ASME DETC 1998

Background
Twists in Kinematics and Wrenches in Statics

Vijay Kumar

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 ASME DETC 1998

Background
z'
Rigid Body Motion {M}
z
{F} FINAL
P(t) = R(t) p + d(t) POSITION y'

INIT IAL P
POSITION

R 33 rotation matrix p

d
31 translation vector y
d
O

x'
Alternatively,
x
P   R 33 d31  p 
1    0 1  1  The motion of a rigid body is
   13  
described by the matrix function of
time
 R t  dt 
At   
 0 1 
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 ASME DETC 1998

Rigid Body Velocity

z'

Rigid Body Motion {M}

z
{F} FINAL
POSITION y'
P(t) = R(t) p + d(t)
INIT IAL P
POSITION
p
dP dR dd
 p d
y
dt dt dt
O
 dR 1  dd
 R  P  d  
 dt  dt x'

dR 1 dd  dR 1  x
 R P   R d t) angular velocity matrix
dt
  dt   
dt 
 vO     2 
   3 0  1 
 
The velocity of the rigid body is  2 1 0 
described by t) and vO t). vO t) velocity of a point on the rigid
body coincident with the origin 3
 ASME DETC 1998

Rigid Body Velocity

z'

Rigid Body Motion {M}

z
{F} FINAL
POSITION y'
P(t) = R(t) p + d(t)
INIT IAL P
POSITION
p
dP dR dd
 p d
y
dt dt dt
O
 dR 1  dd
 R  P  d  
 dt  dt x'

dR 1 dd  dR 1  x
 R P   R d t) angular velocity matrix
dt
  dt   
dt 
 vO     2 
   3 0  1 
 
The velocity of the rigid body is  2 1 0 
described by t) and vO t). vO t) velocity of a point on the rigid
body coincident with the origin 4
 ASME DETC 1998

Velocity and Twist

z'
Twist
{M}
A 61 velocity vector: z
{F} FINAL

 POSITION y'

t  P
 vO 
INITIAL
POSITION
p
d
y
Or, a 44 velocity matrix: O

R d  RT  RT d   vO 
T  
x'

0 0 1  0 0 
 0  x


A A 1

The velocity of any point on the The twist of the rigid body contains
rigid body is simply: all information about the
instantaneous velocity of the rigid
P   v O  P  body.
   0 0   0 
0 
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 ASME DETC 1998

Instantaneous Screw Axis (ISA)

There is a unique (screw) axis and a
u
pitch associated with any twist vector.


t 
 vO 
Let u be a unit vector so that:

u O
Decompose vO into components parallel
and perpendicular to u: Any twist vector can be written as:
vO = vparallel + vperpendicular
  u 
t      
 vO   hu    u 
Let vparallel = h u, and define a vector so
that:  (, u) define the axis
vperpendicular =    h is the pitch of the axis
  is the intensity of the twist about
the ISA. 6
 ASME DETC 1998

ISA, continued
The Instantaneous screw axis (ISA) is
u
described by:
 u, the orientation of the axis
 , the position vector to a point on the
axis
 h, the pitch of the axis

O
The rigid body velocity can be thought of as a
twist about a screw axis with a certain
amplitude. The twist vector is written as:
  u 
amplitude of the twist t      
 vO  hu    u 
 u 
hu    u  - the vector representing the axis
 

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 ASME DETC 1998

Velocity field associated with a rigid body

Instantaneous screw axis and the helicoidal vector field

 q
vP
P Helix of pitch h and axis S
h
passing through the point P
q O

The velocity field or the set of all velocity vectors forms a helicoidal vector field.
Let the origin be on the instantaneous screw axis corresponding to the twist. The velocity of
any point P consists of a component parallel to the instantaneous screw axis and another
velocity component normal to it. The velocity component normal to the screw axis is also
normal to the normal from the point to the screw axis and is proportional both to the length of
that normal and to the angular velocity, . It can be represented by the expression   q,
where q is the normal vector from the screw axis to the point. 8
 ASME DETC 1998

Screws of zero and infinite pitch

Revolute joint Prismatic joint

u u
z z
Axis
O
 y O
y
d
Axis

u = [0, 0, 1]T,  = [a, b, c]T,     u      0 

 u = [b, -a, 0]T
t       u = [0, 0, 1]
T
t     d 
 vO    u   vO  u 

The motion of the rigid body due to a The motion of the rigid body due to a
revolute joint can be described as a prismatic joint can be described as a
twist about a screw of zero pitch. twist about a screw of infinite pitch. 9
 ASME DETC 1998

What is a Wrench?
Fi

Cj
l

Fj F
Ci

ri C
rn
O
O

Any system of forces and couples can be reduced to a pure force along an axis l,
and a pure couple parallel to l. This combination of a force and a couple is called
a wrench.
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 ASME DETC 1998

