Type Synthesis of Lower Mobility Parallel Mechanisms: A Review

Type synthesis of mechanisms aims to systematically determine all possible structures for a specific mobility requirement. Numerous methods based on different theories were proposed for type synthesis of lower mobility parallel mechanisms in past decades. However, there does not exist a comprehensive review on these approaches. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to give such a review, classifying the approaches proposed in the literature into three groups, namely, motion-based methods, constraint-based methods, and other methods. The motion-based methods include the Lie group based method, the GF set method, the linear transformation method, the POC set method, and the finite screw method. The constraint-based methods involve the screw theory-based method, the virtual chain method, the method based on Grassmann line geometry and line graphs, and the motion constraint generator method. Other methods contain the enumeration approach based on the general CGK mobility formula and the graph theory method. Upon thoroughly analyzing the characteristics and/or limitations of each method, this review provides a well reference to help researchers find an effective synthesis method for innovative design and further scientific investigations for mechanisms.