Analysis of Joint Clearance Effects on Dynamics of Six DOF Robot Manipulators

Clearance as a real joint characteristic leads to deviation from desired trajectory in robotic systems. This phenomenon leads to deviations from desired kinematic and dynamic performances of the robots. This study investigates the effects of joint clearance on a robot having six degree-of-freedom (DOF). For the case of different clearance sizes, theoretical analysis is carried out to investigate the kinematic and dynamic characteristics of the robot manipulator with joint clearance. For the case of two different clearance sizes, the results show that the joint clearance causes to degradation in system performance. Even if the clearance size is small, it has an important role on joint forces.