V2: A novel two degree-of-freedom parallel manipulator designed for pick-and-place operations

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel high-speed two degree-of-freedom translational parallel manipulator V2 for pick-and-place operations. The proposed V2 manipulator is based on a 2-Pa-UU/RR parallel mechanism. The kinematics analysis, in terms of mobility, singularity and inverse kinematics, is presented in this paper. Within the singularity analysis, three discriminants corresponding to input, output and constraint singularities are put forward successively. To expand the application, two improved schemes are developed, each of them has one more 1R and 1T respectively than the initial version. Confronting the challenging problem of how to measure the closeness between a pose and singular configurations, a set of motion/force transmission and constraint indices is presented. The presented indices are expected to possess the capacity of evaluating the degree of closeness with respect to the singular configurations. Based on these motion/force transmission and constraint indices, the workspace is investigated with the predetermined parameters. The kinematics analysis and workspace identification are necessary and very helpful to the development of the proposed parallel manipulator.