Concept Design and Analysis of a Novel Steamer-Filling Robot

Steamer-filling operation is a crucially important process in the liquor-making process, directly related to liquor yield and liquor quality. But so far, this process is still dominated by manual operation. In view of working environment and labor shortages in this industry, a novel exclusive steamer-filling robot is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the steamer-filling operation process is described, and the structure composition and function realization of the robot are particularly introduced. Secondly, the kinematics problems in terms of position analysis and workspace of the robot are analyzed in detail. Thirdly, experimental analyses are made to prove the validity and efficiency of the robot system. Finally, some conclusions and the future developing direction are prescribed

Determining Singularity-Free Inner Workspace through Offline Conversion of Assembly Modes for a 3-RRR PPM

The existing singularity avoidance methods have deficiencies, such as the conditionality of the online conversion of the assembly modes (AMs) and the kinematically redundant manipulator with the predicament of the prototype design and added complexity of the mechanism. To address these issues, a method to determine a singularity-free inner workspace through offline conversion of the AMs of the 3-RRR planar parallel manipulator (PPM) is presented. Based on the geometric relations among rods of the manipulator during the occurrence of singularity, and the singular points at or near the boundary of the workspace are permitted, the AMs and ranges of the orientation angle of the moving platform corresponding to the inner singularity-free workspace are determined through a three-dimensional search method. The simulation and experimental comparisons indicate that singular-free paths related to the constant or variable orientation angle of the moving platform can be planned on the singularity-free inner workspace