On the Properties and the Determination of the Wrench-closure Workspace of Planar Parallel Cable-driven Mechanisms

This paper presents a detailed analysis of the constant-orientation wrench-closure workspace of planar three-degree-of-freedom parallel mechanisms driven by four cables. The constantorientation wrench-closure workspace is defined as the subset of the plane wherein, for a given orientation of the moving platform, any planar wrench applied on the moving platform can be balanced by the cable-driven mechanism. Based on mathematical observations, this workspace is proved to be the union of two disconnected sets that may or may not exist. Moreover, if the constant-orientation wrench-closure workspace (WCW) exists, its boundary is shown to be composed of portions of conic sections. Then, an algorithm that determines the constantorientation wrench-closure workspace by means of a graphical representation of its boundary is introduced. Several examples are also included.