A six-axis force and torque generation machine

Abstract

This study developed a force-generating machine for calibrating a six-axis force sensor. The force-generating machine provides six-axis forces and torques by using fixtures at different gestures. The main body of the force-generating machine is composed of two voice coil motors (VCMs) and two one-axis load cells. To establish the transfer function of the six-axis force sensor, the precision of the force-generating machine should be higher than that of the six-axis force sensor. The concept of the calibration machine is to use two high-precision load cells instead of six and a complex system. The control unit, VCMs, and load cells form a feed-back controlled loop to provide reliable forces. The measured data was transmitted using the data acquisition card. NI LabVIEW was used as the human-machine interface to control the output forces and torques. Users know the forces and torques applied on the calibrating six-axis force sensor by using the human-machine interface. The system was developed with intelligent control ability that can reduce human operation errors. This paper discusses accuracy, repeatability, signal resolution, six-axis force output planning, force feedback, and general aspects for force positioning..