Error modeling and tolerance design of a parallel manipulator with full-circle rotation

A method for improving the accuracy of a parallel manipulator with full-circle rotation is systematically investigated in this work via kinematic analysis, error modeling, sensitivity analysis, and tolerance allocation. First, a kinematic analysis of the mechanism is made using the space vector chain method. Using the results as a basis, an error model is formulated considering the main error sources. Position and orientation error-mapping models are established by mathematical transformation of the parallelogram structure characteristics. Second, a sensitivity analysis is performed on the geometric error sources. A global sensitivity evaluation index is proposed to evaluate the contribution of the geometric errors to the accuracy of the end-effector. The analysis results provide a theoretical basis for the allocation of tolerances to the parts of the mechanical design. Finally, based on the results of the sensitivity analysis, the design of the tolerances can be solved as a nonlinearly constrained optimization problem. A genetic algorithm is applied to carry out the allocation of the manufacturing tolerances of the parts. Accordingly, the tolerance ranges for nine kinds of geometrical error sources are obtained. The achievements made in this work can also be applied to other similar parallel mechanisms with full-circle rotation to improve error modeling and design accuracy.