Design and analysis of a novel 3-DOF planar parallel manipulator with two kinematic chains

Abstract

In this work, to enlarge the workspace, a novel 3-DOF planar parallel manipulator (PPM) with two identical RRR kinematic chains is proposed, and this manipulator has a significant advantage in orienting the moving platform (MP) across a wide range of angles. Resorting to the closed-loop vector approach, the inverse position equation and Jacobian matrix of the novel manipulator are established. Payload performance, dexterity performance, and singularity of the proposed manipulator are analyzed based on the Jacobian matrix. To investigate the distribution characteristics of the constant orientation workspace, orientation workspace, and reachable workspace of the proposed manipulator, a numerical discretization method is employed. Under the same working mode and structural parameters, constant orientation workspace and reachable workspace comparisons between the proposed manipulator and another two traditional PPMs are conducted. Focused on three kinds of performance indices, link lengths optimization of the proposed manipulator is carried out. A 4-DOF pick-and-place equipment is fabricated, and the rotational and translational capabilities are verified based on two examples.