Dynamics and Control of a Small-Scale Boom Crane

Cranes are vital to many manufacturing and material-handling processes. However, their physical structure leads to flexible dynamic effects that limit their usefulness. Large payload swings induced by either intentional crane motions or external disturbances decrease positioning accuracy and can create hazardous situations. Boom cranes are one of the most dynamically complicated types of cranes. Boom cranes cannot transfer the payload in a straight line by actuating only one axis of motion because they have rotational joints. This paper presents a nonlinear model of a boom crane. A large range of possible motions is analyzed to investigate the dynamic behavior of the crane when it responds to operator commands. A command-shaping control technique is implemented, and its effectiveness on this nonlinear machine is analyzed. Experimental results verify key theoretical predictions.