In this paper, we introduce a mechanism consisting of a pair of noncircular pulleys with a constant-length cable. While a single noncircular pulley is generally limited to continuously winding or unwinding, the differential cable routing proposed here allows to generate nonmonotonic motions at the output of the arrangement, i.e., the location of the idler pulley redirecting the cable. The equations relating its motion to rotation angles of the noncircular pulleys and to the cable length are presented in the first part of this paper. Next, we introduce a graphical method allowing us to obtain the required pulley profiles for a given output function. Our approach is finally demonstrated with two application examples: the guiding of a cable-suspended robot along a complex trajectory using a single actuator, and the static balancing of a pendulum with a 360 deg rotational range of motion.
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December 2018
Research-Article
Differential Noncircular Pulleys for Cable Robots and Static Balancing
Dmitri Fedorov,
Dmitri Fedorov
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Polytechnique Montréal,
Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
e-mail: dmitri.fedorov@polymtl.ca
Polytechnique Montréal,
Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
e-mail: dmitri.fedorov@polymtl.ca
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Lionel Birglen
Lionel Birglen
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Polytechnique Montréal,
Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
e-mail: lionel.birglen@polymtl.ca
Polytechnique Montréal,
Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
e-mail: lionel.birglen@polymtl.ca
Search for other works by this author on:
Dmitri Fedorov
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Polytechnique Montréal,
Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
e-mail: dmitri.fedorov@polymtl.ca
Polytechnique Montréal,
Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
e-mail: dmitri.fedorov@polymtl.ca
Lionel Birglen
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Polytechnique Montréal,
Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
e-mail: lionel.birglen@polymtl.ca
Polytechnique Montréal,
Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
e-mail: lionel.birglen@polymtl.ca
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Mechanisms and Robotics Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF MECHANISMS AND ROBOTICS. Manuscript received February 26, 2018; final manuscript received August 8, 2018; published online September 7, 2018. Assoc. Editor: Marc Gouttefarde.
J. Mechanisms Robotics. Dec 2018, 10(6): 061001 (8 pages)
Published Online: September 7, 2018
Article history
Received:
February 26, 2018
Revised:
August 8, 2018
Citation
Fedorov, D., and Birglen, L. (September 7, 2018). "Differential Noncircular Pulleys for Cable Robots and Static Balancing." ASME. J. Mechanisms Robotics. December 2018; 10(6): 061001. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4041213
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