Reflex Real-Time Simulation of Flexible Multi-Body Systems for Machine Control (ReFlex)

Project Title

ReFlex - Real-Time Simulation of Flexible Multi-Body Systems for Machine Control

Keywords

Real-Time, Control, Simulation

Abstract

While traditional production machines obtain high precision despite dynamic motions and process forces through massive design with high mechanical stiffness and high power actuators, today’s concepts strive to achieve economical and ecological efficiency through lightweight design, including optimisation of mechanical structures and application of lightweight materials. Even higher mass reduction would be desirable, but this often leads to diminished mechanical stiffness and damping. Advanced control concepts are technically capable of providing good disturbance rejection for this type of machines mechatronically, but they have often been rejected by the manufacturing industry because of the strong theoretical background and expert knowledge which is required for their application to practical problems.

A more intuitive approach employs knowledge of a machine’s varying instantaneous properties as scheduling input to controllers with variable parameters. To minimise the effort for acquiring information about the instantaneous properties through measurement and storing the resulting large amounts of data on a machine control, we propose to use simulation models. Today, simulation models are typically created during the design of a machine, and methods for their analysis are available, but to implement the proposed approach, new specialised modelling, calculation and simulation techniques have to be developed that allow for computations in real-time[1] on the machine control computer. This is the aim of the project proposed here.

To reach this goal, we will analyse and develop methods for the modelling of systems of coupled flexible bodies for real-time simulation and model reduction techniques to accommodate limitations of machine control computers. We will perform a systems theoretic analysis of the modelling approaches and will develop methods to compute control-relevant properties in real-time. A thorough analysis of the area of applicability of the approach concludes the first funding period. In the second funding period, we will establish algorithms for the real-time simulation of state variable trajectories and will integrate the real-time parameter extraction and simulation with advanced control algorithms to reduce vibrations, path deviation and process instabilities.

Further Informations

• EcoFIT
• SimTech

Contact Person

• Dipl.-Ing. Peter Sekler