Abstract
In this paper an approach to measure gears transmission error (TE) by means of optical encoders is discussed and the consequent software tool is presented. Two incremental encoders with 18000 angular divisions and sinusoidal outputs have been used and a 5 MHz for channel data acquisition card has been utilized to acquire the signals. A Matlab software has been created to manage the whole data acquisition and processing: setting the proper frequency of acquisition, the discrete signals acquired from the two encoders are reconstructed by interpolation, improving the accuracy of the acquisition. Moreover, the one-per-revolution signals of the two encoders can be used to measure TE always from the same pair of teeth in contact. Data are elaborated and transmission error curves can be plotted for any number of revolutions of the input shaft and always from a selected pair of teeth in contact. By means of this procedure, transmission error can be measured for different values of torque and speed. Comparisons between experimental measurements and theoretical results of a validated numerical model are shown to confirm the validity of the measurement system.
