Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering

, Volume 28, Issue 1, pp 20–28 | Cite as

Atlas based kinematic optimum design of the Stewart parallel manipulator

  • Zhufeng Shao
  • Xiaoqiang Tang
  • Liping Wang
  • Dengfeng Sun
Article
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Abstract

Optimum design is a key approach to make full use of potential advantages of a parallel manipulator. The optimum design of multi-parameter parallel manipulators(more than three design parameters), such as Stewart manipulator, relies on analysis based and algorithm based optimum design methods, which fall to be accurate or intuitive. To solve this problem and achieve both accurate and intuition, atlas based optimum design of a general Stewart parallel manipulator is established, with rational selection of design parameters. Based on the defined spherical usable workspace(SUW), primary kinematic performance indices of the Stewart manipulator, involving workspace and condition number are introduced and analyzed. Then, corresponding performance atlases are drawn with the established non-dimensional design space, and impact of joint distribution angles on the manipulator performance is analyzed and illustrated. At last, an example on atlas based optimum design of the Stewart manipulator is accomplished to illustrate the optimum design process, considering the end-effector posture. Deduced atlases can be flexibly applied to both quantitative and qualitative analysis to get the desired optimal design for the Stewart manipulator with respect to related performance requirements. Besides, the established optimum design method can be further applied to other multi-parameter parallel manipulators.

Keywords

optimum design performance atlas parallel mechanism Stewart 
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Copyright information

© Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Zhufeng Shao
    • 1
    • 2
  • Xiaoqiang Tang
    • 1
    • 2
  • Liping Wang
    • 1
    • 2
  • Dengfeng Sun
    • 3
  1. 1.State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Department of Mechanical EngineeringTsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
  2. 2.Beijing Key Lab of Precision/Ultra-precision Manufacturing Equipments and ControlTsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
  3. 3.School of Aeronautics and Astronautics EngineeringPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteUSA

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