Kinematics of a New High-Precision Three-Degree-of-Freedom Parallel Manipulator

Closed-form direct and inverse kinematics of a new three-degree-of-freedom (DOF) parallel manipulator with inextensible limbs and base-mounted actuators are presented. The manipulator has higher resolution and precision than the existing three-DOF mechanisms with extensible limbs. Since all of the manipulator actuators are base mounted, higher payload capacity, smaller actuator sizes, and lower power dissipation can be obtained. The manipulator is suitable for alignment applications where only tip, tilt, and piston motions are significant. The direct kinematics of the manipulator is reduced to solving an eighth-degree polynomial in the square of the tangent of the half-angle between one of the limbs and the base plane. Hence, there are at most 16 assembly configurations for the manipulator. In addition, it is shown that the 16 solutions are eight pairs of reflected configurations with respect to the base plane. Numerical examples for the direct and inverse kinematics of the manipulator are also presented.