72
1, FEBRUARY 2009
An Experimental Study of a Redundantly Actuated
Parallel Manipulator for a 5-DOF Hybrid
Machine Tool
Liping Wang, Jun Wu, Jinsong Wang, and Zheng You
Abstract—This paper deals with the experimental study of a
redundantly actuated parallel manipulator for a 5-DOF hybrid
machine tool. Based on the kinematics of the redundantly actu-
ated parallel manipulator, the inverse dynamics is derived by using
the virtual work principle. A position and force switching control
strategy is used for the two extendible chains of the parallel ma-
nipulator. Further, the difference predictive control is presented
for the extendible chain with force mode. The parallel manipula-
tor is incorporated into a 5-DOF hybrid machine tool. Linear and
circular contouring experiments of both the hybrid machine tool
as well as its corresponding nonredundant counterpart with the
redundant limb removed are conducted to evaluate the machine
performance. Finally, the machine experiment is used to demon-
strate the machine’s applicability.
Index Terms—Actuation redundancy, parallel manipulator, po-
sition and force switching control, predictive control.
I. INTRODUCTION
ARALLEL manipulators have been studied intensely by
P many researchers [1], [2]. The reason is their advantages
compared to serial ones. However, like every other type of mech-
anism, these manipulators have some drawbacks, which include
small workspace, reduced dexterity, and abundant singularity.
Most of the research that has been done for parallel manipulators
has focused on nonredundant manipulators [3]. Redundant par-
allel manipulators have been designed to overcome some of the
aforementioned disadvantages of parallel manipulators, such as
robot hands [4], wrist [5], and parallel machining centers [6].
The use of redundant actuation also gives rise to more homoge-
neous output forces and minimized internal loading torques of
the actuators of a manipulator [7].
A redundantly actuated manipulator is a manipulator with
more actuators than the required number of controlled DOFs.
As more actuators are added, the generating internal forces are
possibly introduced, which lead to challenging control issues.
It means that the use of mere position control is no longer
possible [8]. At present, there are only a few prototypes of
Manuscript received January 15, 2008; revised May 2, 2008 and October 16,
2008. Current version published February 13, 2009. Recommended by Tech-
nical Editor S. Chiaverini. This work was supported in part by the Scientific
and Technical Supporting Program under Grant 2006BAF01B09, in part by the
China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, and in part by the National 973 Pro-
gram of China under Grant 2006CB705400.
The authors are with the Department of Precision Instruments and
Mechanology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China (e-mail: wu-j03@
mails.tsinghua.edu.cn).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TMECH.2008.2008096
1083-4435/$25.00 © 2009 IEEE
IEEE/ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS, VOL. 14, NO.
redundantly actuated parallel manipulators such that only a few
control strategies have been proposed. For example, Muller [9]
developed an open-loop preload control and applied it to the
elimination of backlash for redundantly actuated parallel ma-
nipulators. Chakarov [10] developed a stiffness control scheme
of parallel manipulators with actuation redundancy. Ganovski
et al. [11] introduced a feedforward controller to control the re-
dundantly actuated parallel mechanisms. Liu et al. [12] looked at
both kinematic and dynamic control algorithms for redundantly
actuated parallel manipulators [13]. Fang [14] adopted feedfor-
ward control for a tendon-based parallel manipulator. However,
these control methods were tested only by simple tests or com-
puter simulation experiments. Further, the experimental results
of some control methods were not ideal. Although the advan-
tages of actuation redundancy have been discussed widely in
theory, there is lack of experimental study to verify these ad-
vantages.
In this paper, the experimental study of a 3-DOF redundantly
actuated parallel manipulator is investigated. Based on the dy-
namic formulation of the redundant parallel manipulator, the
position and force switching control method is presented for the
two extendible chains. Further, the difference predictive con-
trol is presented for the extendible chain with force mode. The
control strategies are applied to the control system. Finally, a
set of experiments including circular contouring experiments,
positioning accuracy, and cutting test are conducted to evalu-
ate the hybrid machine performance. The experimental results
show that the hybrid machine tool is suitable for machining the
blades of gas turbines.
II. STRUCTURE DESCRIPTION AND KINEMATICS ANALYSIS
A. Structure Description
The redundantly actuated parallel manipulator is composed of
a gantry frame, a moving platform, two constant length chains,
and two extendible chains, as shown in Fig. 1. Two sliders drive
two constant length chains when they slide along the vertical
guideways. The whole construction enables movement of the
moving platform in two directions (Y - and Z-axes) and its rota-
tion about the axis norm to the O–YZ-plane. From the viewpoint
of mechanism, only one extendible chain is enough for the ma-
nipulator to be capable of the rotational motion. The reason
behind adding an additional extendible link is to introduce the
advantages of redundant mechanisms to the parallel manipula-
tor. In practical application, the spindle unit is an electric spindle
and a cutter is mounted on the end of the main spindle.
WANG et al.: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF A REDUNDANTLY ACTUATED PARALLEL MANIPULATOR FOR A 5-DOF HYBRID MACHINE TOOL 73

