Power Module Temperature in Simulation of Robotic Manufacturing Application

The paper presents a lifetime consumption estimation model of 6 degrees of freedom industrial robot arm. The primary goal of the research is to provide estimated lifetime data of semiconductor power modules of robot axis power supply circuit, providing new opportunities for cost-saving, predictive maintenance, with highly customized input for different manufacturing applications. Evaluation of thermal stress and estimation of isolated gate bipolar transistor current are completed, based on MATLAB model translating KUKA robot program code to electrical energy consumption, which is a novel approach. Energy losses are considered in the model to provide accuracy of the inverter load current. The simulation results prove that lifetime consumption depends on a robot application type, for more agile movement programs with large power amplitudes, such as handling, the degradation in power modules is significant compared to slower applications, such as gluing or welding. Various options for future development are suggested and considered in the paper.