On the kinematic design of the 5R planar, symmetric manipulator

A complete kinematic characterization of the 5R planar, symmetric manipulat or, intended as a design aid, is proposed in this paper. The characterizati on scheme relies on the configuration of the Cartesian workspace plots (CWP ), the Cartesian workspace singularity plots (CWSP), the joint workspace pl ots (JWP) and the joint workspace singularity plots (JWSP). These plots are given in terms of two nondimensional geometric parameters, lambda and mu, that represent the lengths of the manipulator links; these parameters can b e used to investigate the relationships between the link lengths of the man ipulator and the underlying workspace and singularity distribution. The plo ts can be regarded as an atlas of the workspace and singularity distributio n that should find applications in analysis and design. (C) 2001 Elsevier S cience Ltd. All rights reserved.