REVIEW ARTICLE


Simulation & Optimization of the Gear System of a 6-DOF Manipulator Using Flexible Dynamic of ANSYS



Bin Li*, 1, 2, Xifan Yao1, Yongxiang Li1, Wei Tan1, Huidong Lou1, Dongyuan Ge1
1 School of Mechanical & Auto Engineering, South China University of Technology Guangzhou. 510640, China
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming, 525000, Guangdong Province, China


© 2014 Li et al

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the School of Mechanical & Auto Engineering, South China University of Technology Guangzhou. 510640, China; Tel: 0086-668-2923563; Fax: 0086-668-2923563; E-mail: guangzhoulibin@126.com


Abstract

This paper presents a novel way for a structural dynamic simulation analysis on a three-dimensional (3-D) finite element (FE) model of a 6-DOF Manipulator using ANSYS Workbench 13.0 that allows integrated optimization. The load between driving and driven gear is delivered by elastic frictional contact, which leads to some non-liner contact problems, and the contact problems are solved according to the FE parametric programming method. This study particularly focused on investigating static, dynamic, and fatigue behaviors of the gear system in a 6-DOF robot mechanism, which is modeled using SolidWorks software. Moreover, the ANSYS Workbench was used to determine the stress distribution, deformation and fatigue behaviors of the mechanism, and finally to carry out the optimization simulation analysis of its materials together with structural geometry. As a result, the design experience accumulated will be very useful for the future product design in terms of guidelines for even more complex mechanical systems or more complex boundary conditions.

Keywords: Interpolation, Nonlinear, Optimization, Prototype, Simulation, Finite element.