Determination of the backlash of a cycloidal reducer with graphic method

Abstract

In mechanical engineering, the requirements of the industrial sector demand, in the shortest posible time, improvements such as accuracy in movements, efficiency in energy consumption and lower costs. The cycloidal speed reducer seems to be one of the solutions, due to features inherent in this kind of speed reducer as efficiency, accurate movement, high rate of speed reduction and high capability of transferred torque. In this paper are described the components and their manufacture tolerances of a two-stage cycloid speed reducer, aimed to be coupled to a stepper motor; as well as how it speed reducer works. Also, the basis of a graphical method to calculate the backlash, from the manufacture tolerances, are established and the steps to apply this method in a computer aided design package are detailed described. Finally, an example is proposed wherein the results are analyzed.