How to model a robot joint that is actuated with torque amplified through a gearbox in Simulink / SimMechanics?

Dear Community,

I have been trying to model a joint that is actuated through a motor. The motor is attached to a gearbox (160:1) and the output of the gearbox is used to actuate the joint. I am trying to include the effect of inertia amplification of the gearbox, so that when a external torque is applied to the joint, the amplified motor inertia results in a torque that counteracts the applied torque. When the motor produces a torque on the other hand, only the motor inertia and the reduced inertia of the robot arm should be felt by the motor.

I have tried several configurations but can't seem to find a solution that works, even though this should be a very common problem since most joints are actuated through a gearbox.

I have attached a screenshot of two models I tried, but did not work.

The model is built in SimMechanics Generation 1 on R2016a.

Thank you very much for your help!

Answer 1

[Steve Miller]

I recommend you look at the tutorial on this documentation page:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/physmod/sm/ug/satisfying-gear-assembly-requirements.html

It shows the combination of blocks you need to model this system properly.

--Steve