Cable-based Reconfigurable Machines for Large Scale Manufacturing

Reconfigurability means low cost and short time to change machine configuration to meet application demands. Typical machining and positioning systems use hard actuators, like screws and pistons, and are built with slideways and hard frames. These components provide good stiffness, are well-proven, and can be packaged into modules to build reconfigurable machines. They are also relatively expensive, however, and for large-scale applications, modules based on ballscrews and ways would be unwieldy and difficult to move and align during reconfiguration. This paper explores winch-driven cable systems—in particular, cable-based Stewart platform machines—as candidates for reconfigurable, large-scale, manufacturing systems. Cable-based systems are less expensive and more compact for a given range of motion and are more lightweight and easier to reconfigure than large scale systems that use ballscrews and ways. Thus, cable-based machines are appealing as an economical choice for applications that require a large range of motion, such as aircraft or ship manufacturing and construction.