| Traditionally, the mechanical design of robots has been viewed as a problem of packaging motors and electronics into a reasonable structure. This process usually transpires with heavy reliance on experience. Not surprisingly, the traditional design process contains no formally defined rules for achieving best results, and little quantitative feedback in the formative stages. This work primarily focuses on formalizing manipulator design rules. These rules are formulated in terms of objective mathematical tools.; This work begins with the investigation of various mathematical abstractions describing rigid bodies and their associated displacements. In light of these mathematical abstractions, the study of various lumped parameter modeling techniques leads to the utilization of a uniform modeling approach. A unified modeling architecture provides the power needed for identification of common algebraic structures. Normalization of these common objects is then investigated in great detail. Use of norms allows for the development of objective design and analysis algorithms. From these algorithms, and a few fundamental physical properties, methodologies are devised. These methodologies serve the function of generating and analyzing distributions of mechanical properties (accuracy/precision, load capacity, mass, actuator torque, general load requirements, and compliance).; The developments of this work provide an open and objective design and analysis framework for any all-revolute serial chain. This framework may be applied at any stage in the design process. All algorithms may be customized to specific applications, or used in their natural form. Moreover, metrics are objective and scale-independent. A seven degree-of-freedom all-revolute serial manipulator is used for illustration of design and analysis processes. |
