Design and tension distribution optimization of a 9-DOF cable-driven parallel spray-painting robot with 3 degrees of redundancy

This paper presents a 9-DOF cable-driven parallel spray-painting robot (CDPSR) with 3 ° of redundancy (DORs) for automated spraying on large, curved surfaces and proposes a feasible cable tension region (FCTR) calculation algorithm for multi-redundant robots. The end effector of the CDPSR consists of two moving platforms connected by a spherical hinge and driven by 12 cables, enabling 9 DOFs of motion (3 for translation and 6 for rotation). Given that the CDPSR has three DORs, a multi-dimensional FCTR vertex calculation algorithm is introduced. The FCTR is an adjacent, continuous, and closed convex hull in every dimension; therefore, the vertices of the FCTR can be determined sequentially and dimensionally. For DOR=3, the vertices on one face of the convex polyhedron are first determined and then extended to adjacent faces until the polyhedron is closed. An experimental prototype of the proposed robot was constructed and experiments on spray trajectory planning and FCTR calculation validation were conducted. The results of the simulations and experiments verified the motion performance of the CDPSR and the accuracy and efficiency of the FCTR calculation algorithm.