Dimensioning of cable-driven parallel robot actuators, gearboxes and winches according to the twist feasible workspace

Abstract

Cable Driven Parallel Robots (CDPRs) are a particular class of parallel robots whose legs consist of cables. CDPRs are composed of several components, e.g. winches, pulleys and actuators. The design of a CDPR requires the dimensioning of all these components, according to the task to be performed. The dimensioning of the actuators, the gearboxes and the winches are strictly related to the performances of the CDPR in terms of the platform static and kinematic equilibrium. This paper introduces a new tool, the so called Twist Feasible Workspace (TFW), built in order to analyze the workspace of the platform twists. A pose is said to be twist feasible if the platform of the CDPR can assume a given range of linear and rotational velocities while satisfying the cable speed limits imposed by the actuators and the transmission systems. The size of the TFW is used as an optimization criterion for the dimensioning of the actuators and the winches.