Virtual Prototyping of a Novel Manipulator for Efficient Laser Processing of Complex Large Parts

Traditional industrial robots offer significant operational flexibility and adapt well to reconfigurable production systems, although they face limitations in applications demanding high motion performance and spatial positional accuracy. While novel manufacturing solutions supporting small batch productions of custom products are widely researched, they are not yet fully available at industrial level. With the aim to advance in this domain, the present work, conducted in the context of the EU project OPeraTIC, reports the development of a novel manipulator for advanced three-dimensional laser surface treatment of large industrial components. The proposed robotic platform presents a decoupled kinematic architecture, with direct drive actuation in all axes. Its open control ensures adaptability to diverse manufacturing scenarios, making it a versatile tool for modern production lines. Starting from the description of its embodiment design and mechanical layout, the paper delves into robot virtual prototyping focusing on kinematic and dynamics aspects. In particular, a detailed behavioral model covering direct and inverse kinematic calculations, also allowing the precise evaluation of all actuation forces/torques, has been developed using analytical approaches. The model is validated with a commercial solver imposing different spatial motions. The generated performance maps illustrate the robot operational capabilities across a range of work scenarios.