Design of a self-adjusting antenna feed for a homologous designed tiltable 20m-radio-telescope

Radioteleskope sind verschiedenartigen Umwelteinflüssen ausgesetzt. Dadurch hervorgerufene Verformungen der Reflektoroberfläche verändern deren geometrischen Eigenschaften und können die ursprüngliche Position und Form des Brennpunkts verändern. Eine Abweichung dieses Brennpunkt von der Lage der Primärantenne beeinflusst die Leistungsfähigkeit des Teleskops. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt eine Methode zur theoretischen Abschätzung der Verformung durch das Eigengewicht des Reflektors des INRAS RT–20. Jene nach der Idee des homologen Designs von Hoerners konstruierten Teleskopen weisen eine Stützstruktur auf, die die Reflektorfläche unabhängig vom Elevationswinkel in einer der ursprünglichen Form ähnlichen Gestalt halten. Somit kann die Verformung durch das Nachführen der Primärantenne ausgeglichen werden. Grundlage der Untersuchung ist ein vorhandenes Strukturmodell des RT–20–Teleskops. Zusammen mit den zugehörigen Geometriedaten und Materialparameten wird ein Finite-Element-Modell erstellt. Für dieses wird ein Belastungsfall mit dem Eigengewicht für verschiedene Elevationswinkel simuliert. Um die deformierte Reflektorfläche mathematisch zubeschreiben und den passenden Brennpunkt zu bestimmen wird eine parametrisierte Form eines Best-Fit-Paraboloids erörtert. Für die Ermittlung der Parameter werden drei Optimierungsalgorithmen in Matlab ausgeführt und miteinander verglichen. Daraus wird die Verschiebung des Brennpunkts (Defokussierung) ermittelt und der Bedarf einer Korrekturbewegung für die Primärantenne abgeschätzt. In einem Entwurfsprozess werden nach den Ideen der VDI2221–Norm technische Prinzipe für ein Aktuierungssystem entwickelt und bezüglich ausgewählter Kriterien gegeneinander abgewogen. Als Resultat dieses Bewertungsprozesses wird eines der Prinzipe erwählt und spezifiziert. Für die spätere Umsetzung werden Komponenten vorgeschlagen, Bauteile vorbereitend konstruiert und in einer CAD–Software zu einer funktionierenden Baugruppe zusammengefügt.Radio telescopes are exposed to various environmental conditions. These can produce deformations of the reflector surface that will have impact on its paraboloidal characteristics determining the position and shape of the focal point. A misalignment between the reflector focal point and the radiation–receiving primary antenna influences the performance of the telescope. The actual work presents a method to estimate theoretically the dead–weight induced deformation of the reflector surface for the INRAS PUCP RT–20 radio telescope. Such homologous designed telescopes consist of a backing structure supporting the reflector surface to retain a shape familiar to the original one and independent of the elevation angle. So it is possible to compensate the deformation by the adjustment of the primary antenna. The analysis of the deformation is done for an existing structural model of the RT–20. This model is meshed with the corresponding geometrical and material properties. In a finite–element software the load situation due to the telescope’s dead weight is simulated for different elevation angles. To describe the deformed reflector surface in a mathematical way an expression for a parametrized best-fitting paraboloid is derived. To determine the fit-parameters for the discrete point set, three optimization algorithms are executed in Matlab and their results compared. Based on this, the need of a re-alignment of the primary antenna is demonstrated. Thereupon a design process for an actuation system intended for the corrective movement is performed, following the ideas of the VDI2221–norm. Several mechanical concepts are presented and evaluated in relation to their suitability for the main needs. Based on this assessment, a parallel–kinematic mechanism is chosen as the most convenient concept. This is examined in more detail, including a deviation for the inverse kinematics. For this concept, a preliminary selection of specific components is done and assembled in a CAD–prototype.Tesi

Kinematics and Robot Design II (KaRD2019) and III (KaRD2020)

This volume collects papers published in two Special Issues “Kinematics and Robot Design II, KaRD2019” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/robotics/special_issues/KRD2019) and “Kinematics and Robot Design III, KaRD2020” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/robotics/special_issues/KaRD2020), which are the second and third issues of the KaRD Special Issue series hosted by the open access journal robotics.The KaRD series is an open environment where researchers present their works and discuss all topics focused on the many aspects that involve kinematics in the design of robotic/automatic systems. It aims at being an established reference for researchers in the field as other serial international conferences/publications are. Even though the KaRD series publishes one Special Issue per year, all the received papers are peer-reviewed as soon as they are submitted and, if accepted, they are immediately published in MDPI Robotics. Kinematics is so intimately related to the design of robotic/automatic systems that the admitted topics of the KaRD series practically cover all the subjects normally present in well-established international conferences on “mechanisms and robotics”.KaRD2019 together with KaRD2020 received 22 papers and, after the peer-review process, accepted only 17 papers. The accepted papers cover problems related to theoretical/computational kinematics, to biomedical engineering and to other design/applicative aspects

