A new configuration of a six degrees-of-freedom parallel robot for MEMS fabrication

Abstract

This paper deals with the difficulties that arise in the realization of micro-mechanisms by MEMS fabrication technique e.g.: fabrication of joints and actuators, joints clearance, lifting the structure from the 2D silicon wafer plane. It then introduces a new structure of a six degrees-of-freedom parallel robot that is suitable for MEMS fabrication. The robot consists of linear actuators located at the base and only revolute joints, both of which are easier to manufacture in MEMS technology. The hybrid kinematic structure contains three single loop sub-mechanisms connected in parallel to the moving platform, and the solution of its inverse kinematics which yields 4,096 solutions is presented.