OVERALL OF

PARALLEL ROBOTS

Abstract
Parallel robot (PR) is a mechanical system that utilized multiple computer-
controlled limbs to support one common platform or end effector. Comparing to
a serial robot, a PR generally has higher precision and dynamic performance and,
therefore, can be applied to many applications.
The origins of Parallel Robots
Theoretical work on parallel
mechanisms, and particularly
hexapods, dates back centuries,
when English and French
geometricians were particularly
interested in polyhedra.
However, possibly the first
parallel robot was conceived by
James E. Gwinnett, a farmer in
the USA, who applied for a
patent in 1928 . His invention
was a 3-DOF spherical motion
platform for use in movie
theaters, where sound and picture were still a novelty.

A decade later, and only seventeen years after the term "robot" was coined by Karel Čapek, a new
parallel robot was invented for automated spray painting by Willard L. V. Pollard. This ingenious
invention was a 5-DOF triple-arm parallel robot. Pollard's
robot was intended for spray painting, but, unfortunately,
was never built. The engineer who co-designed the first
industrial robot was Willard L. V. Pollard's son, Willard L.
G. Pollard Jr.

In 1934, Willard L. G. Pollard Jr. filed a patent for a spray

painting machine. The invention comprises a control
system and a manipulator. The control system consists of
perforated films, and the manipulator is essentially a five-
bar linkage.

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 In 1947, on the other side of the Atlantic, a new
parallel robot was invented, the one that
became the most common parallel robot, the
telescoping-leg hexapod. Dr. Eric Gough, who
built this first octahedral hexapod, was a
distinguished automotive engineer at Dunlop
Rubber Co. in England.

The new feature introduced in Gough's platform

was the symmetrical arrangement of the six
legs. The machine was built in the early 1950s
and was fully operational in 1954. In the early
days, the extensible legs were manually
adjustable.

Back in the USA, the first license was granted

to Link, then the foremost manufacturer of
flight simulators, in the late 1960s. The first
infringement was committed in the early
1970s by CAE, the current leader in flight
simulators. The lawsuit launched by the
Franklin Institute was successful, resulting in
a penalty and a forced license. Other
companies subsequently entering the market
had to respect Cappel's patent. Meanwhile,
two other motion simulators were built by
the Franklin Institute. The first was a
helicopter simulator. The second was a
driving simulator.

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 Back in the UK, in 1965, a mechanical
engineer, D. Stewart, unaware of Gough's
and Cappel's work, proposed a mechanism
with six telescoping legs for use as a flight
simulator.His parallel mechanism,
however, is different from the octahedral
hexapod, which is, paradoxically, often
referred to as the "Stewart platform".
Stewart's paper sparked ardent
discussions among researchers, one of
whom was Dr. Gough, who reminded
them of the existence of his tire-testing
machine. Various suggestions for the use
of the hexapod were made, many of which
were accurate predictions of future uses.

Since the early 1980s, hundreds of novel designs have been proposed, and almost as many
applications filed [12]. Many of these parallel architectures are truly innovative, but there was one
that became by far the most sucessful parallel robot for industrial application: the Delta robot.

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Types of PR
The main advantages of parallel robots at a glance:

- An optimal ratio between moving mass and payload leads to both maximum dynamics and very high
precision.

- Extreme stiffness - Perfect energy efficiency.

- No maintenance.

- Compact design.

- No floor space necessary due to possible overhead installation.

- The heavy actuators may often be centrally mounted on a single base platform, the movement of the
arm taking place through struts and joints alone.

- The reduction in mass along the arm permits a lighter arm construction, thus lighter actuators and
faster movements.

- The centralisation of mass also reduces the robot’s overall moment of inertia.

Parallel robot manipulators can be classified as :

- Planar
- Spherical
- Spatial manipulators in accordance with their motion characteristics.

The parallel manipulator is symmetrical if it satisfied the following conditions:

1. The number of limbs is equal to the numbers of degrees of freedom of the moving platform.

2. The type and number of joints in all the limbs are arranged in an identical pattern.

3. The number and location of actuated joints in all the limbs are the same.

Two of the most popular parallel robots are the telescoping-leg hexapod used in most motion
simulators (often called "motion platforms") and the so-called Delta robot, generally used for rapid

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pick-and-place. While there are fewer parallel robots than serial robots in use, the variety of parallel
robots is larger.

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The special about Parallel Robots :

- It is often said that parallel robots are stiffer, faster, and more accurate than serial robots. The truth
is much more complex, however, since parallel robots differ hugely from one another. It is true that
the motors in many parallel robots are fixed to the base, which leaves the mobile part relatively light.
This has made Delta robots the fastest robots that have been designed for years now. However, recent
advances in motor technology and control have produced serial robots that are extremely fast.

Finally, it is true to say that most multi-axis precision positioning devices are based on parallel robots,
mostly hexapods and tripods.

