A geometrical parameters optimization and reducers selection method was proposed for robotic manipulators design. The Lagrangian approach was employed in deriving the dynamic model of a two-DOF manipulator. The flexibility of links and joints was taken into account in the mechanical structure dimensions optimization and reducers selection, in which Timoshenko model was used to discretize the hollow links. Two criteria, i.e. maximization of fundamental frequency and minimization of self-mass/load ratio, were utilized to optimize the manipulators. The NSGA-II (fast elitist nondominated sorting genetic algorithms) was employed to solve the multi-objective optimization problem. How the joints flexibility affects the manipulators design was analyzed and shown in the numerical analysis example. The results indicate that simultaneous consideration of the joints and the links flexibility is very necessary for manipulators optimal design. Finally, several optimal combinations were provided. The effectiveness of the optimization method was proved by comparing with ADAMS simulation results. The self-mass/load ratio error of the two methods is within 10%. The maximum error of the natural frequency by the two methods is 23.74%. The method proposed in this work provides a fast and effective pathway for manipulator design and reducers selection.
A design and optimization approach of dynamic and control performance for a two-DOF planar manipulator was proposed.After the kinematic and dynamic analysis,several advantages of the mechanism were illustrated,which made it possible to obtain good dynamic and control performances just through mechanism optimization.Based on the idea of design for control(DFC),a novel kind of multi-objective optimization model was proposed.There were three optimization objectives:the index of inertia,the index describing the dynamic coupling effects and the global condition number.Other indexes to characterize the designing requirements such as the velocity of end-effector,the workspace size,and the first mode natural frequency were regarded as the constraints.The cross-section area and length of the linkages were chosen as the design variables.NSGA-II algorithm was introduced to solve this complex multi-objective optimization problem.Additional criteria from engineering experience were incorporated into the selecting of final parameters among the obtained Pareto solution sets.Finally,experiments were performed to validate the linear dynamic structure and control performances of the optimized mechanisms.A new expression for measuring the dynamic coupling degree with clear physical meaning was proposed.The results show that the optimized mechanism has an approximate decoupled dynamics structure,and each active joint can be regarded as a linear SISO system.The control performances of the linear and nonlinear controllers were also compared.It can be concluded that the optimized mechanism can achieve good control performance only using a linear controller.
