A compliant translational joint based force/displacement integrated sensor

The design methodology and validation of compliant translational joint based force/displacement integrated sensor is presented in this paper. The stiffness analysis of the large stroke and high precision compliant translational joint is developed, in which the screw theory based symbolic formulation method for structures is employed. By combining the stiffness matrix of the single compliant beams and components in this joint, the total stiffness matrix is derived. The stiffness matrix is validated by FEA method. Finally, The compliant translational joint was fabricated with a 3D printer and equipped with a linear position sensor and micro controller. The displacement of the translational joint is measured and then the force can be calculated by using the stiffness matrix. A calibration is conducted so that the sub-Newton precision of the sensor is achieved.