| description abstract | In this work, a new parallel manipulator with multiple operation modes is introduced. The proposed robot is based on a three-degrees-of-freedom (3DOF) parallel manipulator endowed with a three-dof central kinematic chain, where by blocking some specific kinematic pairs, the robot can modify its mobility. Hence, the robot manipulator is able to assume the role of a limited-dof or a nonredundant parallel manipulator. Without loss of generality, the instantaneous kinematics of one member of the family of parallel manipulators generated by the reconfigurable parallel manipulator, the three-RPRRC + RRPRU nonredundant parallel manipulator with decoupled motions, is approached by means of the theory of screws. For the sake of completeness, the finite kinematics of the robot is also investigated. Numerical examples are included with the purpose to clarify the method of kinematic analysis. | |
