Design and Control of a Macro–Micromanipulator Using Macrofiber Composite

This article presents the structural design, dynamics modeling, and precision control of a new macro–micromanipulator driven by macrofiber composite (MFC). In particular, the stick–slip platform has a high single-step rotation angle, and its fallback inhibition with a single-actuator configuration is proposed. Also, wide-range trajectory tracking with continuous stick–slip motion is realized. First, the macro–micromanipulator is devised using a stick–slip platform and a micromanipulator. Then, a system dynamics model is developed to describe multifactor coupling and macro–microinteractions. A quick-reaching and filtered discrete sliding mode (QFDSM) control is proposed, in which a new convergence law and a low-pass filter are designed to approach fast, smooth control voltage, and avoid chattering. Thus, a macromotion composite control with QFDSM is developed. Experiments show that the stick–slip platform has a high single-step output of 8.02 mrad, a vertical load of 120 N, and a maximum speed of 730 mrad/s. The fallback rate is reduced from 56.1% to 12.2% with the inhibition beam and further decreased to 4.5% by combining macro–microcomposite control. Meanwhile, microscopic vibration suppression and precision wide-range trajectory tracking are realized. Experiments verified the performance of the macro–micromanipulator.