Based on (3) and (4), the inverse kinematic solutions of the

mechanism can be written as
  2
d
q1 = z + cos αd0 ± l2 − y − sin αd0 + (5a)
2
  2
d
q2 = z + cos αd0 ± l2 − y − sin αd0 − (5b)
2
 2
d
l1 = yB 1 + + (zB 1 − q1 − l6 )2 (5c)
2
 2
d
l2 = yB 1 − + (zB 1 − q2 − l6 )2 (5d)
2

Fig. 1. Kinematic model. where l6 is the distance between joint points E1 and D1 , qi =
zD i , yB 1 = y − sin αd0 − l5 sin α, and zB 1 = z + cos αd0 +
l5 cos α. It can be concluded that when one of chains A1 D1 and
B. Inverse Kinematics A2 D2 is in a horizontal position and/or chain A1 D1 is parallel
to chain A2 D2 , singularity occurs. To avoid the singularity, it is
The kinematic model of the parallel manipulator is shown in
obvious that 0 < |βi | , |φi | < π/2. Thus, the “±” of (5) should
Fig. 1. The base coordinate system O–YZ is identical to the real
be only “+.”
machine coordinate system of the hybrid machine tool such that
the kinematic and dynamic models can be applied directly to
C. Jacobian Matrix
the control system. The base coordinate system is placed in the
center of the machine. A moving coordinate system ON –YN ZN The velocity of point Ai can be expressed as
is fixed at the tip point of cutter with the ZN -axis along the vector
vA i = v + ω × RrN N
A i = v + α̇ERrA i , i = 1, 2 (6)
from point A2 to B2 . Let the position vector of the cutter center
point be rO N = [ y z ]T in the base coordinate system. The where v is the velocity of the cutter center point with respect to
position vector of point Ai and Bi (i = 1, 2) can be expressed O–YZ , ω is the angular velocity of the

 moving platform with
as 0 −1
respect to O–Y Z, and E = .
1 0
rA i = [yA i zA i ]T = rO N + RrN
Ai, i = 1, 2 (1) Similarly, the velocity of point Bi can be obtained as
rB i = [yB i zB i ]T = rO N + RrN
Bi, i = 1, 2 (2) vB i = v + α̇ERrN
Bi, i = 1, 2. (7)

where R is the rotation matrix Taking the time derivative of (3) and (4) leads to

from coordinate  system
cos α sin α ẏA i
ON –YN ZN to O–YZ and R = , where α β̇i = (8)
− sin α cos α (l cos βi )
is the rotation angle of the moving platform, rN N
A i and rB i
are the position vectors of points Ai and Bi in ON –YN ZN , q̇i = żD i = żA i − l sin βi β̇i (9)
T T
rN N
A i = [ 0 d0 ] , and rB i = [ 0 d0 + l5 ] , l5 is the length of l˙i = ẏB i sin φi + (q̇i − żB i ) cos φi (10)
the moving platform, and d0 is the cutter length.
From Fig. 1, the following equations can be obtained: [ẏB i cos φi − (q̇i − żB i ) sin φi ]
φ̇i = . (11)
li
yB i − yE i zE i − zB i Equation (9) can be rewritten as
sin φi = cos φi = , i = 1, 2 (3)
li li  
sin βi sin βi
yA i − yD i zD i − zA i q̇i = − ẏ + ż − sin α + cos α do α̇ = Ji ṗ
sin β i = cos β i = , i = 1, 2 (4) cos βi cos βi
l l
(12)
where φi is the angle between chain Ei Bi and a vertical axis where

