Structural design and analysis of a new semi-direct drive robot arm. Theory and experiment

This paper reports the mechanical design, structural analysis, and experimental verification of a new high performance semi-direct drive robot arm. A design optimization methodology employing finite element analysis (FEA) is reviewed, and a resulting arm design is reported. FEA simulations of the final design predict high structural vibration frequencies throughout the arm workspace. Extensive structural vibration experiments with the completed manipulator confirm the predicted structural vibration characteristics throughout the arm workspace