Design, fabrication and control of a cable-driven parallel robot

TL;DR

This paper details the design, fabrication, and experimental validation of a cable-driven parallel robot setup, enabling complex motion control and future research on dynamic phenomena like cable vibrations.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive experimental platform for CDPRs, including design choices and validation of basic motion planning algorithms, facilitating advanced modeling and control research.

Findings

Validated elementary open-loop motion planning algorithms

Reproduced complex cable vibration phenomena

Established a versatile experimental setup for future studies

Abstract

In cable driven parallel robots (CDPRs), the payload is suspended using a network of cables whose length can be controlled to maneuver the payload within the workspace. Compared to rigid link robots, CDPRs provide better maneuverability due to the flexibility of the cables and consume lesser power due to the high strength-to-weight ratio of the cables. However, amongst other things, the flexibility of the cables and the fact that they can only pull (and not push) render the dynamics of CDPRs complex. Hence advanced modelling paradigms and control algorithms must be developed to fully utilize the potential of CDPRs. Furthermore, given the complex dynamics of CDPRs, the models and control algorithms proposed for them must be validated on experimental setups to ascertain their efficacy in practice. We have recently developed an elaborate experimental setup for a CDPR with three cables and validated elementary open-loop motion planning algorithms on it. In this paper, we describe several aspects of the design and fabrication of our setup, including component selection and assembly, and present our experimental results. Our setup can reproduce complex phenomenon such as the transverse vibration of the cables seen in large CDPRs and will in the future be used to model and control such phenomenon and also to validate more sophisticated motion planning algorithms.