Paralleelmehhanismide kinetostaatiliste jõudlusindeksite uuring ning võrdlus

Nii kaua, kui on kasutusel olnud robotid, on käinud teadusuuringud nende kasutamiseks ning töö optimeerimiseks meie igapäevases elus. Samal ajal, kui meie teadmised robotite teemal on suuresti arenenud, on kasvanud ka vastavate struktuuride keerukus. Seega on arendatud mitmeid meetodeid ja indekseid, aitamaks disaneritel ning inseneridel välja selgitada parimad seadmed vastavate ülesannete lahendamiseks. Lisaks on huvi paralleelmehhanismide suunas viimaste aastate jooksul märgatavalt kasvanud. Peamiseks põhjuseks on paljudes valdkondades märgatavalt parem sooritusvõime võrreldes seriaalmanipulaatoritega. Ometi pole arendatud veel ühtegi globaalset jõudlusindeksit, mis võimaldaks täpsuse perspektiivis paralleelmanipulaatorite omavahelise võrdluse. Käesoleva lõputöö fookuseks on kintestaatilise jõuldusindeksi arendustööst ülevaate pakkumine. Uuritav indeks peab robustselt suutma hinnata läbi vastava indeksi paralleelmanipulaatorite täpsust.For as long as we have used robots there has also been ongoing research to allow us to use and improve efficiency of automation in our daily lives. As our knowledge about robots has largely improved, so has the complexity of their structures. Thus, various methods and indices have been developed to help designers and engineers determine the best manipulator for a specific task. In addition, the interest towards parallel manipulators has seen growth in the last couple of years due to significantly better performance in various areas in comparison to serial mechanisms. However, no global performance index to evaluate accuracy and allow comparison in that perspective between parallel mechanisms has been developed. This thesis focuses on giving an overview on the developments towards finding a robust kinematic sensitivity index to measure accuracy performance of parallel manipulators

A SERIAL-PARALLEL HYBRID ROBOT FOR MACHINING OF COMPLEX SURFACES

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Compliance analysis of a 3-SPR parallel mechanism with consideration of gravity

By taking gravity and joint/link compliances into account, this paper presents a semi-analytical approach for compliance analysis of a 3-SPR parallel mechanism which forms the main body of a 5-DOF hybrid manipulator especially designed for high-speed machining and forced assembling in the aircraft industry. The approach is implemented in three steps: (1) kinetostatic analysis that considers both the externally applied wrench imposed upon the platform and the gravity of all moving components; (2) deflection analysis that takes both joint and link compliances into account; and (3) formulation of the component compliance matrices using a semi-analytical approach. The advantage of this approach is that the deflections of the platform caused by both the payload and gravity within the given task workspace can be evaluated in an effective manner. The computational results show that the deflection arising from gravity of the moving components may have significant influence on the pose accuracy of the end-effector

Parallel Manipulators

In recent years, parallel kinematics mechanisms have attracted a lot of attention from the academic and industrial communities due to potential applications not only as robot manipulators but also as machine tools. Generally, the criteria used to compare the performance of traditional serial robots and parallel robots are the workspace, the ratio between the payload and the robot mass, accuracy, and dynamic behaviour. In addition to the reduced coupling effect between joints, parallel robots bring the benefits of much higher payload-robot mass ratios, superior accuracy and greater stiffness; qualities which lead to better dynamic performance. The main drawback with parallel robots is the relatively small workspace. A great deal of research on parallel robots has been carried out worldwide, and a large number of parallel mechanism systems have been built for various applications, such as remote handling, machine tools, medical robots, simulators, micro-robots, and humanoid robots. This book opens a window to exceptional research and development work on parallel mechanisms contributed by authors from around the world. Through this window the reader can get a good view of current parallel robot research and applications

Stiffness evaluation of a novel ankle rehabilitation exoskeleton with a type-variable constraint

This paper presents a novel ankle rehabilitation exoskeleton with two rotational degrees of freedom, which is suitable for dynamical rehabilitation for patients with neurological impairments. Its stiffness performance is assessed in consideration that the interaction between the footplate and the ground may deflect the mechanism away from the desired/predefined motion patterns. The novel design employs a universal-prismatic-universal (U-P-U) joint link, whose constraint type changes between a couple and a line vector during manipulation of the exoskeleton. To conduct a stiffness analysis of such a mechanism with a type-variable constraint – for the first time – a modified screw-based method (SBM) is proposed. Comparisons with the results obtained from finite element analysis verified that, the modified SBM provides reliable estimates of the exoskeleton's stiffness within the complete workspace (covering the constraint-type transition configurations). The stiffness of the exoskeleton is further evaluated by acquiring the minimum/maximum stiffness values, after computing the distribution of the most crucial linear and angular stiffness parameters within the workspace. Moreover, the influence of the architectural parameters on the stiffness properties is considered for further design optimization

3-Axis and 5-Axis Machining with Stewart Platform

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

A methodology for the Lower Limb Robotic Rehabilitation system

The overall goal of this thesis is to develop a new functional lower limb robot-assisted rehabilitation system for people with a paretic lower limb. A unilateral rehabilitation method is investigated, where the robot acts as an assistive device to provide the impaired leg therapeutic training through simulating the kinematics and dynamics of the ankle and lower leg movements. Foot trajectories of healthy subjects and post-stroke patients were recorded by a dedicated optical motion tracking system in a clinical gait measurement laboratory. A prototype 6 degrees of freedom parallel robot was initially built in order to verify capability of achieving singularity-free foot trajectories of healthy subjects in various exercises. This was then followed by building and testing another larger parallel robot to investigate the real-sized foot trajectories of patients. The overall results verify the designed robot’s capability in successfully tracking foot trajectories during different exercises. The thesis finally proposes a system of bilateral rehabilitation based on the concept of self-learning, where a passive parallel mechanism follows and records motion signatures of the patient’s healthy leg, and an active parallel mechanism provides motion for the impaired leg based on the kinematic mapping of the motion produced by the passive mechanism