Bifurcation property and persistence of configurations for parallel mechanisms

Abstract

The configuration of parallel mechanisms at the singularity position is uncertain. How to control the mechanism through the singularity position with a given configuration is one of the key problems of the robot controlling. In this paper the bifurcation property and persistence of configurations at the singularity position is investigated for 3-DOF parallel mechanisms. The dimension of the bifurcation equations is reduced by Liapunov-Schmidt reduction method. According to the strong equivalence condition, the normal form which is consistent with the bifurcation condition of the original equation is selected. Through universal unfolding of the bifurcation equation, the influences of the disturbance factors, such as the influence of length of the input component on the configuration persistence at the bifurcation position, are analyzed. Using this method we can obtain the bifurcation curve in which the configuration will be held when the mechanism passes through the singularity position. Therefore, the configuration is under control in this way.