Development of Actuator with ER Damper and Examination of Its Basic Characteristics

Abstract

Most industrial robots are driven through reduction gear units by servomotors. Due to the elasticity of the drive systems including these reduction gear units, the vibratory behaviors are caused. ER fluids are the substances that can change their viscosity by applying an electric field. Because the damper with an ER fluid can change the damping coefficient, the characteristics of robots are improved by using ER damper. In this paper, we develop a new actuator with a rotary-type ER damper. The two-inertia-system with the ER damper is analyzed. The experiments are carried out and the effectiveness is confirmed.