Tools and techniques for determination of optimization parameters of parallel manipulators

In spite of decades of researches in parallel kinematics (PK), the initial goal of purely parallel six DoF manipulators remains an open discussion. These machines could not sufficiently penetrate industrial market mainly because they could not deliver performances superior to the traditional serial machines of comparable price and capacity. Unachieved accuracy and stiffness targets, unsolved control problems, and other unfulfilled expectations have hindered their progress. Lacking imperial experiences in the control and component design of PKMs make systematic modeling and simulation tools indispensible in their design process. These paper first deals with systematic investigation of key design optimization parameters and analyze their complex interdependencies. Then, selected numerical and graphical tools and techniques are presented on an example of a Hexapod leg of the robot Centaurob.