Workspace Analysis and Performance Evaluation of a 6/6 Cable-Suspended Parallel Robot

This paper mainly addressed the workspace analysis and performance evaluation of a special class of the 6/6 cable-suspended parallel robot. Based on the screw theory and the static equilibrium, the Jacobian matrix of the cable -suspended parallel robot is constructed. The workspace volume is characterized as the set of points where the centroid of the moving platform can reach with tensions in all suspension cables for a constant orientation. This paper attempts to tackle some aspects of optimal design of this special class of the 6/6 cable-suspended parallel robot by addressing the variations of the workspace volume and the accuracy of the robot using different geometric configurations, different ratios and orientations of the moving platform. The global condition index is used as a performance index of a robot with respect to the force and velocity transmission over the whole workspace.