MECHATRONIC ANALYSIS OF A COMPLEX

TRANSMISSION CHAIN

Simone Galbersanini (1), Matteo Galimberti (1), GianAntonio Magnani (1),

Giorgio Mazzola (2), Paolo Rocco (1)

(1) Politecnico di Milano,

Dipartimento di Elettronica e Informazione,
Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
(2) Pietro Carnaghi S.p.A.
Via Salvo D'Acquisto, 7, 20020 Villa Cortese (MI) - Italy

Abstract: Mechatronic models of complex mechanical systems allow to study the

contribution of each component to the overall system performance. Reliable simulators
can be assembled, that can be used to test alternative choices made at component level. In
this paper reference is made to a complex transmission chain used to actuate the work-
table of a large size machine tool. A linear model is first derived and a simple procedure
is proposed to quantify the contribution of each compliant element to the first vibration
modes of the transmission. Then a detailed simulator of the transmission chain, assembled
in the Dymola environment, is described and its remarkable ability in reproducing the
experimental data is demonstrated. Copyright © 2006 IFAC

Keywords: Modal analysis, modelling, simulation, virtual prototyping,

1. INTRODUCTION transmission chain might well induce low frequency

Mathematical multi-domain models, where
mechanical, electrical, hydraulic and control
components can be easily integrated, are powerful
tools for the design of mechatronic systems. A
particularly important output of these tools is the
prediction of the effect of design choices made at
component level on system performance (Hewit,
1996), (Coelingh, et al., 2002), (Reinhart and
Weissenberger, 1999), (Van Amerongen, 2003)
System performance of a mechanical system, such as
a machine tool, a robot, or a production machine, is
generally quantified in terms of the regularity of the
motion of the load and specifically in terms of the
amount of the overall vibrations of the mechanical
structure, in closed loop with a motion controller.
The limiting factors of these performance are
associated to the first vibration modes of the machine
(Goodwin et al., 1999), (Middleton, et al., 1999),
(Ferretti, et al., 2003). While distributed flexibility of
the bodies is not generally a critical issue in this
respect, concentrated compliances in the
resonant modes. In a mechatronic setting of the
control problem, the performance can be maximized
either by optimizing the design of the controller or by
reconsidering the mechanical design of the
transmission, selecting those components that are
mainly responsible for the first resonance.
The problem is however that, with the complex
mechanical structures of the transmission chains used
to actuate the axis of large size machine tools, it is
neither immediate to figure out what degree of
freedom, among the several ones in the transmission,
is responsible for the first resonances, nor easy to
assemble a simulation model, accounting for the
complex interactions between elements of the
transmission chain. Moreover, including in the model
nonlinear effects such as friction and backlash in the
couplings seem to be essential to reproduce
experimental results, particularly when they show
asymmetric behaviour of the system in different
directions of motion.

