STIFFNESS-ORIENTED DESIGN OF A FLEXURE HINGE-BASED PARALLEL MANIPULATOR

摘要

The operation of flexure hinge-based parallel manipulators primarily relies on their stiffness or compliance characteristics, which are considered by means of an analytical method, the finite element method (FEM) or an experimental method. A universal analytical method is adopted for flexure hinges. It is enhanced with empirical functions set up with the help of FEM. Results obtained analytically and with FEM are experimentally verified. General equations of stiffness and compliance calculation are given for flexure hinge-based parallel manipulators. On the basis of these mathematical models, a high-precision micro manipulator is monolithically designed and optimally dimensioned. Finally, a functional model is realized and preliminary tested.