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In this paper, dimensional optimization of a six-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) 3-CCC (C: cylindrical joint) type asymmetric parallel manipulator (APM) is performed by using particle swarm optimization (PSO). The 3-CCC APM constructed by defining three angle and three distance constraints between base and moving platforms is a member of 3D3A generalized Stewart-Gough platform (GSP) type parallel manipulators. The dimensional optimization purposes to find the optimum limb lengths, lengths of line segments on the base and moving platforms, attachment points of the line segments on the base platform, the orientation angles of the moving platform, and position of the end-effector in the reachable workspace in order to maximize the translational and orientational dexterous workspaces of the 3-CCC APM, separately. The dexterous workspaces are obtained by applying condition number and minimum singular values of the Jacobian matrix. The optimization results are compared with the traditional GSP manipulator for illustrating the kinematic performance of 3-CCC APM. Optimizations show that 3-CCC APM have superior dexterous workspace characteristics than the traditional GSP manipulator.

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A new robot toolbox for dynamics simulation based on MATLAB GraphicalUser Interface (GUI) is developed for educational purposes. It is built on the previous version named as ROBOLAB performing only the kinematics analysis of robot manipulators. The toolbox presented in this paper provides interactive real-time simulation and visualization of the industrial robot manipulator's dynamics based on LangrangeÀEuler and NewtonÀEuler formulations. Since most of the industrial robot manipulators are produced with six degrees of freedom (DOF) such as the PUMA 560, the Fanuc ArcMate 120iB and Stanford Arm, the library of the toolbox includes sixteen fundamental 6-DOF robot manipulators with Euler wrist. The software can be used to interactively perform robotics analysis and off-line programming of robot dynamics such as forward and inverse dynamics as well as to interactively teach and simulate the basic principles of robot dynamics in a very realistic way. In order to demonstrate the user-friendly features of the toolbox much better, simulation of the NS robot manipulator (Stanford Arm) is provided as an example. ß

ABSTRACT:In this paper, a new parallel manipulator software tool based on the MATLAB Graphical User Interface (GUI) is developed for design, analysis and simulation of 195 6-DOF General Stewart Platform mechanisms (GSP). The new proposed tool called as GSPDAP uses four basic leg types (SPS, SPC, CPS, and CCC) to design GSP mechanisms. Point or line coordinates required for leg connections are sufficient for GSPDAP to design a GSP mechanism. Once the design of a GSP mechanism is completed, GSPDAP provides the user with several analyses such as inverse kinematics, Jacobian matrix, workspace, and dexterity. It is not necessary for the user to have preliminary knowledge to obtain the inverse kinematics or Jacobian matrix etc. Additionally, GSPDAP generates symbolic equations for the inverse kinematics and the inverse Jacobian matrices of 195 GSP mechanisms. Including 195 parallel manipulator in its library, GSPDAP provides the educational users to profoundly improve the understanding of parallel manipulator fundamentals through interactive simulation. Parallel manipulators are more complex structures than their serial counterparts. Therefore, designing even one parallel manipulator is very cumbersome and expensive issue. In this condition GSPDAP may provide educators and students to design their manipulators in a computer environment with minimum cost. ß 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 23:931-946, 2015; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ cae;