CAD based techniques for workspace analysis and representation of the 3C̲RS parallel manipulator

Abstract

This paper presents a set of techniques, based on a geometrical approach, for workspace determination and analysis. These techniques are applied for design study of a novel modular parallel manipulator, 3-C̲RS, with 6-DOF. The proposed method is implemented in the CATIA CAD environment, which provides powerful tools for graphical programming and geometric feature handling. A new type of workspace representation is introduced allowing a fine simultaneous characterization of the translation and orientation capacities of the mobile platform.