Extra modes of operation and self motions in manipulators designed for Schoenflies motion

We study 4-UPU parallel manipulators performing Schoenflies motion and show that they can have extra modes of operation with 3 degrees of freedom, depending on the geometric parameters of the manipulators. We show that the transition between the different modes occurs along self-motion of the manipulator in the Schoenflies mode

Pantopteron-4: a New 3T1R Decoupled Parallel Manipulator for Pick-and-Place Applications

International audienceIn this paper, a novel 4-DOF decoupled parallel manipulator with Schoenflies motions, called the Pantopteron-4, is presented. This manipulator is able to perform the same movements as the Isoglide4 or the Quadrupteron, but, due to its architecture which is made of three pantograph linkages, an amplification of the movements between the actuators and the platform displacements is achieved. Therefore, having the same actuators for both robots, the Pantopteron-4 displaces (theoretically) many-times faster than the Isoglide4 or the Quadrupteron, depending on the magnification factor of the pantograph linkages. Thus, this mechanism is foreseen to be used in applications where the velocities and accelerations have to be high, as in pick-and-place. First, the kinematics of the Pantopteron-4 is presented. Then, its workspace is analyzed. Finally, a prototype of the mechanism is shown and conclusions are given

A New 3-DoF Planar Parallel Manipulator with Unlimited Rotation Capability

International audienceMost of three-degree-of-freedom (3-DoF) planar parallel manipulators encountered today have a common disadvantage that is their low rotational capability. However, for many industrial applications, by example in automated assembly systems, cutting machines, simulators, or micro-motion manipulators, a high rotation capability is needed. To overcome such a difficulty, this paper focuses its attention on the proposal of a new 3-DoF planar parallel manipulator capable of high rotational capability. Firstly, structure and mobility of the suggested manipulator are discussed. Then the forward and inverse kinematic problems are analyzed, as well as it is disclosed its singular configurations. The shaking force and shaking moment balancing are also considered. The proposed design concept is illustrated by a driven demonstrator which is a first model of the suggested manipulator

Kinetostatic design of an innovative Schoenflies-motion generator

International audienceIn this paper, a novel parallel robot is introduced. The robot, a Schoenflies-Motion Generator (SMG), is capable of a special class of motions, namely, those produced with serial robots termed SCARA, an acronym for Selective-Compliance Assembly Robot Arm. These motions involve three independent translations and one rotation about an axis of fixed direction. Such motions are known to form a subgroup of the displacement group of rigid-body motions, termed the Schoenflies subgroup. The SMG is composed of two identical four-degree-of-freedom serial chains in a parallel array, sharing one common base and one common moving platform. The proximal module of each chain is active and has two controlled axes, the motors being installed on the fixed base. The links can thus be made light, thereby allowing for higher operational speeds. The distal module, in turn, is passive and follows the motions of its active counterpart, the whole mechanism giving, as a result, a four-degree-of-freedom motion to its end-platform

Parallel Manipulators with Lower Mobility

A review of the criteria to be used for designing parallel manipulators with lower mobility (LM-PMs) is presented. This chapter attempts to provide a unified frame for the study of this type of machines together with a critical analysis of the vast literature about them. The chapter starts with the classification of the LM-PMs, and, then, analyzes the specific subjects involved in the functional design of these machines. Special attention is paid to the definition of the limb topology, the singularity analysis and the discussion of the characteristics of some machines

On the Design of PAMINSA: A New Class of Parallel Manipulators with High-Load Carrying Capacities

International audience1 This paper deals with the new results concerning the topologically decoupled parallel manipulators called PAMINSA. The conceptual design of these manipulators, in which the copying properties of pantograph linkage are used, allows obtaining a large payload capability. A newly synthesized fully decoupled 3 degrees of freedom manipulator is discussed and a systematic approach for motion generation of input point of each limb is presented. It is shown that the conditions of complete static balancing of limbs are not effective in the case of dynamic mode of operation. This is approved by numerical simulations and experiments

