Kinematics Analysis of a Novel Translational Parallel Manipulator

A new translational parallel manipulator with fully-symmetrical topological structure is presented in this paper. There is a planar parallelogram in each limb, which contributes to improve the rigidity of the manipulator. Firstly, the degree of freedom of the mechanism is analyzed based on the units of single-opened-chain. Secondly, both the forward and the inverse position problems of the mechanism are investigated, respectively, in terms of different actuated inputs, i.e., rotary actuation or linear actuation method. Then, the velocity analysis is carried out when the rotary inputs are adopted; dexterity analysis is performed as well. The kinematic Jacobian is similar to a diagonal matrix, thus the mechanism is an uncoupled one. The manipulator proposed here has widely potential applications in the fields of parallel machine tools and robots.