Singularity Conditions of 3T1R Parallel Manipulators With Identical Limb Structures

This paper deals with the singularity analysis of parallel manipulators with identical limb structures performing Schonflies motions, namely, three independent translations and one rotation about an axis of fixed direction (3T1R). Eleven architectures obtained from a recent type synthesis of such manipulators are analyzed. The constraint analysis shows that these architectures are all overconstrained and share some common properties between the actuation and the constraint wrenches. The singularities of such manipulators are examined through the singularity analysis of the 4-RUU parallel manipulator. A wrench graph representing the constraint wrenches and the actuation forces of the manipulator is introduced to formulate its superbracket. Grassmann-Cayley Algebra is used to obtain geometric singularity conditions. Based on the concept of wrench graph, Grassmann geometry is used to show the rank deficiency of the Jacobian matrix for the singularity conditions. Finally, this paper shows the general aspect of the obtained singularity conditions and their validity for 3T1R parallel manipulators with identical limb structures. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4005336]