PARALLEL MANIPULATOR WITH PNEUMATIC MUSCLE DRIVE

A parallel delta manipulator of six degrees of freedom with a pneumatic muscle drive was presented in this paper. A solid manipulator model was explained as well as a prototype of this device was presented. Drive units of the manipulator, which consist of two pneumatic counter-rotating muscles connected via belt spur drive and produced by the author of this paper, were characterized. The author presented a scheme of the control system and explained its elements. A kinematic model of the manipulator that is essential in the steering process, was shown. Some unique features of the device, such as high overload of pneumatic muscles, were outlined in this paper as well. They allow applying the manipulator when operating with items of unknown or irregular shapes. Possible collisions of the effecter with the items transferred will be effectively damped by the drives.