Performance-Based Design of the CRS-RRC Schoenflies-Motion Generator

Rigid-body displacements obtained by combining spatial translations and rotations around axes whose direction is fixed in the space are named Shoenflies' motions. They constitute a 4-dimensional (4-D) subgroup, named Shoenflies' subgroup, of the 6-D displacement group. Since the set of rotation-axis' directions is a bi-dimensional space, the set of Shoenflies' subgroups is a bi-dimensional space, too. Many industrial manipulations (e.g., pick-and-place on a conveyor belt) require displacements that belong to only one Schoenflies' subgroup and can be accomplished by particular 4-degrees-of-freedom (4-DOF) manipulators (Shoenflies-motion generators (SMGs)). The first author has recently proposed a novel parallel SMG of type CRS-RRC (1). Such SMG features a single-loop architecture with actuators on the base and a simple decoupled kinematics. Here, firstly, an organic review of the previous results on this SMG is presented; then, its design is addressed by considering its kinetostatic performances. The adopted design procedure optimizes two objective functions, one (global conditioning index (GCI)) that measures the global performance and the other (CImin) that evaluates the worst local performance in the useful workspace. The results of this optimization procedure are the geometric parameters' values that make the studied SMG have performances comparable with those of commercial SMGs. In addition, a realistic 3D model that solves all the manufacturing doubts with simple and cheap solutions is presented

Structural and kinematic synthesis of overconstrained mechanisms

Thesis (Doctoral)--Izmir Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Izmir, 2012Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 133-140)Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and Englishxiii, 140 leavesInvestigation on overconstrained mechanisms needs attention especially in the structural synthesis. Knowing overconstrained conditions and including them in the design process will help creating manipulators with less degree of freedom (DoF) and more rigidity. Also this knowledge of overconstrained conditions will clarify concept of mobility of the parallel manipulators. Another subject, kinematic synthesis of overconstrained mechanisms, is important because it will allow describing a function, path, or motion with less DoF less number of joints. The aim of this thesis is to describe a generalized approach for structural synthesis and creation of new overconstrained manipulators and to describe a potentially generalizable approach for function and motion generation synthesis of overconstrained mechanism. Moreover, screw theory is investigated as a mathematical base for defining kinematics of overconstrained mechanisms. Also, overconstrained mechanisms are investigated and generation of new mechanisms is introduced with examples. Some mathematical models for the subspace geometries are given. A method for defining overconstrained simple structural groups is introduced and extended to design of manipulators with examples and solid drawings. Linear approximation and least squares approximation methods are used for the function generation and motion generation of overconstrained 6R mechanisms. A gap of describing overconstrained manipulators is filled in the area of structural synthesis. A general methodology is described for structural synthesis, mobility and motion calculations of overconstrained manipulators using simple structural groups. A potentially generalizable method for the kinematic synthesis of overconstrained manipulators is described both for function and motion generation

Kinematics and Robot Design I, KaRD2018

This volume collects the papers published on the Special Issue “Kinematics and Robot Design I, KaRD2018” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/robotics/special_issues/KARD), which is the first issue of the KaRD Special Issue series, hosted by the open access journal “MDPI Robotics”. The KaRD series aims at creating an open environment where researchers can present their works and discuss all the topics focused on the many aspects that involve kinematics in the design of robotic/automatic systems. Kinematics is so intimately related to the design of robotic/automatic systems that the admitted topics of the KaRD series practically cover all the subjects normally present in well-established international conferences on “mechanisms and robotics”. KaRD2018 received 22 papers and, after the peer-review process, accepted only 14 papers. The accepted papers cover some theoretical and many design/applicative aspects

The Octahedral Hexarot - a novel 6-DOF parallel manipulator

A novel 6-DOF parallel kinematic manipulator named the Octahedral Hexarot is presented and analyzed. It is shown that this manipulator has the important benefits of combining a large positional workspace in relation to its footprint with a sizable range of platform rotations. These features are obtained by combining a rotation-symmetric actuating arm system with links in an octahedral-like configuration. Thus the manipulator consists of a central cylindrical column with six actuated rotating upper arms that can rotate indefinitely around the central column. Each upper arm is connected to a manipulated platform by one 5-DOF lower arm link. The link arrangement of the Octahedral Hexarot is inspired by the original Gough platform. The manipulated platform is an equilateral triangle and the joint positions on the upper arms approximately form an equilateral triangle. A task dependent optimization procedure for the structural parameters is proposed and the workspace of the resulting manipulator is analyzed in depth.<br /