Kinematic analysis of a new 3-DOF translational parallel manipulator

A novel three-degrees-of-freedom (3-DOF) translational parallel manipulator (TPM) with orthogonally arranged fixed actuators is proposed in this paper The mobility of the manipidator is analyzed via screw theory. The inverse kinematics, forward kinematics, and velocity analyses are performed and the singularities and isotropic configurations are investigated in details afterwards. Under different cases of physical constraints imposed by mechanical joints, the reachable workspace of the manipulator is geometrically generated and compared. Especially, it is illustrated that the manipulator in principle possesses a fairly regular like workspace with a maximum cuboid defined as the usable workspace inscribed and one isotropic configuration involved. Furthermore, the singularity within the usable workspace is verified, and simulation results show that there exist no any singular configurations within the specified workspace. Therefore, the presented new manipulator has a great potential for high precision industrial applications such as assembly, machining, etc.