Rigid Body Dynamics of Mechanisms 2: Applications

Citation

Rigelsford, J. (2004), "Rigid Body Dynamics of Mechanisms 2: Applications", Assembly Automation, Vol. 24 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.2004.03324bae.002

Rigid Body Dynamics of Mechanisms 2: Applications

Rigid Body Dynamics of Mechanisms 2: Applications

H. HahnSpringer2003665 pp.ISBN 3-540-02237-6£115.50(Hardcover)

Keywords: Modelling, Mechatronics

This second volume of “Rigid Body Dynamics of Mechanisms” presents an application based, systematic approach for deriving model equations of planar and spatial mechanisms. It builds on the theoretical foundations provided in the first volume and encompasses a variety of joint models.

Chapter 1 introduces the purposes of models of rigid-body mechanisms, steps for deriving model equations, and summarise the examples and applications presented in the following seven chapters.

Model Equations in Symbolic DAE and DE Form are addressed in chapter 2, while chapter 3, Planar Models of an Unconstrained Rigid Body, presents a planar airplane model having two translational DOFs and one rotational DOF, and a planar model of a multi-axis test facility having two translational DOFs and one rotational DOF.

A rigid body under pure translational planar motion, a rack-and-pinion mechanism, a mechanical motor, a pendulum of a variable length, and an airplane under an active constraint, are amongst the examples presented in chapter 4, Planar Models of a Rigid Body Under Absolute Constraints. Chapter 5, Planar Models of Two Rigid Bodies Under Constrained Motion, includes examples of a cart loaded by a pendulum, a milling machine, a double pendulum with an “elastic joint”, an excavator, and a camera attached to an airplane under active constraints.

The following two chapters discuss Spatial Models of an Unconstrained Rigid Body, and Spatial Models of a Rigid Body Under Constrained Motion, respectively. Examples include: a spatial servo-pneumatic parallel robot, a model of a spinning robot, a rigid body attached to the base by a spherical joint, and a rigid body attached to the base by a universal joint.

Chapter 8, Spatial Mechanisms with Several Rigid Bodies, provides models under constrained spatial motion for: an antenna for flight vehicles, differential gears, a platform of an airborne sensor, a hexapod with 13 rigid bodies and 18 joints, a platform mounted on a test facility, and a spatial vehicle model.

Overall, this is a well-written but highly mathematical textbook. It is suitable for practising industrial engineers and for undergraduate students who need to understand the theoretical methods for modelling mechatronic systems and rigid-body mechanisms.