Analyzes stiffness performance in parallel manipulators for agriculture, suggesting design optimizations.
Parallel manipulators (PMs) have demonstrated significant potential in facility agriculture due to high speed, high accuracy and high dynamic response. Stiffness is a crucial indicator for PMs applied in precision operations in facility agriculture. To address this, a unified semi-analytical stiffness model of a PM with multi-motion modes is proposed, based on which the stiffness performance is analyzed. Firstly, the unified inverse kinematic model is built, based on which and considering relevant constraint conditions, the reachable workspace in different motion modes is analyzed. Secondly, considering compliances of joints and limbs, a unified stiffness model is established by the substructure synthesis method, which is validated by FEA with good accuracy. Finally, stiffness indices demonstrating the uniformity of the system's linear and angular stiffness are proposed and parametric analysis is conducted. Results show that the moving platform's radius, the limb's length and the limb's diameter have different impacts on the system's stiffness performance. Furthermore, the moving platform's radius demonstrates the most important influence on the system's linear and angular stiffness. This research can provide a basis for the optimal design of this PM with multi-motion modes.
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Zhao et al. (2026) studied this question.
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