Rigid-Flexible Modal Analysis of the Hydraulic 6-DOF Parallel Mechanism

In view of the problems encountered in previous hydraulic 6-DOF parallel mechanism projects, flexible modes appear that the actual natural frequencies of x and y degrees of freedom of the parallel mechanism are lower than those obtained through calculation. The phenomenon above not only decreases the dynamic response characteristics of the mechanism, but also leads to doubts about the actual performance of the mechanism. The real reason for the phenomenon above is solved in this paper. First the flexible structure of the hydraulic cylinder is analyzed and simplified, and then the dynamic model of the rigid-flexible 6-DOF parallel mechanism is established with the extended Hamilton's principle. Finally the rigid-flexible modes are calculated with the dynamic model obtained, further analysis and verification with a simulation model and an experimental platform are also conducted. Results show that the phenomenon of the flexible modes is mainly caused by the O-rings of the step-seals of the guide sleeve and those with less elasticity should be adopted to keep the dynamic characteristics of the parallel mechanism.