On the analysis of a new spatial three-degrees-of-freedom parallel manipulator

Abstract

In this paper, a new spatial three-degrees-of-freedom (two degrees of translational freedom and one degree of rotational freedom) parallel manipulator is proposed. The parallel manipulator consists of a base plate, a movable platform, and three connecting legs. The inverse and forward kinematics problems are described in closed forms and the velocity equation of the new parallel manipulator is given. Three kinds of singularities are also presented. The workspace for the manipulator is analyzed systematically; in particular, indices to evaluate the mobility (in this paper, mobility means rotational capability) of the moving platform of the manipulator will be defined and discussed in detail. Finally, a topology architecture of the manipulator is introduced. The parallel manipulator has wide application in the fields of industrial robots, simulators, micromanipulators, and parallel machine tools.