Comparative study of two 3-CRU translational parallel manipulators

Two types of 3-CRU translational parallel manipulators (TPM) are compared and investigated in this paper. The two 3-CRU TPMs have identical kinematics, but some differences exist in terms of the chain arrangement, one is in fully symmetrical chain arrangement, called symmetrical 3-CRU TPM, the other one is in asymmetrical chain arrangement, called asymmetrical 3-CRU TPM. This paper focuses on discussing the differences between the two 3-CRU TPMs in kinematics, workspace and performance. This study provides insights into parallel manipulators with identical kinematics arranged differently.