Computer-aided integrated design for mechatronic systems with varying dynamics

Some mechatronic systems have different spatial configurations or operation positions, and, as a consequence, their dynamic behavior, described by their most significant eigenfrequencies and mode-shapes, may vary in the configuration space. This inevitably affects the performance and the stability of the control system. Regarding the design of mechatronic systems with variable configuration, two main issues are treated in this paper: (i) the derivation of a parametric model able to capture the varying dynamics and the control actions, (ii) the integrated design of the structure and the controller. To cope with these issues, a parametric model is derived using a flexible multibody system technique based on the finite element method. A global modal parameterization is applied for model-order reduction, yielding a concise description of the flexible multibody model. A linear parameter varying controller is derived via interpolation of local controllers for the reduced models. This methodology is applied to a pick-and-place assembly robot with a gripper carried by a flexible beam. Eventually, design tradeoffs are evaluated considering the performance of the active system for different structural configurations.