Experimental investigation of flexible connection and clearance joint effects on the vibration responses of mechanisms

In this study, effects of spherical clearance joint and flexible joint connection on the mechanism vibration are presented. A spatial mechanism model is selected for the experimental investigations. Different clearance values, a multi-axes flexible connection having cylindrical cross section and driving speeds are considered for the case studies. The chaotic phenomenon on the system dynamics arising from mainly spherical clearance joints is measured from the experimental test rig. In addition, the irregular reflections of the considered parameters on the actuator current are investigated. The positive contributions of flexible connection are evaluated upon the loss of kinematic constraints between the clearance joint parts. The experimental outputs show that the clearance-induced vibration makes the dynamics of system worse. The flexible connection between the adjacent mechanism links offers an important solution for minimizing the negative effects of clearance joint. Even if the same working parameters of mechanisms are considered, clearance joint fully affects the actuator current demand. Diameter of flexible connector can be arranged as a design variable to compensate the undesirable effects of clearance joint on the vibration responses and the actuator current demands.