Who manufactures Parallel Robots and for what

applications ?
Dozens of companies currently offer parallel robots, mostly hexapods and Delta robots. In the case of
motion simulation, one of the three most popular applications for parallel robots, the industry leader is
Moog. Another major supplier of motion systems is Bosch Rexroth. There are dozens of other smaller
builders, such as InMotion Simulation and Servos & Simulation.

The second most popular application for parallel robots is the pick-and-place operation. These are now
manufactured by ABB, FANUC, Kawasaki, Motoman, Panasonic, and dozens of smaller manufacturers
around the world. There is, however, a new trend, towards four-arm 4-DOF pick-and-place robots,
which began when Adept Technology produced their incredibly fast Quattro. The Veloce, from Penta
Robotics, is another robot of this type. Finally, Codian Robotics and VELTRU manufacture both
standard and dual-arm Delta robots, while Electro ABI offer asymmetric three-arm Deltas.

The third most popular application for parallel robots is precise positioning. Most of these robots are
based on telescoping-leg hexapods, but tripods and hexapods with fixed-length legs are used as well.
The major manufacturers of hexapods for high-accuracy alignment are PI, Symétrie, and Newport.
Other manufacturers are SmarAct and ALIO Industries. Parallel mechanisms are also the preferred
choice for haptic devices, which devices are manufactured by Force Dimension, Entact Robotics, and
Novint, for example.

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There are also several machine tools based on parallel mechanisms. Most PKMs are built by the Starrag
Group, by Metrom and by licensees of Exechon. Finally, there are companies offering various products
based on parallel robots, from CMMs (e.g. Renishaw) to toys (e.g. IXI-Play).

Are Parallel Robots is difficult to design ?

These days, coming up with yet another parallel robot design is not easy. Hundreds of designs have
already been patented, and it is difficult to optimize an existing design.

In fact, to design a robot that can follow prescribed trajectories with its end-effector, all that is
required is to solve its inverse kinematics. This involves calculating the required motor positions
(active-joint variables), given the pose (position and orientation) of the end-effector. For a typical
parallel robot, this is straightforward.

The workspace of the robot then needs to be calculated. There are several advanced methods for
doing this, but a simple discretization method can also be used. With this method, the inverse
kinematics are solved for each potential pose of the end-effector, and the designer verifies that all the
constraints are satisfied. For most robots, there are several possible inverse kinematic solutions, also
called working modes, that can be used. For multi-DOF parallel robots, the workspace is usually
impossible to represent graphically, and so it is common in this case to calculate only the  constant-
orientation workspace.

A major problem with parallel robots is the presence of Type 2 singularities (in real analysis). These are
dangerous configurations where the end-effector is no longer fully constrained. In some parallel robots,
they are simple to describe (e.g. in the five-bar, these occur when the distal links are aligned), but in
most robots they are very complex to analyze. Type 2 singularities must be taken into account when
computing the workspace, since they are difficult to cross and they cut the workspace into sections.
Ideally, the mechanical limits of the parallel robot should prevent it from entering a Type 2 singularity.

In some applications, such as coordinate measurement or rapid material handling, the direct kinematics
of a parallel robot also need to be solved. This involves calculating the possible poses for the end-
effector, given the active-joint variables. For some parallel robots, this task is trivial (e.g. for the
Tripteron), for others it is relatively simple (e.g. for the five-bar robot, the Delta robot, or even the
Hexapteron), but for most it is very challenging.

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Finally, as with any other mechanism, parallel robots need to be optimized. Since the performance of
most parallel robots varies significantly from one pose to another, and since most performance criteria
are antagonistic, the optimal design of most parallel robots is a very difficult problem. Unfortunately,
there is no one procedure for optimizing parallel robots, and they all have their pitfalls.

Identify issues
During the construction process, designing the PR model needs to :

- Draw and simulation of RB structure on computer

- Calculate the size and actual shape of the model

- Sourcing of electronic components and materials for model hardware outsourcing

- System design, mechanical-electro-pneumatic of model RB

- Calculate the parameters of the transmitter, the transmission function and the operation controller of
the robot

Scope
1 / Depends on the factors:

- Execution time.

- Applicability, feasibility and urgency of the topic

- Application environment: Domestic, foreign, ...

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 - The ability and topic development.

- Economic and social situation, social needs, purchase and development needs, ...

- And a number of other dependent variables, directly or indirectly affecting the ability of the topic

From the determinants of influence and dependency, there will be subject limitation in
implementation and development.

2 / Limit of topic:

- Parallel mechanism of 5 DOF

- Hybrid parallel mechanism: The parallel mechanism with the n-DOF terminator is connected to the
base by independent kinetic chains m (m <n), each chain having one or more joints activated.

- Application in a certain direction: Painting, sculpture, gaming (caro), CNC, ...

- High-speed: DexTAR

- Research in the school environment and develop to the market: business or construction.

- Time limit: 8-10 months from July 1, 2020.

Object
- Design and control parallel rotbot 5 degrees of freedom and at high speed

- Optimizing the kinetic equation and maximizing the working space of the robot

- For the application to Pick and Place systems, assembly needs to achieve high productivity and
precision

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