  
parallel to the Z-axis, 0 ≤ φ1 ≤ π, −π ≤ φ2 ≤ 0; βi is the sin βi sin βi
angle between chain Ai Di and a vertical axis parallel to the Ji = − 1 − sin α + cos α do
cos βi cos βi
Z-axis, 0 ≤ β1 ≤ π, −π ≤ β2 ≤ 0; d is the distance between
two columns, qi and z B i are the Z coordinates of points Di and ṗ = [ ẏ ż α̇ ]T .
Bi , respectively; li is the length of the ith extendible chain; l is Equation(10) can be rewritten as
the length of the constant length chain; and y E i , y D i , and y B i
are the Y coordinates of points Ei , Di , and Bi in O–YZ . l˙i = Ji+2 ṗ (13)
74 IEEE/ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS, VOL. 14, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 2009

where Let Hi3 , Hi4 , Hi5 , and HN denote the partial velocity matrix of
 T  point Ei , Bi , mass center of the counterweight, and point ON ,
Ji+2 = [ sin φi − cos φi ] [ e1 e2 ] +ERrN T
B i e3 +Ji cos φi ,
and Gi3 , Gi4 , Gi5 , and GN denote the partial angular velocity
T T T matrix of the upper part and the lower part of chain Ei Bi ,
e1 = [ 1 0 0 ] , e2 = [ 0 1 0 ] , e3 = [ 0 0 1 ] .
counterweight, and moving platform that can be achieved in the
The velocity equation of the redundant parallel manipulator same way.
can be written in the form
q̇ = Jṗ (14) B. Inertia Forces and Moments of Moving Parts

where q̇ = [ q̇1 q̇2 l˙1 l˙2 ]T , and J is the inverse kinematic Taking the time derivative of (8)–(11), the angular accelera-
Jacobian matrix. tions β̈i and φ̈i , and the accelerations q̈i and ¨li can be deter-
Thus, the inverse kinematic Jacobian matrix of the redun- mined. Thus, the accelerations of point Ei and Di can be written
dantly actuated parallel manipulator can be expressed as as

J = [ JT1 JT2 JT3 JT4 ]T . (15) aE i = aD i = [ 0 1 ]T q̈i . (22)

Utilizing the Newton–Euler equation, the inertia force and mo-
III. DYNAMIC MODELING BASED ON THE VIRTUAL ment of each moving part about the pivotal point can be deter-
WORK PRINCIPLE mined. The inertia force and moment of the slider about point
A. Partial Velocity and Partial Angular Velocity Matrix Ei can be expressed as

In order to obtain a more compact form of the dynamic model Fi1 = −mi1 (aEi − g) Mi1 = 0 (23)
for real-time implementation in the control system, the virtual where mi1 is the mass of slider Ei Di , Mi1 is the moment of the
work principle is employed to derive the dynamic model. Thus, slider, and g is the gravitational acceleration vector.
the partial velocity and partial angular velocity matrices [15], The inertia force and moment of the constant length chain
which are used in dynamic modeling, should be determined. about point Di can be expressed as
Based on the mapping relationship shown in (14), the partial 

velocity matrix can be derived as sin βi
Fi2 = −mi2 aD i + si2 β̈i E

T − cos βi
∂vq i ∂vq i ∂vq i
 
Hi = ··· (16) sin βi
∂ ṗ1 ∂ ṗ2 ∂ ṗn −si2 β̇i
2
−g (24)
− cos βi
where vq i is the pivotal point velocity, pn is the Cartesian coor-
dinate, and n is the DOF number of a manipulator. Mi2 = −β̈i Ii2 +mi2 si2 [ sin βi − cos βi ] E (aD i − g) (25)
Accordingly, the partial angular velocity can be derived as where mi2 is the mass of the constant length chain Ai Di , Mi2

