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A novel variable stiffness mechanism with linear spring characteristic for machining operations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2016

Ngoc-Dung Vuong ,
Renjun Li ,
Chee-Meng Chew ,
Amir Jafari  and
Joseph Polden
Ngoc-Dung Vuong
Affiliation:
SIMTech, 71 Nanyang Drive, 638075, Singapore. E-mail: ndvuong.work@gmail.com
Renjun Li
Affiliation:
National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, 117576, Singapore. E-mail: lirenjun@nus.edu.sg, chewcm@nus.edu.sg
Chee-Meng Chew
Affiliation:
National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, 117576, Singapore. E-mail: lirenjun@nus.edu.sg, chewcm@nus.edu.sg
Amir Jafari
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA E-mail: amir.jafari@utsa.edu
Joseph Polden*
Affiliation:
SIMTech, 71 Nanyang Drive, 638075, Singapore. E-mail: ndvuong.work@gmail.com
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: poldenjw@SIMTech.a-star.edu.sg
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Summary

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Variable stiffness mechanisms are able to mechanically reconfigure themselves in order to adjust their system stiffness. It is generally accepted that only antagonistic designs, featuring quadratic springs, can produce linear spring-like behaviour (i.e., a linear relationship between the displacement and its resultant force). However, these antagonistic designs typically are not as energy efficient as series-based designs. In this work, we propose a novel variable stiffness mechanism that can achieve both linear-spring behaviour whilst maintaining an energy efficient characteristic. This paper will present the working principle, mechanical design and characterization of the joints stiffness properties (verified via experimental procedure). The pros and cons of this novel design with reference to the other Variable Stiffness Actuator (VSA) designs will be discussed based on experimental results and in the context of general machining tasks.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Robotica , Volume 35 , Issue 7 , July 2017 , pp. 1627 - 1637
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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