Tripod Dynamics and Its Inertia Effect

Abstract

In this paper the tripod dynamics and its inertia effect is studied. The tripod design is becoming popular for the development of parallel kinematic machines (PKMs). The combination of a tripod with a gantry system forms a hybrid machine that offers the advantages from both serial and parallel structures. The tripod dynamics under study includes the mass of the moving platform as well as those of the legs. The natural orthogonal complement method is applied to derive the dynamic equations. The inertia effect of the moving platform and the legs is investigated in terms of two parameters, namely, the ratio of the total leg mass to the mass of the moving platform, and the velocity of the moving platform. The dynamic equations are separated by three terms, inertia, coupling, and gravity. Quantitative studies are carried out by simulation to examine how the two parameters affect the three respective terms. Based on the simulation results, the dynamic equations can be simplified by retaining the dominant terms while neglecting less significant ones. The simplified dynamic equations provide an efficient model for design and control of tripods.