Options
2008
Conference Paper
Titel
Concept and development of a testing facility for a rope kinematic actuator
Abstract
This paper focuses on the concept and development of a test bench for a rope kinematic actuator. This actuator, the DoHelix-Muscle is a novel, muscle-like drive of high power density with a simple working principle. It consists of a high-quality DC-motor and a highly flexible cord. Rotating the shaft winds up the cord from both sides and forms a double helix structure around the shaft. The resulting cord forces and velocities are comparable to that of human skeletal muscles. Though concept and theory of the DoHelix mechanism are well understood, there is little practical experience with long term behaviour of the muscle, in particular on the wear of the cord under various load situations, velocities and mechanical setups. This paper discusses relevant issues and effects related to this problem and outlines the concept, design and set-up of a long term durability testing facility for the DoHelix-Muscle.