LIMITS AT DOLLAR(3) IN A NEW FORMULATION FOR PATH-PLACEMENT IN THE WORKCELLS OF PLANAR 3-R ROBOTS

Excursion-limits at the third joint of a three-hinged planar robot are incorporated into a new systematic formulation for path-placement in which the three-dimensional solution-space is decomposed into a two-di mensional space of variables that strongly control the placement of th e path and a one-dimensional space that is much less critical. The new formulation determines all acceptable positions for the first joint o f the robot relative to the workpiece. All possible acceptable designs appear in a graphical form that can be readily visualized and be dire ctly measured in a Cartesian frame of reference in the workcell. The m ethod is extended to closed tool-paths, and the method is illustrated with practical examples.