Thermal Behavior and Tooth Profile Modification of an Industrial Robot Joint Transmission System

Abstract

Gear is an important transmission component in an industrial robot joint transmission system, and its performance directly affects system machining performance. It is easy to have a local high temperature during gear operation, which causes gear failure. Therefore, a study of the steady thermal characteristics of the gear meshing process is conducted. The distribution rule of the gear steady-state temperature field is revealed by the finite element analysis. Based on the technical indices of maximum contact temperature, minimum bonding safety factor, transfer error, and average contact stress, the optimum modification scheme is determined. The results show that the maximum temperature is located near the tooth top and root, which is higher than the tooth body temperature. By modification, the gear temperature can be reduced and the anti-gluing ability of the gear can be improved. The research results provide significant guidance for gear transmission system thermal design and thermal check.