Optimal Design and Singularity Analysis of a Spatial Parallel Manipulator

Optimal design and singularity analysis are two important aspects of mechanism design, and they are discussed within a spatial parallel manipulator in this work. Resorting to matrix transformation, the parametric kinematic model is established, upon which the inverse position and Jacobian are analyzed. As for optimal design, dexterity and payload indices are taken into consideration. From the simulation results, two optimal configurations are obtained, namely, the star-shaped one and the T-shaped one, and they respectively own the best payload performance and the best dexterity performance. Moreover, the concept of shape singularity is introduced and generalized, which is a special type of singularity that will lead to the singularity in all configurations. The shape singularity of the proposed manipulator is indicated by dexterity index and identified by screw theory. A case study is presented to demonstrate the implication of the shape singularity. Both optimal and singular configurations are useful, and new devices can thus be envisaged for this type of application.