A Novel Methodology for Incipient Ball Screw Backlash Measurement Using Capacitive Sensor

Published

February 25, 2025

Author(s)

Marcella Miller, Xu Han, Gregory Vogl, Anita Penkova, Xiaodong Jia

Abstract

Creating a reliable indicator to describe the degradation of ball screws remains a challenging task. Current vibration-based prognostic methods are vulnerable to unknown noise or system disturbances. To address this challenge, our study offers a new method to monitor the developing trend of incipient backlash in a ball screw assembly using a capacitive sensor. The suggested method for measuring backlash is non-contact and in-situ, providing direct evidence of ball screw degradation. Furthermore, a rigorous backlash measurement model, referred to as the path error model, is brought forward. This model serves as the foundation for a proposed procedure for backlash measurement. The method is validated in a run-to-failure experiment, and the results indicate a promising upward trend in the backlash that agrees with the vibrational signatures.

Citation

IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement

Volume

74

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1109/TIM.2025.3545168

Local Download

Keywords

Ball Screw, Linear Motion Control, Predictive Maintenance, Smart Manufacturing

Citation

Miller, M. , Han, X. , Vogl, G. , Penkova, A. and Jia, X. (2025), A Novel Methodology for Incipient Ball Screw Backlash Measurement Using Capacitive Sensor, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, [online], https://doi.org/10.1109/TIM.2025.3545168 , https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=957869 (Accessed March 14, 2025)