Dynamometers
Actuator quality and performance vary widely. At Paladin we help you understand and optimize your hardware.
We test actuators, motors and gearboxes quickly. Our in-house test equipment lets us rapidly test your device, analyze the results and deliver a comprehensive report within days.
We build standardized and custom dynamometer systems for R&D and engineering departments and for production lines to empower our clients.
The Value of Actuator Testing
During Design:
Key components can be tested and compared on a level playing field.
Risks can be taken with materials, tolerances, and design details while the consequences of a failure are low.
During Initial Builds:
First article actuators can be ran through worst case duty cycles, shaking out failure modes early, and providing initial data on system lifespan.
During Production:
Each actuator can be characterized with key measurements; efficiency, backlash and encoder accuracy being fed back into the robots controller to compensate.
Defective or out-of-spec actuators can be caught early on, saving valuable assembly and troubleshooting time and enabling clear feedback to vendors and CMs
Our Architecture
Our modular design allows for quick pivots and scaling.
As a starting point a single Cabinet and Test Cell are paired together to cover one testing need: i.e. testing actuators up to 300 Nm.
To expand torque and speed coverage more Test Cells are added: i.e. a 30 Nm Test Cell to test large motors. Test Cells can be easily swapped as needed.
To parallelize testing more Cabinets are added, with each Cabinet controlling one Test Cell at a time.
Our standard test cell line spans from 3 Nm up to 1000 Nm peak torques, covering the range of motors, gearboxes and actuators found on humanoid robots.
Ground truth measurements are handled via high precision sensors. We spec high quality Beckhoff ADCs, Renishaw optical encoders, and non-contact torque cells on all of our systems by default.
Customized dynamometers and test cells are available on request to satisfy specialty needs such as gearbox testing. Quick-change interfaces can be customized for faster throughput in production.
Results
Our software framework leverages Python for flexible and expandable processing of test data. As a starting point the following tests are pre-scripted into our codebase.
Actuator Tests
Measured output torque across the torque / speed envelope
Backlash and stiffness characterization
Encoder accuracy and runout QC
Torque ripple and modal frequency analysis
Motor Tests
Cogging and torque ripple characterization
Kt / Km characterization
Gearbox Tests
Backlash and stiffness characterization
Efficiency across the torque / speed envelope
Torque ripple and modal frequency analysis
