Multi-sensor disturbance force measurement for compliant mechanical structures

It is described, how the exciting force at a certain location of a compliant mechanical structure can be determined by consideration of the system's dynamics in combination with stochastic estimation (Kalman Filter). This is shown by means of test systems and experimentally verified with forces applied to the TCP of the spindle slide of a milling machine prototype with contactless magnetic guides. Important influence factors are explained and the impact of changes in the mechanical structure is considered. The presented approach is applicable to any compliant mechanical system that can be expressed in state space notation, which is demonstrated by means of a MEMS system.