Global Kinematic Model generation for n-DOF reconfigurable machinery structure

Automated model generation and solution for motion planning and re-planning of automated systems will play an important role in the future of reconfigurable manufacturing systems. Multi-DOF kinematic structure was generated for any combination of either rotational or translational type of joints, using a novel methodology presented in this paper. This model is named n-DOF Global Kinematic Model (n-GKM). All possible kinematic structures are considered in 3D space, which is divided into eight subspaces and three planes. The planes are perpendicular to the x, y, and z axis of the kinematic structure's base frame. The intersections of the three planes divide 3D space into eight subspaces. The kinematic structure generated using the proposed methodology belongs to any of the three surfaces or to any of the eight subspaces. This kinematic structure can be implemented for any robotic system or CNC machine. A methodology for model generation is presented and demonstrated with 2-DOF Global Kinematic Model (2-GKM) case study.