Disturbance Estimation on a Hexapod-type Parallel Kinematic Machine Tool by Using a Disturbance Observer
 
Soichi Ibaraki (Kyoto University)
Toshihiro Okuda (Kyoto University)
Yoshiaki Kakino (Kyoto University)
Masao Nakagawa (Okuma Corp.)
Tetsuya Matsushita (Okuma Corp.)
 
 
 
Abstract
 
This paper presents a disturbance estimation methodology on a Hexapod-type parallel kinematic machine tool of the Stewart platform. The disturbance estimation by monitoring an armature current of servo motors has been commonly done on conventional serial mechanism feed drives. On a parallel mechanism feed drive, a disturbance observer must have a more complex structure with a precise model of the gravity effect on servo motor loads, which significantly varies depending on the position and orientation of a spindle unit. The estimation performance of the proposed disturbance observer is validated through static load tests and cutting experiments.
 
Key Words:   parallel kinematics machine tools, Stewart platform, disturbance observer, servo motors, stiffness.