A study of force control transfer functions identified on a PUMA 560 arm

Describes the first stage in the design of end-tip force control compensators: transfer function identification. After trying various methods, the author presents the best results as obtained through direct measurements. Given the key importance of the transfer function data in explaining the force control performance of a PUMA 560 arm, he presents an in-depth study of these transfer function measurements. Although it was found that end-tip force transfer functions general to all PUMA 560s do not exist, this study offers a means to generate some clear quantitative explanations and solutions to the difficulties in implementing force control on industrial arms.