The Design of a New Rotary Hexapod with a Single Active Degree of Freedom

Abstract

This study provides a novel approach for designing a rotary hexapod with a single actuator and definable motion of a platform. Hexapod is a parallel structure mechanism with six legs and six degrees of freedom (DoF) of an end-effector. It is not an under actuated system as it cannot completely control a motion of a platform by less than six actuators. In the proposed study we developed a new under actuated hexapod driven by planar linkage with singular DoF. This novel design was reached by combining a zero-DoF structural group including six parallel chains with a platform and planar linkage mechanism with mobility one set by a movable base. We placed six parallel chains on the base by means of carriages coupled to the movable levers of the planar linkage. The final system is actuated by single rotation of a driving link set in the base.