Interactions in multi-joint manipulator dynamics must be eliminated for the prospective control of improved robots. The high-gain effect of sliding mode control suppresses such interactions as inertia variations, Coriolis force and centrifugal force between joints without any stability problem. The resulting system is robust in the sliding mode. In this paper, a time-varying hypersurface is introduced in order to ensure sliding motion throughout the entire response, and a nonlinear compensator is also used to reduce the chattering caused by switching input. The experimental results for a two-linkage manipulator show the validity of this technique for noninteracting control.