Dynamic Formulation and Performance Comparison of the 3-DOF Modules of Two Reconfigurable PKM—the Tricept and the TriVariant

Utilizing the virtual work principle, this paper presents a method for the inverse dynamic formulation of the 3-degree-of-freedom (DOF) modules of the well-known Tricept robot and a newly invented hybrid robot named TriVariant. The TriVariant is a modified version of the Tricept, achieved by integrating one of the three active limbs into the passive one. Both local and global conditioning indices are proposed for the dynamic performance evaluation and comparison of these two robots. These indices are designed on the basis of the maximum actuated joint force required for producing a unit acceleration of the mobile platform. For a given set of geometrical and inertial parameters, it has been shown that the TriVariant has a similar overall dynamic performance compared with that of the Tricept.