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

A complete kinematic characterization of the 5R planar, symmetric manipulator, intended as a design aid, is proposed in this paper. The characterization scheme relies on the configuration of the Cartesian workspace plots (CWP), the Cartesian workspace singularity plots (CWSP), the joint workspace plots (JWP) and the joint workspace singularity plots (JWSP). These plots are given in terms of two nondimensional geometric parameters, λ and μ, that represent the lengths of the manipulator links; these parameters can be used to investigate the relationships between the link lengths of the manipulator and the underlying workspace and singularity distribution. The plots can be regarded as an atlas of the workspace and singularity distribution that should find applications in analysis and design.