Constructive methods to reduce thermal influences on the accuracy of industrial robots

Abstract

Due to their kinematics and their mobility, industrial robot systems offer a flexible, adaptable basis. An influencing variable, which is particularly relevant for processes with long process times, is the thermal heating and the associated thermal drift of the tool center point. The maximum deviation from the actual nominal position can reach up to 1.5 mm. To counteract these displacements, a cooling strategy or a targeted preheating can be installed. Both possibilities were evaluated under constructive, energetic and economic aspects and implemented on at least one axis of an industrial robot. Furthermore, a structural thermal decoupling and optimized design of the respective components were carried out. The results can help to reduce the influence of thermal heating and the associated thermal drift of the TCP by structural support without using cost-intensive measures with additional hardware and software on external computers for compensating the errors.