A key point dimensional design method of a 6-DOF parallel manipulator for a given workspace

•This method is for designing a manipulator for a given workspace.•A concise description is used to describe the 6-D workspace.•Some key point characteristics have been found.•Direct relations between the given workspace and the manipulator's parameters have been derived.•This design method has very high efficiency and accuracy.

This paper presents a new method of dimensional design for a 6-PSS parallel mechanism according to a given workspace. A symmetrical description has been found to describe the 6-D workspace concisely for the dimensional design. Many key point characteristics have been found and verified by the kinematic analysis and the method of Lagrange multipliers. Furthermore, the direct relations between the given workspace and the manipulator's geometrical parameters have been derived. The proposed design method which is based on these key point characteristics has very high efficiency and accuracy. Additionally, the avoiding of the complex analysis of the manipulator's workspace and the dimensionless derivation make the possibility of wide use of this method.