Reconfigurable analysis and workspace optimization of modular cable-suspended parallel robot

A reconfigurable design method of a modular cable-suspended parallel robot (MCSPR) reconfigured by six same modular branches is proposed in this paper. The MCSPR can be reconstructed by not only separating or adding diverse number of modular branches through manual assistance, but also altering the angles and heights of the modular branches automatically. A structural synthesis based on graph theory of the MCSPR is proposed. The inverse kinematics and statics of the MCSPR including five different configurations are analyzed through a unified method. The kinematics capability of the MCSPR is verified by the experiments. The Monte Carlo method is adopted to analyze the static equilibrium workspace (SEW) of the MCSPR considering different affecting factors. As an example, a 6-degree of freedom (DOF) SEW is analyzed in detail. The objective function of the maximal SEW volume of the MCSPR is defined. The maximal SEW volume of the 6-DOF MCSPR is obtained by optimizing the objective function. The results indicate that the reconfigurable analysis method is effective for the MCSPR.