A 6-DOF reconfigurable hybrid parallel manipulator

This paper presents a case study on a reconfigurable hybrid parallel robot dubbed ReSl-Bot. It addresses the realm of reconfigurable 6-DOF parallel mechanisms, for sustainable manufacturing. It also features a self-reconfigurable architecture. A systematic analysis involving kinematics, constant orientation work-space, singularity and stiffness is developed in detail. Interesting features are discussed, revealing some unique characteristics of the studied architecture. A multi-objective optimization procedure is also carried out with weighted stiffness, dexterity and workspace volume as the performance indices. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.