Workspace, Transmissibility and Dynamics of a New 3T3R Parallel Pick-and-place Robot with High Rotational Capability

Abstract

This paper presents a six-limb high-speed parallel robot for pick-and-place operations that is based on two Delta robots, where the two sub-platforms are connected by a gearbox. Unlike the current 6-axis Delta-type robot, all the actuators of the robot are mounted on a base platform, allowing to reduce the inertia for high dynamic performance. Besides the 3-axis translations, the three rotations of the robot end-effector are realized by the differential motions of the two sub-platforms in three directions for large orientational workspace, but without significantly increased structural complexity of gearbox, compared to the existing one. The kinematic problems are studied to reveal that the workspace volume of the robot is similar to the commercial Delta-type robots. The simplified dynamic model is established and the simulation results show that the robot can reach up to a 20G acceleration subject to the commercial actuation combination.