A Transmission Index for In-Parallel Wire-Driven Mechanisms

Abstract

We have developed an index for evaluating the force transmission characteristics in N degree-of-freedom (dof) in-parallel wire-driven mechanisms (PWDMs) with N+1 wires. The relationship between input force and output force in an N-dof in-parallel actuated mechanism with only rigid links was used for defining the transmission index for a PWDM. The index was compared with the magnitude of tensile force caused by external forces. And it was used to kinematically synthesize a six-dof spatial PWDM with seven wires. The results of these comparison and kinematic synthesis are shown to support the proposed index.