Abstract
This paper describes development of water hydraulic vane-type oscillating motor that oscillating angle is 270 degrees. By this motor, a swing motion required for driving a joint of an underwater manipulator can be obtained directly. The structure of the motor was devised in order to use tap water of poor lubricity as a working fluid. By aligning three single vane-type motors axially, the radial force due to the pressure in the motor which acts on the axis was balanced. The developed motor was smoothly rotated by water pressure. The performance evaluation of the motor was carried out by measuring internal leakage and starting torque. Angular velocity characteristics were also measured using the water hydraulic proportional valve that the authors had developed. The measured internal leakage and starting torque characteristics will be used in modeling of the motor.
