Design, Analysis, and Control of a Cable-Suspended Robot for Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing
Abstract
Additive manufacturing (AM) and cable-suspended robots (CSRs) are two areas of technology that evolved rapidly in the last decades. This dissertation explores combining the two ideas to create a cable-suspended robot for large-scale additive manufacturing. AM technologies allow for the creation of products by combining material, layer by layer, in an automated process. This capability has been introduced in numerous industries with the promise of increasing productivity and lowering operating costs. However, AM has typically been limited to small physical dimensions because AM processes require precise control of materials. CSRs may facilitate AM at larger scales by providing a low-cost, flexible method for position control in some types of AM, such as fused deposition modeling (FDM) or directed energy deposition (DED). However, position control at large scales is challenged by environmental factors, such as external disturbances and structural imperfections in the AM machine. An analysis of the CSR configurations and control strategies is useful in determining whether large-scale AM is a practical application for this kind of robot. This dissertation presents (1) the general design concept and analyses of a CSR for large-scale AM, (2) closed-loop control strategies in presence of external disturbances, and (3) experimental results of a laboratory-scale prototype. The complete work suggests that a CSR with closed-loop control may be used for precise position control even withstanding some structural imperfections. However, the control strategies presented here leave room for improvement of the CSR design as it remains vulnerable to high-frequency external disturbances.
Citation
Cortes Orozco, Ivan (2022). Design, Analysis, and Control of a Cable-Suspended Robot for Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /197403.