Wrenches
Fi

Cj
l

F j
u
Ci
F

ri C
M O n
O
O
 Resultant force and couple C '
n m n
F   Fi , M O   Ci   ri  Fi
i 1 i 1 i 1
 Equipollent to a force F along l and a couple C parallel to l
F  MO F  MO
n  , C
FF F 11
 ASME DETC 1998

Screw Axis for a Wrench

The screw axis is described by:
u  u, the orientation of the axis
 , the position vector to a point on the
axis
 h, the pitch of the axis

The system of forces and couples can be

 thought of as a wrench about a screw axis with
O
a certain intensity.
Any system of forces and couples
can be reduced to a wrench vector Fintensity of the wrench
which can be written as:
 u  - the vector representing the axis
 F   u  hu    u 
w  F  
 hu    u 
M O   

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 ASME DETC 1998

Lines and Plucker Line Coordinates

y
Any line can be represented by 6 coordinates
(L, M, N, P, Q, R)
where
(L, M, N) T = v;
(P, Q, R) T = (  v). v

Note there are only four independent coordinates:  x

 LP + MQ + NR = 0
l
 (L, M, N, P, Q, R)  (kL, kM, kN, kP, kQ, kR)
z
A line can be written in the form
 u 
hu    u 
 
where h=0.
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 ASME DETC 1998

Screws and Lines

 An instantaneous screw axis or simply a screw is a line with a pitch
associated with it.
 A zero pitch screw can be identified with a line.
 An infinite pitch screw can be identified with a line located at infinity.

 u  0 
lim hu    u   u 
h     

 v  0
lim   v   u 
     

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 ASME DETC 1998

Lines in Kinematics and Statics

l l

u u

r F r w
O O

A body subject to a pure force along the A body instantaneously undergoing a

axis l pure rotation about the axis l
 A pure force is a wrench of zero  A pure rotation is a twist of zero
pitch pitch
 We can represent the force by a line.  We can represent the rotation by a
line 15
 ASME DETC 1998

Lines in Kinematics and Statics (Cont’d)

u0 u0

C V

O O

A body subject to a pure couple A body instantaneously undergoing a

pure translation
 A pure couple is a wrench of  A pure translation is a twist of
infinite pitch infinite pitch
 We can represent the couple by a  We can represent the translation
line at infinity by a line at infinity 16
 ASME DETC 1998

Example
P

Two revolute joints in series a2 2

 Screw axis for Joint 1 u1
0 
0  z a1
 
1 1
t1   1   O
0  y u2 Axis 2
0 
  Axis 1
0 

 Screw axis for Joint 2 cos 1 

 sin  
cos 1   a1 sin 1   1

u 2   sin 1 , 2   a1 cos 1   u2    0 
    t 2  2    2  

 2  u 2  0 
 0   0 
 0 
 
  a1  17
 ASME DETC 1998

Background: Open Chain Linkages

Axis 2
u2
System of screws: Open chain linkages
u1
Let the end effector twist be T.
Consider two joints, 1 & 2. Axis n
 A 1
TA
d z
 A1A 2  A1A 2 1
dt
Axis 1
1
 1A  A1 A
A 1

 2 A A1
2
1
 1 O
x
y
1
 T1  A1 T2 A1
 T1  T2

The effect of twists about two joints connected in series is to produce a

composite twist that is obtained by adding the two twists (in the same
coordinate system). 18
 ASME DETC 1998

Background: Closed Chain Linkages

Axis 2
u2
System of screws: Open chain linkages
u1
The effect of twists about n joints
connected in series is to produce a
Axis n
composite twist that is obtained by
adding the n joint twists (in the same
coordinate system). z

Axis 1
 A 1
TA O
y
d x
 A1A 2  A n  A1A 2  A n 1
dt

 1A 1  A1 A
A 1 2
 1
 2 A 1 A1    A1A 2  A n 1  A 
 n A 1 A1A 2  A n 1 1
n
1
 T1  A1T2 A1    A1A 2  A n 1 Tn A1A 2  A n 1 1
 T1  T2    Tn
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 ASME DETC 1998

Background: Closed chain linkages

Axis 2
u2
System of screws for a closed chain
u1

Consider a closed loop linkage with n Link 1

Axis n-1
joints. The twist of Link n-1 is given
by: Link n-1
T  T1  T2    Tn 1
z

If the twist of joint n is Tn, Axis 1

O
T  Tn y Axis n
x Link 0
Link 0
In other words,
T1  T2    Tn 1  Tn  0

 The sum of the twists for all joints in a closed chain equals zero.
 The joint twist in a closed chain is obtained from the other joint twists by
simply adding (or subtracting) them.
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