A method for optimal kinematic design of five-bar planar parallel manipulators

In this paper, an optimal kinematic design method for symmetrical five-bar planar parallel manipulators is presented. The proposed design method is implemented in two steps. First, an optimal configuration is achieved, resulting in a set of closed-form parametric relationships. Second, a searching algorithm is proposed for finding the link lengths of the manipulator to maximize usable workspace. In this usable workspace there is no singularity configuration, and also a good dexterity is satisfied. A design example is included to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.