A methodology to achieve the set of operation modes of reconfigurable parallel manipulators

The demand for increasingly more versatile machinery has boosted the development of the so-called reconfigurable mechanisms. In this paper, the authors present a general methodology to assess the multioperational capacity of a 6-DOF parallel manipulator basing on the possible motion patterns having Lie group structure that the manipulator owns. This ability of having different operation modes enables the manipulator to adapt to diverse tasks. To show the potential of the methodology, this approach has been applied to the 6-DOF 3-CPCR which is capable of generating multiple motion patterns. In addition to carrying out the complete theoretical study in which all the different operation modes are obtained, and validating the procedure with GIM software designed for kinematic analysis and design of mechanisms, a demonstration prototype of the 3-CPCR parallel manipulator has been also built.