Input/output force analysis of parallel link manipulators

A method for evaluating kinematic structures of parallel link manipulators based on the relation between actuator forces/moments and output forces/moments of the mechanism is proposed. The input/output force analyses proposed previously have been based on the manipulator Jacobian, in which forces and moments are dealt with together. Manipulators are analyzed in the present work by dealing with the output forces and the output moments independently. The translatability and the rotatability of the manipulators are evaluated on the basis of the output forces and moments for given input forces and moments. The kinematic structure is then analyzed on the basis of translatability and rotatability of the manipulators. The method is natural and intuitive, in the sense that forces and moments having different dimensions are dealt with separately, and is useful for the design of the manipulator kinematic structure