T is the moment of the constant length chain, si2 is the distance
∂ω q i ∂ω q i ∂ω q i
Gi = ··· (17) between the mass center of the constant length chain and point
∂ ṗ1 ∂ ṗ2 ∂ ṗn
Di , and Ii2 is the moment of inertia of chain Ai Di about point
where ω q i is the angular velocity of ith rigid body. Di .
To find the partial velocity matrix, a pivotal point should be Here, we suppose that Fi3 , Mi3 , Fi4 , Mi4 , Fi5 , Mi5 , FN ,
selected. In this paper, the point Ei is regarded as the pivotal and MN denote the inertia force and moment of the upper part
point of the slider and the upper part of the extendible chain. of chain Ei Bi about point Ei , inertia force and moment of
Points Bi , Di , and A1 are the pivotal points of the lower part of the lower part of chain Ei Bi about point Bi , inertia force and
the extendible chain, the constant length chain, and the moving moment of the counterweight about its mass center, and inertia
platform in modeling, respectively. force and moment of the moving platform about point ON ,
Since the slider has only the translational capability, the partial respectively. Accordingly, Fi3 , Mi3 , Fi4 , Mi4 , Fi5 , Mi5 , FN ,
angular velocity matrix is given by and MN can be determined.
Gi1 = 0. (18)
C. Dynamic Model
According to (9), the partial velocity matrix of point Ei can be
expressed as Based on the virtual work principle, the dynamic formula-
tion of the redundantly actuated parallel manipulator can be
Hi1 = [ 0 1 ]T Ji . (19) expressed as
Based on (9) and (11), the partial angular velocity matrix of the
2



5
 T  Fij   Fij
constant length chain and partial velocity matrix of point Di can JT τ + Hij GTij + HTN GTN =0
Mij Mij
be written as i=1 j =1

 (26)
1
Gi2 = 0 [ e1 e2 ]T + ERrN T
A i e3 (20) where τ = [ F1 F2 F3 F4 ]T , F1 , F2 , F3 , and F4 are the
cos βi l driving forces that act on sliders E1 D1 and E2 D2 , extendible
Hi2 = Hi1 . (21) chains E1 B1 and E2 B2 , respectively.
WANG et al.: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF A REDUNDANTLY ACTUATED PARALLEL MANIPULATOR FOR A 5-DOF HYBRID MACHINE TOOL 75

Since the parallel manipulator has one redundant actuator The difference between the force computed by the dynamic
and JT is nonsquare, the driving force τ in (26) has infinite model and that from the force sensor can be expressed as
solutions. Let
eF (t) = Ft (t) − Fa (t) (29)

