Study on a four degrees-of-freedom multi-dimensional vibration isolation platform based on a 4-UPU parallel mechanism

Abstract

A novel four degrees-of-freedom (4-DOF) multi-dimensional vibration isolation platform (MDVIP) based on a four universal–prismatic–universal (4-UPU) parallel mechanism is put forward for vibration isolation of sensitive devices. It consists of four limbs, each of which has two universal joints and a spring damper module. The kinematic model and the vibration model of the proposed MDVIP were designed and analyzed. The main dimensions of the MDVIP and the parameters of the spring damper module were determined by an optimization method to meet various design requirements and constraints. Both the virtual prototype and physical prototype of the MDVIP were designed to verify vibration isolation performance. The results of numerical calculations, simulation, and experimental studies based on vibration response analysis show that the proposed MDVIP can isolate at least 78% of the vibration from the fixed base in three axial directions and 64% of the vibration in the direction around the Z-axis. It can therefore largely attenuate disturbances to items on a moving platform.