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The present paper addresses all the above issues.
Reference is made to the transmission of the first
axis of a large size machine tool. The axis moves a
work-table where large objects (like parts of
aircrafts) are machined using the other axes, not
considered in the present paper. The transmission
chain from the motor to the work-table is
characterized by seven degrees of freedom, while
three additional degrees of freedom are introduced
by the compliant interaction with the ground of the
box containing the entire reductor.
The single components of the transmission chain
have been carefully modelled. The model parameters
(in particular the stiffness constants) have been
expressed in terms of the physical and geometrical
data, by means of relationships that can be used in
the design of new machines. A linear model of the
transmission has been assembled in this way. Fine
tuning of the most uncertain parameters allow to
reproduce with remarkable accuracy the frequency
response experimentally evaluated on the real
machine.
A modal analysis has then been performed on the
linear model: by studying the eigenvectors of the
state matrix of the system it is possible to quantify
the contribution of each compliant element of the
transmission to the first resonant modes of the
mechanical system. A straightforward graphical
visualization of these results, based on the
representation of the normalized elongations of the
different elements in each vibration mode, is
proposed as an effective tool to inspect the vibration
behaviour of the machine.
Finally, in order to match as closely as possible the
experimental time responses, a detailed simulation
model of the transmission has been assembled in
Dymola, a multi-domain software environment
featuring the modelling language Modelica
(Mattsson, et al., 1998). Several physical phenomena
not considered in the linear model used for modal
analysis have been added, like the brushless motor
together with drive electronics, discontinuous friction
and backlash. Excellent reproduction of both motor
and load velocities has been achieved, including an
asymmetric behaviour of the load motion at varying
direction of motion.
The validated simulation model lends itself to be
used as a virtual prototype (Ferretti, et al., 2004) of
the machine, suitable to test in a safe and flexible
way alternatives, both in the mechanical and in the
control designs.
2. ANALYTICAL MODEL OF THE
TRANSMISSION
In order to assemble a model of a real machine tool,
it is necessary to make the simplifications needed to
identify the degrees of freedom that effectively
contribute to the exchange of the mechanical actions.
Moreover the physical parameters must be
determined up to the desired level of detail. In this
study, which concerns the dynamic behaviour of a
transmission, the attention is primarily focused on the
parameters related to inertia, stiffness and damping
of the axis.
2.1 Overall structure of the transmission
The transmission, used to transmit the rotary motion
from the motor to the work-table is sketched in Fig.
1.
Fig. 1. Sketch of the transmission
The rotation axis of the tool machine is composed of
three transmissions in series: the motor shaft is
connected to a belt which drives a coupling between
a worm gear and a worm wheel. The worm wheel is
in turn connected to a pinion, which is in gear with
the plat wheel, responsible for the rotation of the
table.
The entire reduction gear is enclosed in a box
mounted on slide ways and is pressed against the plat
wheel of the work-table, so as to obtain the recovery
of the backlash between the teeth of the last stage of
reduction.
First of all a linear model of the transmission has
been realized, with the main goal to identify, through
modal analysis, the compliant elements responsible
for the dynamic behaviour of the transmission. For
this, the number of the degrees of freedom accounted
for has been progressively increased, in an effort to
obtain from the model a frequency response
matching as closely as possible the experimental
data. A total number of ten degrees of freedom have
been identified in this way: seven of them are
rotational and account for the torsional compliances
induced by the belt, by the transmission shaft and by
the coupling between gears. The remaining three
degrees of freedom are translational and have been
introduced in order to include the effects of axial
vibrations of the worm gear and of the entire
reduction box in the longitudinal and transversal
directions.
2.2 Components and their models
The model of the transmission has been derived
composing the dynamic equations of the single
elements. Fig. 2 shows, as an example, the coupling
between the motor and the driving pulley, whose
230
equations are easily derived as a two-mass compliant n12· τ12
system.
q3 Ft · R 3
q2 τ23 τ23
K23 K7
Jm τm τm,1 τm,1 J1 τ12 Fa
D23 J3
m3
D7

Driven Pulley

Worm Gear
J2 y7
Km,1
qm q1

Driving Pulley Fig. 4. Coupling between the driven pulley and the
Motor
worm gear
Fig. 2. Motor and driving pulley coupling

F 12 q& m (s) q& (s)

q1 F 12 G vm (s) =
G mt (s) = l (8)
τ (s) q& m (s)
Kc q2
where q& m and q& l are the motor and the table
velocities, respectively, while τ is the torque applied
R1 R2 by the motor.
Kc
These transfer functions allow to study the system
F 12 behaviour in closed loop with the position/velocity
F 12
Driving Pulley Driven Pulley controller.

Fig. 3. Modelling of a belt drive

Fig.3 shows a sketch of the belt drive. The equations
used to model the torque acting on the driving pulley
are the following ones:
τ 12 = K12 ( q1 − n12 ⋅ q 2 )
K12 = 2 ⋅ K c ⋅ R 12
⎛R ⎞
n12 = ⎜ 2 ⎟
⎝ R1 ⎠
where K12 is the linear stiffness of the belt, while R1
and R2 are the radii of the driving and the driven
pulleys, respectively.
The coupling between the worm gear and the worm
wheel is particularly interesting. It has been modelled
considering separately torsional stiffness and linear
stiffness of the worm gear. In this way it is possible
to account for the fact that the contact force, which is
responsible for the transmission of motion, can be
decomposed both along the longitudinal direction
(Fa) and along the circumferential direction (Ft).
In this way, the oscillatory motion of the components
is excited in both its degrees of freedom, the
translational (y7) and the rotational (q3) ones (Fig. 4).
A linear elastic model has been assembled
composing the equations of the various elements.
This model has been used for modal analysis, as
detailed in Section 3, and to define the mechanical
transfer functions of the system, Gvm e Gmt:
3. MODAL ANALYSIS
One of the most crucial aspects in the dynamic
analysis of a transmission is the identification of the
elements that are responsible for the limitations of
performance in the control of the machine. This
(1) performance limitation is generally associated to the
first natural frequencies of the mechanical system.
(2)
In order to identify these critical elements in the
(3) transmission, a methodology, based on the modal
analysis of the linear model developed in Section 2,
has been applied. The methodology consists in
computing and visualizing the elongations of the
elastic elements of the model, based on the analysis
of the modes associated to each natural frequency.
More specifically, computing the differences
between two consecutive elements of the
eigenvectors of the system, the elongation of each
elastic element, connecting the bodies whose degrees
of freedom are expressed by the said couple of
elements of the eigenvectors, can be computed.
Suitable normalizations of these elongations allow an
effective comparison of the contribution of each
compliant element to the vibration mode.
3.1 Graphical analysis of the models
In order to visualize how each compliant element
contributes to the vibration behavior of the
transmission, a representation based on histograms
has been adopted. Out of the ten vibration modes of
the system, Fig. 5 shows just the first four.

