Experimental Evaluation of Cable Tensions in Cable-Driven Parallel Manipulators

Cable-Driven Parallel Manipulators (CDPMs) represent a category of parallel robots where cables replace the rigid links connecting the base to the end-effector. Introduced over the past two decades, CDPMs have addressed various challenges, yet several issues remain unresolved. Due to the lightweight nature of cables if compared to the overall structure and their extremely large workspace, CDPMs are finding novel and interesting applications, such as pointing device, inspection of large surfaces, motion aiding systems, automatic storage systems. In order of being efficiently used for such applications, accurate operations in terms of positioning capabilities are required. This paper regards the implementation of experimental set-up and methodologies to evaluate experimentally cable tension in CDPMs by means of two different tension sensors. The realization of a suitable laboratory set-up allows experimental activities that can be replicated in order to increase security and reliability in the use of CDPMs in any environment.