A method for analyzing parallel mechanism stiffness including elastic deformations in the structure

In this paper, we present a method for analyzing parallel mechanism stiffness including elastic deformations in the structure. In our previous works, we developed a compact 6-DOF haptic interface as a master device which achieved an effective manual teleoperation. The haptic interface contains a modified Delta parallel-link positioning mechanism. Parallel mechanism is usually characterized by a high stiffness, however, it is reduced by elastic deformations of both parts and bearings. Therefore, to study such a parallel mechanism, we analyzed stiffness in a parallel mechanism, including elastic deformation of both parts and bearings. Key points of our method are a modeling of bearings, a modeling of a elasticity coefficient of a passive axis in a bearing and a modeling of a parallel mechanism. Finally, we show that our stiffness analysis method of a parallel mechanism is high reliability and precision.