The Workspace of a General Geometry Planar Three-Degree-of-Freedom Platform-Type Manipulator

This paper focuses on the direct workspace problems of a general geometry fully-parallel-actuated, planar three-degree-of-freedom platform-type manipulator. A set of equations are presented that determine the workspace as a function of the platform orientation. The formulation is governed by the solution to the inverse position problem of the manipulator. The reachable positions of the end-effector point, for a specified platform orientation, are analyzed. To illustrate the concepts, a practical example is included where the end-effector is required to move a cup filled with water. Then the platform orientation, for a specified location of the end-effector point, is studied. If an arbitrary orientation is possible, the specified location of the end-effector point is said to be within the primary workspace. The paper includes a detailed discussion of the total primary workspaces of the manipulator. The approach adopted here is to regard the manipulator as a combination of three planar, three-revolute open chains. For the sake of completeness, the influence of special manipulator geometry on the workspace is also discussed. Finally, the paper includes the conditions that cause stationary configurations of the manipulator. Insight into these undesirable configurations is provided by a study of the location of the absolute instant center of the platform.