2



5
  Fij   Fij
Ω=− HTij GTij − HTN T
GN
i=1 j =1
Mij Mij
To obtain a unique solution, by using the least-square method,
the solution of (24) is determined by
 −1
τ = J JT J Ω. (27)
IV. DIFFERENCE PREDICTIVE CONTROL
If all kinematic chains are controlled by the position mode,
the interference among the two extendible chains and the mov-
ing platform will be caused since there is a difference between
the actual length of the chain and desired length due to manu-
facturing error. Thus, great internal forces are introduced. As a
result, the use of mere position control is no longer possible for
the parallel manipulator with actuation redundancy.
When only the redundant servomotor rotates and other ser-
vomotors are locked, the moving platform cannot move unless
the machine reaches its singular configuration. Thus, actuation
redundancy is force redundancy in some sense. A simple and
effective control strategy for the redundantly actuated parallel
manipulator is that the redundant chain is controlled by the
force mode and other chains by the position mode. When the
manipulator reaches the configuration that chain E2 B2 and
the moving platform A2 B2 are collinear, the redundant chain
can drive chain E2 B2 to pass the configuration. Moreover, there
are clearance, deflection, and vibration in the manipulator. The
internal force of redundant chain can be utilized effectively to
optimize them.
The input of the redundant chain with force mode is the force
computed by the inverse dynamic model. However, the actual
internal force does not equal the force from dynamic model
due to clearance and deformation of the redundant chain. In
addition, in the discrete system, there is often a one-period time
delay for the actuator that also causes the difference between
the computed force and the actual force.
Difference predictive control is proposed for planning the
input force of the redundant chain with force mode [16]. The
difference between the driving force computed by the dynamic
model in the current period and the actual force from the force
sensor is regarded as one part of the input force in the next
period. Namely, the input force of the chain with force mode is
the sum of the force computed by the dynamic model at current
time step and the difference between the computed force at the
last time step and feedback force at the last time step.
Let the sample period for sampling the feedback force be T in
the discrete system. Then, the time step at each sampling point
can be expressed as
t = t0 + kT, k = 0, 1, 2, . . . (28)
where t0 is the time at the starting sample point.
where Ft (t) is the computed force at time step t, Fa (t) is the
.
feedback force from the force sensor at time step t, and eF (t)
is the difference between Ft (t) and Fa (t).
In the difference predictive control, the input force of the
extendible chain with force mode at time step t + T can be
expressed as
Fi (t + T ) = Ft (t + T ) + eF (t) (30)
where Fi (t + T ) is the input force of the chain with force mode
at time step t + T .
V. APPLICATION OF DIFFERENCE PREDICTIVE CONTROL
A. Position and Force Switching Control
From the earlier analysis, it can be seen that the control strat-
egy that chain E1 B1 is controlled by the force mode and chain
E2 B2 is the position mode is feasible. However, this control
strategy cannot be implemented in the whole workspace. The
reasons are as follows. The configuration that chain E2 B2 and
the moving platform A2 B2 are collinear is the singular config-
uration of the nonredundant manipulator without chain E1 B1 .
Although the singular configuration cannot occur in the redun-
dant manipulator, it is very difficult to assure the position ac-
curacy of chain E2 B2 with position mode when the redundant
manipulator is near the configuration. In order to pass the con-
figuration, a force, which is provided by chain E1 B1 , should act
on the joint point B1 (B2 ). But the position accuracy of chain
E1 B1 cannot be assured by the force mode such that the motion
accuracy of the manipulator near this configuration is worse.
In order to ensure the position and orientation accuracy of
the redundant manipulator and pass the configuration that chain
E1 B1 or E2 B2 and the moving platform A2 B2 are collinear, a
position and force switching control strategy is proposed for the
redundantly actuated parallel manipulator. In this control strat-
egy, the two extendible chains are controlled by the position and
force modes, respectively. When one of the extendible chains
reaches or approaches the configuration that it and the moving
platform A2 B2 are collinear, the extendible chain is controlled
by the force mode and the other extendible chain is the position
mode. At one time, one of the extendible chains is the force
mode and the other chain must be the position mode. The differ-
ence predictive control is applied to the extendible chain with
force mode.
B. Critical Angle for Switching the Control Modes
It can be concluded that the control mode of each extendible
chain will change in the whole workspace. This involves the crit-
ical value of α where the control modes of the extendible chains
are switched. Since the redundant manipulator is symmetrical,
it would be ideal to select α = 0 as the critical angle. However,
if α = 0 is the critical angle, the switching of control modes
would be much more frequent since the manipulator may have
76
TABLE I
CONDITION FOR SWITCHING CONTROL MODES
a reciprocating motion in α = 0. Furthermore, the switching of
control mode brings different reference benchmarks for posi-
tion mode and results in some errors that are caused by different
benchmarks.
Thus, the critical angle for switching the control modes should
be planned to reduce the switching number of the control mode.
In the meantime, the configuration in the critical angle should
be far from the configuration that chain E1 B1 or E2 B2 and
the moving platform A2 B2 are collinear. In addition, consid-
ering the symmetry of the parallel manipulator, the critical an-
gles should be symmetrical about the Z-axis. Based on these
considerations, in this paper, three critical angles are specified.
Namely, α = 0, α = 5◦ , and α = −5◦ . It should be pointed out
that the control modes are not always switched when the moving
platform rotates to one of the critical angles.
The numerical control system of the redundantly actuated
parallel manipulator can be divided mainly into postprocessing,
trajectory planning, interpolation, and real-time module. In tra-
jectory planning phase, an input trajectory may be separated into
many trajectory segments. It is necessary to determine whether
the control modes of the extendible chains in each trajectory
segment should be switched. The switching of control modes is
related to the control mode of the last trajectory segment, the
start value αs , and the end value αe of the rotation angle α in
the current trajectory segment. The switching rule is given as
follows.
1) The control mode remains unchanged when the rotation
angle α ranges from −5◦ to 5◦ . In this range, the orienta-
tion has little effect on the performance of the redundant
parallel manipulator.
