Power tools: model-based control, simulation and tool accuracy
How power-tool makers shorten control development with models and tests in the loop and keep screwdriving and positioning accurate.
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Control software for screwdriving drives is hard to staff and to test
What happens. Screwdriving and air-motor tools now carry electronics and software that control torque, angle and speed in real time. The code runs on small controllers, and it has to be tested before the drive exists. Few people can build the models and the tests that stand in for hardware.
What it costs. Hardware prototypes carry the test load, bugs are found late, and each software change means another round on the bench. Roles for control and real-time engineers stay open for a long time.
Why the usual fix fails. Hiring more software developers does not bring control knowledge. Testing only on the real tool is slow and puts the hardware at risk.
How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. From your control code structure, motor data and bench records, I check how much can be tested on a model first and where real-time limits bite. The fixed-price remote diagnosis tells you what a model-based set-up would need and which part can be done outside the team.
Background: Predictive control on embedded hardware
No simulation framework for tool mechanics, drives and batteries
What happens. A power tool is a mechanism, a motor, an electronic drive and a battery working together. Each team simulates its own part, if at all. Nobody can say early how the whole tool behaves under a tough load or on a weak battery.
What it costs. Surprises appear in prototypes: a drive that overheats, a battery that sags, a clutch that shocks the gears. Each one costs a design loop and tool samples.
Why the usual fix fails. Separate models in separate tools do not talk to each other. Building one framework needs people who know mechanics, electrical drives and control, and who are not available in many engineering teams.
How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. From component data, test curves and measurements, I check which of the interactions matter most and how a small, joined model could answer them. The fixed-price remote diagnosis tells you whether a system simulation would pay off and what it would take to build.
Measuring and positioning tools lose accuracy to deflection and backlash
What happens. Tools that measure or position on a construction site, including robots on site, are used on uneven floors and with long arms. Deflection under load and backlash in joints move the tip away from where the controller believes it is.
What it costs. Holes drilled in the wrong place, rework on site and a product that does not reach its stated precision. The more precise the promise, the more every error shows.
Why the usual fix fails. A stiffer and heavier build costs weight and money and makes the tool awkward to carry. A more precise sensor only measures the error, it does not remove it.
How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. From measurement series of the tool (commanded and measured positions, loads, temperatures) I check how much of the error is repeatable and could be compensated by an estimate. The fixed-price remote diagnosis tells you what precision is reachable with the existing hardware.
Background: Computing unmeasured states for control
Check it on your plant first: a fixed-price remote diagnosis
EUR 4,500 net · 5 working days · remote · availability on request · freelance or through temporary agency work
Within a fixed scope and at a fixed price, I review your data, control structure and measurements remotely and tell you whether the problem on this page is behind your symptoms and what fixing it would take. You get a short summary for decision-makers and a technical report for your engineers.