Analysis of kinematic and singular configurations of an asymmetrical parallel mechanism

The forward kinematics and singularity configuration of an asymmetrical parallel mechanism with three translational degrees of freedom were analyzed. By establishing the position equations of the mechanism and obtaining the forward solutions, a better decoupling of the mechanism was proved. Based on the Jacobi velocity transfer matrix, the possible singularity configurations were studied and the methods avoiding these configurations discussed. Although improving the rigidity, the 4R structures in the mechanism also resulted in new singularity configurations. By analysis of a feasible instance, this kind of parallel mechanism can avoid all singularity configurations. Meanwhile, it was proved that the design of structure parameters and the choice of inputs range are important for rigidity and stability of parallel mechanisms.