Jerk reduction control of a mechanical transfer system with a flexible beam

In this paper, we deal with a mechanical transfer system with a flexible beam, which is widely used in manufacturing processes. We represent the system as composed of three rigid bodies, that is, a driving unit, a hand, and a work. The driving unit and the hand slide on a smooth floor, and are connected by an elastic link. The hand and the work are connected by a flexible beam. When the driving unit moves on the floor, the work is vibrated not only in the translational motion but also in the bending motion because of the flexibility of the beam. We apply the idea of jerk reduction to the hand for vibration suppression of the work and shortening the settling time in positioning. We show that the jerk reduction control method is effective for this system using numerical simulations for a finite element model.