2) When α > 5◦ , chain E1 B1 is controlled by the force
mode and chain E2 B2 is the position mode. On the con-
trary, chain E1 B1 is the position mode and chain E2 B2 is
the force mode when α < −5◦ .
3) When the chain E1 B1 is controlled by the force mode, it
is assumed that m = 1. The position mode corresponds to
m = −1.
According to the aforementioned rules, the condition for
switching the control modes is determined as shown in Table I.
C. Position Compensation
When the extendible chain is under force mode, the length-
ened or shortened deformation would be produced such that
there is a difference between the theoretical length of extendible
chain and actual length. In the trajectory plan and interpolation
IEEE/ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS, VOL. 14, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 2009
module of the control system, the theoretical length in the cur-
rent interpolation period is regarded as the benchmark to plan
the length of extendible chain in the next period. Thus, in one
period, it is possible that the extendible chain lengthens/shortens
a long distance to the theoretical length when the control mode
changes from force mode to position mode. If the moving dis-
tance of the extendible chain is larger than the allowable value
in one period, the control system does not permit the extendible
chain to move. Therefore, after the control mode of the ex-
tendible chain changes from the force mode to position mode,
the difference between the theoretical length and actual length
of the extendible chain should be compensated. It is aimed to
adjust the extendible distance of the extendible chain in a few
periods such that the actual length approaches the theoretical
length.
Let the actual length and theoretical length of the extendible
chain with force mode be l0 and lT . Then, the difference be-
tween l0 and lT can be expressed as
el = lT − l0 . (31)
The lengthened or shortened length of the chain in one interpo-
lation period can be written as
l∆ = vT (32)
where l∆ is the lengthened or shortened length, v is the moving
velocity, and T is the interpolation period.
In one period, the maximum lengthened or shortened length
can be written as
lm ax = vm ax T (33)
where vm ax is the maximum moving velocity that can be given
in the servodriver.
In one period, the difference between the maximum ex-
tendible length and actual extendible length of the extendible
chain can be expressed as
e∆ = lm ax − l∆ . (34)
If the control modes are switched when l0 < lT and the ex-
tendible chain would lengthen, the chain should move with the
maximum velocity vm ax in the n1 periods after the control
modes are switched. The variable n1 can be expressed as
|el |
n1 = . (35)
e∆
The moving distance in the (n1 + 1)th period can be expressed
as
s1 = vT + |el | − n1 (vm ax T − vT ) . (36)
On the contrary, if the control modes are switched when l0 < lT
and the chain would shorten, the extendible chain should not
move in n2 periods after the control modes are switched. The
variable n2 can be expressed as
|el |
n2 = . (37)
vT
WANG et al.: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF A REDUNDANTLY ACTUATED PARALLEL MANIPULATOR FOR A 5-DOF HYBRID MACHINE TOOL
Fig. 2. Photograph of the hybrid machine tool.
The moving distance in the (n2 + 1)th period can be expressed
as
s2 = |el | − n2 vT. (38)
If l0 > lT , the motion rule of the extendible chain can be ana-
lyzed in the same way.
When α = 0, the machine has a symmetrical configuration.
It can be thought that the actual length of the extendible chain
approaches the theoretical length. Thus, the position compen-
sation is not needed when the control modes are switched at
α = 0. When α = ±5◦ , the extendible chain is lengthened or
shortened and the actual length dose not equal the theoretical
length. Then, the position compensation is necessary when the
control modes are switched at α = ±5◦ .
VI. 5-DOF HYBRID MACHINE TOOL
By combining the redundantly actuated parallel manipulator
with a 2-DOF worktable, a redundant hybrid machine tool with
5 DOFs is created, as shown in Fig. 2. The control strategy
proposed in this paper has been applied to the numerical con-
trol system. The interpolation period is 2 ms. In the difference
predictive control, the feedback force from the force sensor is
necessary. However, at present, the force sensors are not added
to the machine tool. Considering that the force command of
the extendible chain with force mode is still transferred to cur-
rent command, in this paper, the feedback force is computed
by using a linear relationship between force and current of the
servomotor. The current is obtained by reading the servomotor
encoder.
The dynamic model shown in (27) is added to the inter-
polation module of the numerical control system. In practical
application, before the machine tool can be used for machining,
it is necessary to perform the homing procedure to return to the
machine’s zero position. After homing, α = 0, and the chain
77
Fig. 3. Circular contouring performance with radius 2 mm.
E1 B1 is set to be controlled by the force mode and other chains
are in the position mode.
VII. EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF
MACHINE PERFORMANCE
To assess the performance of the machine tool (specifically,
for y–z motion), the contouring test, positioning accuracy, and
cutting test are performed. Further, the contouring test and posi-
tion accuracy of the corresponding nonredundant machine tool
with the redundant limb removed are also conducted to compare
the performance of the nonredundant machine tool with that of
the redundant machine tool.
A. Contouring Test
Contouring performance is a critical attribute of a machine
tool. In contouring tests, the contouring performance of the re-
dundant machine tool and nonredundant machine tool along
circular path are evaluated. The position data are obtained from
the motor encoders. The circular trajectory tests are conducted at
radius 50 mm and speed ranging from 400 to 2200 mm/min. In
addition to the conventional circular contour test, a small-circle
test is also performed on the machine. This test is especially
useful in gauging the contouring behavior of the machine when
producing small spatial features (such as small circles, sharp
corners, etc.), where the behavior of the system may be domi-
nated by nonlinear effects, such as friction, axis backlash, etc.
For this test, a circle of radius 2 mm is chosen and the speed is
varied from 100 to 1500 mm/min.
Figs. 3 and 4 give the contour errors of circular trajectories
with radius 2 mm and 50 mm, respectively. The contour error in-
creases approximately with the increase of the moving velocity.
B. Positioning Accuracy
In the case of parallel kinematic machines, small positioning
errors at the joints can be magnified, resulting in larger errors at
the moving platform, depending on the kinematic conditioning
of the underlying mechanism. Because of this, we do not expect
to see large or systematic variations in the positioning errors. The
78 IEEE/ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS, VOL. 14, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 2009

