Stewart Platform: Design & Analyze Parallel Manipulator

Introduction

This model simulates a six-degree-of-freedom Stewart platform. The position and orientation of the platform is determined by the lengths of six legs. Each leg comprises a linear actuator and five rotational degrees of freedom. The model is constructed from components in the Modelica.Mechanics library. The Wolfram Language is used to plan the 3D geometry of the model, and to produce custom visualizations of simulation results.

View the model diagram for this model.

In order to get the full experience of this example, you need the following:

• A desktop Wolfram Language product; a free trial download is available at www.wolfram.com/mathematica/trial/
• The StewartPlatform.nb notebook that came in the same bundle as this model

Simulation & Animation

To simulate the model and view a 3D animation of it, follow the steps below:

• Click the button in the top-right corner.
• When the build is finished, click the Simulate button .
• When the simulation is finished, click the Animate button .
• Use your mouse or trackpad to drag the animation into a good angle, and zoom in with your scroll wheel or by using the trackpad. Then click the play button to play the animation.

The automatically generated animation shows the Stewart platform following a prescribed test trajectory:

See below for more advanced custom visualizations.

Design: 3D Geometry

Use the Wolfram Language to plan the 3D geometry of the Stewart platform and solve the inverse kinematics problem to plan the motion of the platform:

Visualization: Custom 3D Animation

Build up a custom 3D visualization of the Stewart platform using the Wolfram Language and export an AVI movie:

Visualization: Leg Length Offset

Use the Wolfram Language to create a custom visualization of the effect of a small offset in a single leg:

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