Workspace analysis for a five degrees of freedom hybrid engraving plotter

Abstract

At present, there is a little research on the workspace of the hybrid mechanism, and the further development of the engraving plotter is hindered due to the limitation of the workspace. In order to clearly understand the workspace of the hybrid engraving plotter, and verify whether the workspace meets the industrial production needs, the five degrees of freedom hybrid engraving plotter is analysed and studied. First, the structure of the engraving plotter is analysed and simplified, and then the direct equation is deduced by the analytic method. Second, according to the engraving plotter direct solution equation, the boundary of workspace is determined and the volume is calculated by using the optimisation algorithm. In order to understand the change of workspace in different z planes, the workspace of the parallel part is intercepted by some planes, which are parallel to XOY; thus, the authors know that the cut plane area of the workspace increases with the increase of Z values. Finally, the influence of the mechanism parameters is discussed on the dexterity. These theoretical knowledge will make important research significance for guiding engineering practice.