Torsional Stiffness Analysis of a Cycloid Reducer using Hertz Contact Theory

Hertz 접촉이론을 이용한 사이클로이드 감속기의 비틀림 강성해석

The cycloid reducer has very high efficiency, high ratios, high stiffness and small size, in comparison with a conventional gear mechanism, which makes it an attractive candidate for limited space and precision application such as industrial robot. There are several publications on analysis and design of the cycloid reducer, however, it was assumed that the contact stiffness of pin rollers and cycloid disk is constant regardless of their contact geometry. Moreover, the torsional stiffness of the cycloid reducer couldn't be calculated due to the assumption. In this paper, we present a new procedure of calculating torsional stiffness of the cycloid reducer using Hertz contact theory. First, conventional force analysis of the cycloid reducer is briefly reviewed. Then, iterative numerical calculation procedure of the contact stiffness is proposed based on the Hertz contact theory where the contact stiffness depends on the contact force. In addition, total torsional stiffness of the cycloid reducer is estimated considering its rolling element bearing stiffness. The torsional stiffness of the cycloid reducer is dominated by the rolling element bearing stiffness since the contact stiffness of the cycloid disk is too large.