Identification of Gear Noise for Industrial Robots

산업용 로봇의 기어소음 특성 고찰

An industrial robot noise has various noise sources such as gears, motors, bearings, and controller fans. Among these, gears are the most dominant source for noise. The gear noise, caused by tooth profile, elastic deformation, machining error and wear, is directly correlated with the transmission error of mating gear. Due to the fact that has several axis and many gears, it is difficult to understand the characteristics of the vibration and noise of robots. In this study, some advanced analysis techniques based on digital signal processing such as power spectrum, time spectral map, RPM map, and etc., were applied for locating the dominant frequency components of the robot noises and identifying their sources. In addition, sound quality analysis was performed in order to evaluate the operator's annoyance. The noise and vibration measurements were carried out at several points during the operation of each axis considering the effect of load and posture of the robot. Eased on the results, proper countermeasures to reduce excessive noise level have been suggested considering the characteristics of sources.