Characterization and experimental evaluation of gear transmission errors in an industrial robot

Purpose – This paper proposes a simple technique for assessing the effect of gear transmission errors in a six‐axis industrial serial robot, as these errors can vitally affect the industrial robot's positioning accuracy. Design/methodology/approach – The experimental procedure is developed using a laser interferometer system to measure bidirectional linear position errors for an ABB IRB 1600 industrial robot. A simple technique based on fast Fourier transformation (FFT) analysis is devised and implemented for the characterization, evaluation, and quantification of gear transmission errors. Structural deformation and backlash error are also discussed. Findings – The authors found that the major sources of error affecting the performance of the robot come from joints two and three. They also found that eccentricity errors, structural deformations, and backlash are the most important sources of error affecting the accuracy and the repeatability of the industrial robot studied. Additional tests show that the robot's first joint has relatively poor bidirectional repeatability. Practical implications – The usefulness of a laser tracker (or any other large range portable 3D measurement system) is questionable for assessing – let alone analyzing in depth – the gear transmission errors of some of today's industrial robots. The authors demonstrate in this paper that a laser interferometer system can successfully measure gear transmission errors very accurately. The proposed methodology is simple, efficient, and easy to use for the characterization and quantification of the errors. Originality/value – This work is the first to detail the use of the laser interferometer system for the characterization of the gear transmission errors of an industrial robot. A methodology has been developed and implemented for very accurately quantifying the effects of gear transmission errors, structural deformations, and backlash. The proposed methodology greatly simplifies the measurement set‐up and accelerates error quantification.