Fig. 4. Circular contouring performance with radius 50 mm.

Fig. 6. Bidirection repeatability of Y -axis of the nonredundant hybrid ma-

chine. (a) P r 1 . (b) P r 2 .

Fig. 5. Positioning error of the Y -axis.

positioning error of the machine was measured using a Renishaw

ML10 laser interferometer according to the procedures outlined
in the machine tool performance testing standards [17].
Fig. 5 shows the measured positioning errors for Y -axis for
forward displacement. It can be seen that the linear displacement
accuracy is around 0.05 mm for the redundant machine tool and
0.035 mm for the nonredundant machine tool.
The bidirectional repeatability of the Y -axis is measured by
ten measurements for two positions of the Y -axis. The mea-
surement points are Pr 1 (0 m, −0.1 m, 0.25 m, 0◦ , 0◦ ) and Pr 2
(0 m, 0.1 m, 0.25 m, 0◦ , 0◦ ). Figs. 6 and 7 show the results of
the test for the Y -axis of the nonredundant machine tool and
redundant machine tool, respectively. The bidirectional repeata-
bility is 0.05 mm for the Y -axis of the nonredundant machine
tool and 0.063 mm for the Y -axis of the redundant machine
tool. The bidirectional repeatability of the redundant ma-
chine tool is slightly smaller than that of the nonredundant
machine tool.
Thus, the positioning errors and bidirectional repeatability of
the Y -axis of the hybrid machine tool with actuation redundancy
are larger than that of the corresponding nonredundant machine
tool.
Further, the positioning errors for Z-axis for forward and
reverse displacement are measured as shown in Figs. 8 Fig. 7. Bidirection repeatability of Y -axis of the redundant hybrid machine
and 9. One may see that the linear displacement accuracy is tool. (a) P r 1 . (b) P r 2 .
WANG et al.: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF A REDUNDANTLY ACTUATED PARALLEL MANIPULATOR FOR A 5-DOF HYBRID MACHINE TOOL 79

Fig. 8. Positioning error of the Z -axis of the nonredundant hybrid machine

tool.

Fig. 10. Bidirection repeatability of Z -axis of nonredundant hybrid machine

tool. (a) P z 1 . (b) P z 2 .

Fig. 9. Positioning error of Z -axis of the redundant hybrid machine tool.

