A novel 6-dimensional force measurement based on the electric 6-DOF loading device

The 6-degrees-of-freedom (6-DOF) platform has gained popularity in industry owing to its advantages, especially in indoor simulation experiment requiring six-dimensional force environments. However, up to date, the measurement of such six-dimensional forces is challenging due to complex structures, difficult decoupling, and high costs. In this study, an electric 6-DOF loading device designed by ourselves is presented, with an ability to load high precision displacement and force. To measure the six-dimensional force of the device's moving platform, this paper proposes a scheme involving embedding tension-compression sensors in each leg of the device and describes the mechanical model of the device. Then a novel method with a variable transformation matrix is proposed, complemented by a decoupling study that optimizes the variable transformation matrix. Finally, we validate the proposed method through an external force loading experiment. The results indicate that the error in Fy experiment is less than 2.7%, and the error in Fz experiment is less than 1.6%. The novel method exhibits high accuracy, easy installation, fast response, and low cost.