In response to the problem of low efficiency in replacing the wire rope of electric shovel, a manipulator frame used to replace wire rope was designed. The dynamic model of the manipulator frame was established taking the gravity of the wire rope extracted by the end effector of the manipulator frame as the main acting load. Using finite element analysis method, multi-body dynamic analysis method and the "spring-rotor" model, the rigid flexible coupling dynamic analysis was conducted on the arm and main hinge joints. The influence of different joint stiffness on the dynamic characteristics of the end effector was studied, and the optimal stiffness of each joint was selected based on the simulation results to further analyze the influence on joint angular displacement and end effector displacement with/without wire rope action. The results showed that as the stiffness coefficient of the joint increased, the deviation between the joint angular displacement and that in the state of full rigid body without wire rope action gradually decreased, and the end effector displacement gradually approached that in the state of full rigid body without wire rope action; the stiffness of the hinge joint between the telescopic forearm and the curved arm had the greatest influence on the end effector displacement; after selecting the optimal stiffness coefficient for each joint, the angular displacement deviation of the hinge joint between the telescopic mechanism and the turntable was the smallest with wire rope action. The vibration amplitude of the manipulator frame without wire rope action was higher than that with wire rope action. The research results provide a reference for the study of the stability and motion accuracy control of the manipulator frame.