WORKSPACE OF WIRE-ACTUATED PARALLEL MANIPULATORS AND VARIATIONS IN DESIGN PARAMETERS

摘要

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the effect of small variations (uncertainties) and large variations in design parameters on the size and shape of the workspace of the wire-actuated parallel manipulators. The static force/moment balance equations, taking into account the null space of the Jacobian matrix, are used for the workspace analysis. The parameters examined include: the winding direction of wires on the pulleys; the radius of the pulley; the orientation, radius, and mass of the mobile platform; the peg length; and the ratio of the peg radii at the entrance and exit. Also, the effect of the geometric arrangement of wire attachment points and the number of wire connection points on the mobile platform, on the size and shape of the workspace is considered. The simulation results show the effect of small and large variations in the aforementioned parameters on the workspace of wire-actuated parallel manipulators without and with gravity.