The paper discusses mobility and singularities of the Exechon three-degree-of-freedom (dof) parallel mechanism (PM) on which a family of parallel kinematic machines is based. Exechon designs are used by a number of machine-tool makers. A new version of the manipulator has been developed as a component of a mobile self-reconfigurable fixture system within an inter-European project. The PM has two UPR (4-dof) legs, constrained to move in a common rotating plane, and an SPR (5-dof) leg. The paper focuses on the constraint and singularity analysis of the mechanism. The screw systems of end-effector freedoms and constraints are identified. The singular configurations are classified in detail and their geometric interpretation is discussed. The velocity kinematics and the Jacobian operator are formulated via a screw-system approach. A fully parameterized package of Maple tools has been developed and used to visualize singularities and their consequences.

Volume Subject Area:
36th Mechanisms and Robotics Conference
Topics:
End effectors, Jacobian matrices, Kinematics, Machine tools, Machinery, Manipulators, Mechanical admittance, Parallel mechanisms, Screws
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