In this paper, an effective method in dynamic modeling of spatial flexible-link robots under large displacements and small deformations is discussed and a generic Matlab™ software simulator based on it is presented and validated. The adopted method is based on an Equivalent Rigid Link System (ERLS) that enables to decouple the kinematic equations of the ERLS from the compatibility equations of the displacements at the joints allowing an easy and recursive procedure to build the robot dynamic matrices.
The simulator is suitable for dynamic modelling of generic 3D serial flexible-link robots. The Matlab™ software simulator is validated with respect to the Adams-Flex™ commercial software, which implements Floating Frame of Reference (FFR) formulation, one of the most used methods for dynamic modeling of multibody flexible-link mechanisms with large displacements and small deformations.
