ABSTRACT
Robot manipulators with «exible links are modeled with continuous dynamic systems that are characterized by an in—nite number of degrees of freedom and are governed by nonlinear and coupled partial differential equations (PDE). An approximation with discrete models is used either for the analysis and the practical synthesis of control systems or for numerical simulation, such as assumed-modes models, —nite element models, and lumped element models. In this chapter, we propose a method for the systematic treatment of the dynamics in the case of manipulators with «exible links. The use of the aforementioned treatment for the manipulator’s model de—nition is also illustrated. Finally, a method for the improvement of the related dynamics performance is presented. The robots’ «exible links are connected by rotary or prismatic joints, and only bending vibrations of the links are considered.
