Structural optimization of typical rigid links in a parallel kinematic machine

Abstract

The motion dynamics and accuracy of parallel kinematic machines largely depend on the weights and rigidity of typical rigid links. Therefore, these parts should be designed in such a way that they are light but rigid. This work employs the techniques of topology and size optimization to design two typical rigid links of a parallel kinematic machine (PKM) and subsequently obtains applicable structures for them. The calculation models are established, and a new algorithm called the Guide-Weight method is introduced to solve topology optimization problems. The commercial software Ansys is used to perform size optimization.

Key words： topology optimization; size optimization; parallel kinematic machine (PKM)

Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51075222), the National Key Scientific and Technological Project (No. 2010ZX04004-116), and by the Fund of State Key Laboratory of Tribology (No. SKLT10C02 ).

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