Optimal Dimensioning for Parallel Manipulators: Workspace, Dexterity, and Energy

In mechanism design and in the particular case of the parallel manipulator, most optimization problems involve simultaneously optimizing more than one objective function. In this paper, a method to identify Pareto-optimal solutions for the design of low-mobility parallel manipulators is presented. A 4-degree-of-freedom symmetric parallel manipulator for Schonflies-motion generation is taken as a case study. The design goals used are workspace volume and manipulator dexterity based on a dispersion weighted Frobenius norm. In addition, an expression for energy per cycle has been defined for different types of trajectory to evaluate the power drive. Finally, the set of Pareto-optimal solutions of the design parameters are represented in the design parameter space. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4003879]