Integrated Design Toolbox for Tripod-Based Parallel Kinematic Machines

This paper presents a concept and implementation of a toolbox for design and application of tripod-based parallel kinematic machines (PKMs). The toolbox is a suite of design tools to support users from conceptual design to actual application of tripod-based PKMs. These design tools have been individually developed in different languages and development environments, and are integrated seamlessly using a JAVA-based platform. Users can access all the design tools through a friendly graphical user interface (GUI). It is the first computer-aided design system specially developed for tripod-based PKMs. The toolbox includes some innovative methodologies, such as a forward kinematics solver, the concept of joint workspace, on-line monitoring based on forward kinematics, and the concept of motion purity. The paper gives an overview on the toolbox architecture and some key technologies.