Strain Analysis of Six-Axis Force/Torque Sensors Based on Analytical Method

Reasonable stress and strain distribution are essential for the design of six-axis force/torque sensors. In order to improve the strain distribution, the specific parameters which affect stress and strain distribution need to be found. The numerical solutions of stress and strain on the elastic beam of six-axis force/torque sensors can be quickly obtained by finite element analysis simulation tool, such as ANSYS, but the specific parameters which affect stress and strain distribution cannot be achieved. In this paper, a novel six-axis force/torque sensor scheme with small size and cross beam structure was presented. Then, the mechanical model and analytic equations based on Timoshenko beam theory were established to obtain the analytical solutions of strain. The comparison shows that the analytical solutions and numerical solutions are in good agreement, which indicates that the analytical method is feasible. Finally, the main parameters which affect the strain value and the measure accuracy were analyzed. The analysis results show that the design of six-axis force/torque sensors with cross beam structure can be optimized according to the parameters that affect the stress and strain distribution, if sufficient restrictions are offered.