NEW GRAVITY COMPENSATION METHOD BY DITHER FOR LOW-G SIMULATION

As a new method for gravity compensation in two dimensions, it is prop osed to decrease the time-average friction by use of in-plane vibratio n. This dither effect is investigated by using a mass that slides at a constant velocity on a level in-plane vibrating table, Its usefulness is further demonstrated by an experiment. An application of the metho d to gravity compensation is introduced. A motion test of a link struc tural model with ball-bearing supports and a level in-plane vibrating table is conducted to evaluate the performance. Experimental results s how that the structure slides on the table with a drag-to-weight ratio of about 10(-3) and drag-induced accelerations of about 10(-3)g.