Designing a Parallel - Kinematic High - Speed Machine Tool

Parallel mechanisms have many features such as high payload, high speed, high acceleration, high rigidity (stiffness), and low inertia and non-accumulating error, these advantages makes it excellent for machine tool applications. In the present study, the analysis of a category of parallel manipulators for the purpose of designing machine tools is developed. First, the solutions of the inverse and forward kinematic problems of the present manipulator are developed. These solutions are then used to determine reachable workspace of the present manipulator at different orientations of the moving platform. It is found that the maximum reachable workspace occurs when the orientation of the moving platform is The Jacobian analysis of the proposed manipulator is introduced and the singular configurations are determined. Second, the dynamic model of the proposed manipulator is developed and is used to determine the actuation forces for different trajectories. Finally, simulation models built using ADAMS software are used to validate the developed kinematic and dynamic models. The simulation shows a good agreement between the results obtained using the developed models and those obtained using ADAMS models.