The aim of this paper is to investigate the flexural vibrations of an
axially moving robotic arm sliding through a prismatic joint while the
joint is undergoing both vertical translation and rotary motion. Cons
idering not only Euler-Bernoulli beam assumption but also the effects
of gravitation, rotary inertia and axial force, the equations of motio
n and associated boundary conditions of the dynamic model are derived
by using the extended Hamilton's principle. Since they form a complex
boundary value problem which cannot be solved analytically, the assume
d modes method is utilized to obtain an approximate solution. Simulati
on results are presented for some typical kinematical inputs. Copyrigh
t (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.