identification processes of the subsystems are performed in this paper. Parametric studies and circular motion experiments in the x–y table are conducted to investigate the influence of interactions on the performance of feed drive systems. Based on analyses of the system performance according to design and operating parameters, a nonlinear constrained optimization problem including the relevant subsystem parameters of the feed drive system is formulated. The multi-objective optimization procedure and normalization technique are introduced in the design process. A Pareto optimum solution set is applied to investigate the relationships between objective functions. The effectiveness of the proposed design methodology is verified through numerical case studies.     

A Model-Based Method to Develop PLC Software for Machine Tools

It is difficult to develop PLC software for modern machine tools due to their increasing functionality and the resulting complexity. One approach to managing this is the model-based development and simulation-aided verification of control software. A suitable method for this is described in this paper. It focuses on a method for modeling the control functionality and a simulation system for commissioning the developed programs using a virtual model of the machine.     

Towards the robotic characterization of the constitutive response of composite materials

A historical and technical overview of a paradigm for automating research procedures on the area of constitutive identification of composite materials is presented. Computationally controlled robotic, multiple degree-of-freedom mechatronic systems are used to accelerate the rate of performing data-collecting experiments along loading paths defined in multidimensional loading spaces. The collected data are utilized for the inexpensive data-driven determination of bulk material non-linear constitutive behavior models as a consequence of generalized loading through parameter identification/estimation methodologies based on the inverse approach. The concept of the dissipated energy density is utilized as the representative encapsulation of the non-linear part of the constitutive response that is responsible for the irreversible character of the overall behavior. Demonstrations of this paradigm are given for the cases of polymer matrix composite materials systems. Finally, this computational and mechatronic infrastructure is used to create conceptual, analytical and computational models for describing and predicting material and structural performance.     

Ultrafast Tool Servos for Diamond Turning

This paper presents the design, implementation and control of a new class of fast tool servos, based on a novel ultrafast motor concept. A prototype ultrafast tool servo with a stroke of 30 |im is described. Experimental results demonstrate that the ultrafast tool servo achieves 23 kHz closed-loop bandwidth, as low as 1.7 nm RMS error, 500 G peak acceleration at 10 kHz open-loop operation, and 2.1 nm (0.04%) error in tracking a 3 kHz sinusoid of 16 |im p-v. A 1 kW linear power amplifier and a 1 MHz sampling rate high-speed real-time computer are designed to drive and control this ultrafast tool servo. A digital controller including loop shaping and adaptive feedforward cancellation is designed to control the tool motion.     

机电产品色彩设计同工作环境的关系

从自然环境、工业环境、人文环境三个方面入手，论述了机电产品的色彩设计同工作环境的关系，并提供了机电产品主体色彩配置方案与对策。