Deflection Maps of Elastic Catenary Cable-Driven Robots

In this paper, the cable tension and platform deflection of cable-robots are investigated. The significance of cable density, elasticity and cross-sectional area; platform mass, radius and center of mass; external wrench and platform orientation on the cable tension, platform deflection and workspace of the planar cable robots is investigated. It is shown that, in addition to cable mass, the effect of external wrench on the workspace of catenary cable model could be more prominent. Moreover, design issues and parameters affecting the manipulator deflection are examined, and those that would result in disjointed workspace regions and deflection maps are identified. It is presented that the change in deflection is gradual throughout the workspace for constant external wrench. For the catenary model, depending on the cable properties, platform orientation, manipulator design, and external wrench, the workspace with deflection limit may consist of disconnected regions.