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 corresponds to a torsional compliance ∆θ8 of the
work-table:

R6

Tooth of Rim
gear wheel
∆ϑm1 ∆ϑ12 ∆ϑ23 ∆ϑ34 ∆ ϑ45 ∆ ϑ56 ∆ϑ7 ∆ϑ8 ∆ϑ9 ∆ϑ8

Fig. 5. Graphical analysis of vibration modes.

∆L 8 Tooth of λ y8
Each subplot represents the vibration mode Pinion
associated to the corresponding frequency. Within
each subplot, the height of each bar is related to the
elongation of each elastic element in the i_th K8
Initial position
vibration mode. The sign of each bar is of minor
Final position
importance, as it merely indicates whether the
relevant elastic element is in compression (+) or in
traction (−). Fig. 6. Kinematic influence of box translation
In the first subplot in Fig. 5, the rigid motion (0 Hz
∆L8 ⋅ tan ( λ )
frequency) is shown: all the inertial elements are in ∆θ8 = ⋅ n tot (9)
motion with the same velocity as the motor. All the R6
elongations of the generalized springs are actually
almost zero and all the components of the Table 1 clarifies the meaning of the symbols used in
transmission are moving in phase. eq. (9).

On the other hand the analysis of the first vibration Table 1 Quantities used in expression (9)
mode (7.59 Hz) shows that the main contribution is
related to the term ∆θ 8 , introduced by the spring λ Pressure angle of tooth
ntot Total ratio of gearing
connecting the ground to the box of the reductor. R6 Rim gear wheel pitch radius
This first natural frequency can be therefore mainly ∆L Linear displacement
ascribed to the longitudinal motion of the reductor
∆θ Angular displacement
(y8), excited by the radial component of the force
generated by the gear coupling between the pinion
and the plat wheel of the work-table. This
information is of course of utmost importance for
4. OBJECT ORIENTED MODELLING
mechanical designers, since it allows to identify the
components of the transmission chain directly
While being essential for modal analysis and in
responsible for the loss of dynamic performance of
particular for the analysis developed in Section 3, the
the machine tool. Direct intervention on these
linear model is not fully adequate to represent
components might therefore prove to be extremely
complex behaviours of the transmissions, clearly
beneficial in order to enhance system performance.
related to nonlinear effects. A detailed simulation
model of the transmission has then been assembled in
In a similar way the subplots related to the second
the Dymola environment. Dymola, supporting the
and to the third vibration modes can be interpreted.
object-oriented modelling language Modelica, allows
In particular it is worth noting the influence of the
to assemble the simulation in a quite natural way,
rigidity of the hub connecting the helicoidal wheel to
thanks to the acausal paradigm implied by the
the pinion in the second resonance (49.57 Hz). In the
connection of modules through physical interfaces.
last subplot (related to the frequency at 145.77 Hz),
While available libraries of Modelica models can be
the effect of the deformation of the belt is evident.
exploited, new modules can be added as well, and
progressive complications of the model can be
Finally it must be stressed that, in order to compare
included, in order to match as closely as possible the
heterogeneous elongations, it is necessary to attribute
experimental data gathered on the real machine. For
to each linear compliance a corresponding rotational
example, the model of the brushless motor, together
effect, through careful geometrical considerations
with its drive, has been introduced, as well as the
and accounting for the various reduction ratios.
friction and the backlash in the couplings. Fig. 7
As an example, Fig. 6 concerns the elongation of the
shows the top level view of the Dymola simulator of
ground spring ∆L8, pressing the reductor box, which
the transmission.

