Abstract
Six degree of freedom manipulation provides full control over position and orientation, essential for many applications. However, six degree of freedom parallel kinematic manipulators (e.g. hexapods) either have a limited range of motion combined with a good repeatability when comprising flexure joints, or they have limited repeatability with a large workspace when using traditional rolling- or sliding-element bearings. In this paper, the design and optimization of a fully flexure-based large range of motion precision hexapod robot is presented. The flexure joints have been specifically developed for the purpose of large range of motion and high support stiffness for this manipulator. The obtained system allows for ±100 mm of translational and more than ±10° of rotational range of motion in each direction combined with a footprint of 0.6 m2 and a height of 0.4 m. Furthermore, a dedicated flexure-based design for the actuated joints combines high actuation forces with the absence of play and friction, allowing for accelerations exceeding 10 g. Experiments on a prototype validate the sub-micron repeatability, which is merely limited by the selected electronics.
Highlights
Various applications require six degree of freedom manipulators
Following recent developments in large stroke flexure joints and optimization strategies [11,12,13,14,15,16,17], it is anticipated that a flexure-based hexapod with a larger travel range, faster travel speed, higher load ca pacity and high repeatability can be realized
This paper considers the design and realization of a fully flexure-based six degree-of-freedom parallel manipulator with a large range of motion
Summary
Various applications require six degree of freedom manipulators. These systems are used in industrial applications such as micro assembly robots, welding robots, vibration-isolation platforms, pick-and-place robots and optical alignment systems. Parallel kinematic configurations consist of six inde pendent kinematic chains connected to the end-effector This allows for the placement of the actuators at the stationary base, resulting in a low moving mass allowing for high accelerations. Following recent developments in large stroke flexure joints and optimization strategies [11,12,13,14,15,16,17], it is anticipated that a flexure-based hexapod with a larger travel range, faster travel speed, higher load ca pacity and high repeatability can be realized. This paper considers the design and realization of a fully flexure-based six degree-of-freedom parallel manipulator with a large range of motion. The design and optimization of a fully flexure-based large range of motion hexapod is presented.
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