0.018 mm for the Z-axis of the nonredundant machine tool and

0.018 mm for the Z-axis of the redundant machine tool. Thus,
the positioning error of the Z-axis of the hybrid machine tool
with actuation redundancy is the same as that of the correspond-
ing nonredundant machine tool. The bidirectional repeatability
of the Z-axis is also measured, and the two measurement points
are Pz 1 (0 m, 0 m, 0.3 m, 0◦ , 0◦ ) and Pz 2 (0 m, 0 m, 0.4 m,
0◦ , 0◦ ). Figs. 10 and 11 show the results of the test for the
Z-axis of the nonredundant machine tool and redundant
machine tool, respectively. The bidirectional repeatability is
0.011 mm for the Z-axis of the nonredundant machine tool
and 0.01 mm for the Z-axis of the redundant machine tool.
The bidirectional repeatability of the redundant machine tool is
similar to that of the nonredundant machine tool.

C. Cutting Tests
Cutting tests are used to assess the behavior of the machine
during the actual cutting operations. A cutting test that machines
a blade of gas turbine has been conducted. The raw materials
are a cuboid workpiece with stainless steel. Fig. 12 shows the
machined blade with roughing cut.
In conclusion, the contour error and bidirection repeata- Fig. 11. Bidirection repeatability of Z -axis of redundant hybrid machine tool.
bility of the hybrid machine tool are similar to that of its (a) P z 1 . (b) P z 2 .
80
Fig. 12. Machining blade test.
corresponding nonredundant machine tool. However, the redun-
dant hybrid machine tool has larger orientation workspace, bet-
ter dexterity, and higher stiffness, as addressed in literature [18].
Thus, the redundant hybrid machine tool exhibits desirable prop-
erties while delivering the same accuracy.
VIII. CONCLUSION
An experimental study of a redundantly actuated parallel ma-
nipulator for a 5-DOF hybrid machine tool has been investi-
gated. From this investigation, the following conclusions can be
drawn.
1) A position and force switching control strategy is proposed
for the two extendible chains. Angles α = 0, α = 5◦ , and
α = −5◦ are regarded as the possible critical angles for
switching the control modes of the extendible chains. Fur-
ther, a difference predictive control is presented for the
extendible chain with force mode.
2) The contour error and bidirection repeatability of the
redundant hybrid machine tool is similar to that of its
corresponding nonredundant machine tool. The redun-
dant hybrid machine tool exhibits desirable properties
while delivering the same accuracy with the corresponding
nonredundant one.
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Liping Wang received the B.S. degree in com-
puter science and technology and the Ph.D. de-
gree in mechanical engineering from Jilin University,
Changchun, China, in 1990 and 1997, respectively.
From 1997 to 1999, he was a Postdoctoral
Researcher at Huazhong University of Science
and Technology, Wuhan, China. He is currently a
Professor and the Vice Dean of the Department of
Precision Instruments and Mechanology, Tsinghua
University, Beijing, China. His current research inter-
ests include parallel mechanisms, parallel kinematic
machines, and motion simulators.
Jun Wu received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in
mechanical engineering from Tianjin University,
Tianjin, China, in 2000 and 2003, respectively, and
the Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from
Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, in 2008.
He is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the
Department of Precision Instruments and Mechanol-
ogy, Tsinghua University. His current research inter-
ests include robot dynamics, dynamics and control of
parallel kinematic machines, and optimal design of
redundant parallel mechanisms.
WANG et al.: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF A REDUNDANTLY ACTUATED PARALLEL MANIPULATOR FOR A 5-DOF HYBRID MACHINE TOOL
Jinsong Wang received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D.
degrees in mechanical engineering from Tsinghua
University, Beijing, China, in 1986, 1988, and 1990,
respectively.
From 1997 to 1998, he was a Visiting Professor
at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is cur-
rently a Professor and the Vice President of Tsinghua
University. His current research interests include ad-
vanced manufacturing technology, robots, and green
manufacturing.
81
Zheng You received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. de-
grees in instruments science and technology from
Huazhong University of Science and Technology,
Wuhan, China, in 1985, 1987, and 1990, respectively.
From 1990 to 1992, he was a Postdoctoral
Researcher in the Department of Precision In-
struments and Mechanology, Tsinghua University,
Beijing, China, where he is currently a Professor
and the Dean. His current research interests in-
clude micronanotechnology and micronanosatellite
technology.