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Fig. 7. Top level view of the simulator
Modelling static and Coulomb friction is
particularly important in order to reproduce
experimental data. Friction has been modelled with
the classical discontinuous model represented in
Fig. 8
τr
τpd
D
τc
q&
τc
D τpd
Fig. 8 . Model of Friction
Fig. 9. Bearing Friction Block in Modelica
Fig. 10. Stop Block in Modelica
In the Dymola environment this non linear effect
can be modelled using the “Bearing Friction” (Fig.
9) and the “Stop” (Fig. 10) blocks, for rotational
and translational joints, respectively. More
sophisticated models are also available, accounting
for micro displacements at velocities close to zero.
However the classical modelling proved to be
adequate to introduce the nonlinear effects
necessary to interpret the experimental data, and no
further complications on friction modelling has
been pursued in this work.
5. MODEL VALIDATION
The validation of the model has been carried out
comparing experimental results, gathered on the
machine thanks to some utilities provided by the
CN, to the outputs of the simulator.
Both time responses and frequency responses have
been compared. Reference will be made to the
speed control loop (Fig. 11). As it is common in
industrial motion control, the speed loop is closed
on the motor side, the speed measurements being
actually numerical differentiations of position
measurements obtained with an encoder. A PI
(Proportional Integral) regulator is used, whose
tuning is here inessential, as the goal of the analysis
is just the validation of the model.
Speed Motor
Setpoint Speed
+_
Speed Current Process
Control (PI) Control (PI) [Gvm (s)]
Fig. 11. PI Speed control system
First of all the closed loop frequency response has
been experimentally identified. For this a white
noise has been used as the reference signal of the
loop. The utility of the CN computes the amplitude
and phase of the frequency response. These have
been compared to the same quantities evaluated on
the liner model described in Section 2. As it can be
seen from Fig. 12, the analytic curve nicely
approximates the experimental curve up to 300 Hz,
exhibiting a very good matching of the
antiresonance and resonance in the amplitude Bode
diagram, located at frequencies 120 Hz and 150 Hz,
respectively.
233

Fig. 12. Comparison of experimental and simulated
frequency responses.
As far as time domain comparisons are concerned,
the response of the system to a velocity pulse of 1 s
has been reproduced: starting from rest, the
velocity setpoint is first given a negative step and,
after 1 s, the setpoint is set back to zero. The full
Modelica model has been used to compare the
output of the simulator with the experiments.
Fig. 13 shows the comparison, the upper plot
concerning motor velocity, the lower plot load
velocity. As it can be seen, the matching between
simulated and experimental data is excellent.
Notice that the load velocity exhibits an
asymmetric behaviour, as the dynamics after the
two steps in the setpoint are quite different. This
behaviour has been captured by the simulation
model thanks to the introduction of the nonlinear
effects induced by friction.
Fig. 13. Comparison of experimental and simulated
time responses (upper plot: motor velocity;
lower plot: load velocity).
Finally it is also worth mentioning that the
comparison between motor and load velocities in
Fig. 13 suggests that the PI controller of the speed
loop is tuned for an excessively large bandwidth, as
the control of the motor velocity is almost perfect
(exhibiting an extremely fast dynamics) while the
load oscillates with a frequency corresponding to
the first antiresonance (couple of conjugate zeros)
of the system (so called “locked frequency”).
6. CONCLUSIONS
High performance control of machine tools can be
achieved provided that a reasonable knowledge of
the dynamic model of the mechanical system is
available. Performance limitations are indeed
related to the first vibration modes of the system,
generally associated to some compliant elements in
the transmission chains from the motor to the
actuated axis. While the identification of the
resonance frequencies is relatively easy, thanks to
the utilities provided by the commercial CNs,
deriving models of the transmission chain suitable
to reproduce the experimental data and selecting
the components of the transmission that are mainly
responsible for the first resonant modes are difficult
tasks. This paper has addressed these issues,
detailing the model of a complex transmission used
in a machine tool and proposing a method, based
on modal analysis, to quantify the contribution of
each compliant element of the transmission to each
vibration mode. The resulting simulator is a useful
tool to test new design choices obtained as
outcomes of the proposed modal analysis.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Assistance in the experiments from Mr. Francesco
Biffi of Siemens S.p.A. is acknowledged.
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