ANALYTICAL IDENTIFICATION OF THE PRINCIPAL SCREWS OF THE 3RD-ORDER SCREW SYSTEM

Screw theory, as a theoretical tool, plays an important role in the ki nematic analysis of mechanisms and robot manipulators. The principal s crews are the basic and important elements of the screw system. In rob otics practice, the twist of an end-effector is easily obtained by the linear combination of the joint screws. However, the principal screws of the end-effector screw system are unknown. This paper presents an analytical method for identification of the principal screws in the th ird order screw system by using the conic section degenerating theory. The work presented in this paper is significant for further studies o f the screw system. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved .