This paper presents a comparison study of the well-conditioned workspace and stiffness properties of two 3-degree-of-freedom (DOF) parallel manipulators, one with three supporting limbs and the other with four supporting limbs. The inverse kinematics and Jacobian of these two mechanisms are analyzed. The well-conditioned workspace of each mechanism is maximized and the stiffness properties are determined. A comparison of the results indicates that the Tricept manipulator out performs the 3-UPU parallel manipulator.

This paper presents a comparison study of the well-conditioned workspace and stiffness properties of two 3 degree-of-freedom (DOF) parallel manipulators, one with three supporting limbs and the other with four supporting limbs. The inverse kinematics and Jacobian of these two mechanisms are analyzed. The well-conditioned workspace of each mechanism is maximized and the stiffness properties are determined. A comparison of the results indicates that the Tricept manipulator out performs the 3-UPU parallel manipulator.

Presents a comparison study of the well-conditioned workspace, stiffness and inertia properties of four 3 degree-of-freedom (DOF) translational parallel manipulators. The well-conditioned workspace of each architecture is maximized and plotted. The stiffness properties of these architectures are then determined. Finally, the inertia properties of these architectures are determined. The limb lengths are normalized to ensure a fair comparison. The results obtained provide a performance index for each of these architectures. The comparison study indicates that none of the architectures is superior to all others with respect to all performance measures. An architecture which suits certain specific performance requirements best should be chosen for an application. Hence this approach is expected to be useful for the conceptual design of hybrid kinematic machines.