Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

Available
ScienceDirect
ScienceDirect
Availableonline
onlineatatwww.sciencedirect.com
www.sciencedirect.com
Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2018) 000–000
ScienceDirect
ScienceDirect
Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2018) 000–000
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
Procedia Manufacturing 32 (2019) 1085–1092
Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2017) 000–000
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

The 12th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering

The 12th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering

On
On The
The Workspace
Workspace Optimization
Optimization of of Parallel
Parallel Robots
Robots Based
Based on on CAD
CAD
Approach
Approach
Manufacturing Engineering Society International Conference 2017, MESIC 2017, 28-30 June
2017, Vigo (Pontevedra), Spain
a, a a a
Badreddine
Badreddine Aboulissane
Aboulissanea,*,*, Dikra
Dikra El
El Haiek
Haieka,, Larbi
Larbi El
El Bakkali
Bakkalia,, Jalal
Jalal El
El Bahaoui
Bahaouia
Costing models forofcapacity optimization in Industry 4.0: Trade-off
0F

0F

a
Team Modeling
a
and Simulation Mechanical Systems, Faculty of Sciences, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tetouan, Morocco
Team Modeling and Simulation of Mechanical Systems, Faculty of Sciences, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tetouan, Morocco
between used capacity and operational efficiency
Abstract
Abstract A. Santanaa, P. Afonsoa,*, A. Zaninb, R. Wernkeb
This paper highlights workspace modeling a
of twoofparallel
University robots based
Minho, 4800-058 on CAD
Guimarães, technique. The algorithm is presented and
Portugal
This paper highlights workspace modelingbUnochapecó,
of two parallel robotsChapecó,
based on CAD
Brazil technique. The algorithm is presented and
described for the generation of each workspace, which89809-000is implemented in SC,CATIA software. The impact of different design
described for the generation of each workspace, which is implemented in CATIA software. The impact of different design
parameters on the reachable workspace of DELTA robot manipulator is discussed. Finally, an optimization example is given to
parameters on the reachable workspace of DELTA robot manipulator is discussed. Finally, an optimization example is given to
show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Abstract
©© 2018
2019 The Authors. Published
The Authors. Published by
by Elsevier Ltd.
Elsevier Ltd.
© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
This is an
Under open access article
the under the4.0",
CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Selection andconcept of "Industry
peer-review under responsibilityproduction
of the 12th processes
Internationalwill be pushed
Conference to be increasingly
Interdisciplinarity interconnected,
in Engineering.
Selection and based
information peer-review undertime
on a real responsibility
basis and,ofnecessarily,
the 12th International
much moreConference Interdisciplinarity
efficient. in Engineering.
In this context, capacity optimization
goes beyond
Keywords: theManipulator;
Parallel traditionalWorkspace;
aim of capacity maximization, contributing also for organization’s profitability and value.
CAD; Optimization.
Keywords: Parallel Manipulator; Workspace; CAD; Optimization.
Indeed, lean management and continuous improvement approaches suggest capacity optimization instead of
maximization. The study of capacity optimization and costing models is an important research topic that deserves
1. Introduction
contributions from both the practical and theoretical perspectives. This paper presents and discusses a mathematical
1. Introduction
model for capacity management based on different costing models (ABC and TDABC). A generic model has been
The workspace
developed and it wasofused
a parallel robotidle
to analyze is defined
capacityas thetototal volume swepttowards
out by its maximization
tool center point located on the
The workspace of a parallel robot is defined asand design
the total strategies
volume swept out by the its tool center pointof organization’s
located on the
mobileThe
value. platform, as the robot maximization
executes all possible motions. The most common problem of parallel robots is the
mobile platform, as the robot executes all possible motions. The most common problem of parallel that
trade-off capacity vs operational efficiency is highlighted and it is shown capacity
robots is the
small workspace.
optimization might One
hide can use the workspace
operational inefficiency. volume or surface as an objective function for optimization. In this
small workspace. One can use the workspace volume or surface as an objective function for optimization. In this
sense,
© Researchers
2017 The focused by
Authors. Published onElsevier
workspace
B.V. determination as a performance index, in order to design robots for
sense, Researchers focused on workspace determination as a performance index, in order to design robots for
specific industrial
Peer-review applications.
under responsibility The
of the calculation
scientific of workspace
committee of ParallelEngineering
of the Manufacturing robots is Society
a complex problemConference
International due to the
specific industrial applications. The calculation of workspace of Parallel robots is a complex problem due to the
difficulties of the kinematic modeling. However, the problem of workspace optimization of parallel manipulators, to
2017.
difficulties of the kinematic modeling. However, the problem of workspace optimization of parallel manipulators, to
obtain a prescribed workspace has been investigated in few articles. The concept of the prescribed workspace is a
obtain a Cost
Keywords: prescribed
Models; workspace has beenManagement;
investigated inCapacity;
few articles. TheEfficiency
concept of the prescribed workspace is a
significant issue to ABC; TDABC;
optimize andCapacity
also to synthesizeIdle a robot. TheOperational
workspace of parallel manipulators is essentially
significant issue to optimize and also to synthesize a robot. The workspace of parallel manipulators is essentially

1. Introduction
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +212 6 99 14 44 87.
* The
Corresponding
cost
E-mail author.
of idle
address: Tel.: +212
capacity is a6fundamental
99 14 44 87. information for companies and their management of extreme importance
b.aboulissane@gmail.com
E-mail address: b.aboulissane@gmail.com
in modern production systems. In general, it is defined as unused capacity or production potential and can be measured
in several©ways:
2351-9789 tons
2018 The of production,
Authors. available
Published by Elsevier Ltd.hours of manufacturing, etc. The management of the idle capacity
2351-9789
This © 2018
is anAfonso.
open The Authors.
access Published by Elsevier Ltd.
* Paulo
This is an and Tel.:article
openpeer-review
access article
under
+351 253
under
the761;
510 CC BY-NC-ND
the CC fax: +351 253license
BY-NC-ND 604 741
license
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Selection
E-mail address: under responsibility
psafonso@dps.uminho.pt of the 12th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the 12th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering.

2351-9789 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Peer-review
2351-9789 © under
2019responsibility
The Authors. of the scientificbycommittee
Published Elsevier of the Manufacturing Engineering Society International Conference 2017.
Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the 12th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering.
10.1016/j.promfg.2019.03.065
1086 Badreddine Aboulissane et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 32 (2019) 1085–1092
2 Badreddine Aboulissane et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2018) 000–000

influenced by the actuated joint variables, the range of motion of the joints and the mechanical interferences between
the links of mechanism. In this work, we focused our interest in only some areas of the space which surrounds the
robot, and limiting the robot workspace to the prescribed area. There are several papers studied this problem based
on geometric techniques, and by using optimization algorithms to synthesize the geometrical parameters of parallel
manipulators. In [1] the workspace of Gough-Stewart platform was optimized using Genetic Algorithm. The idea is
to minimize the areas which don’t belong to the intersection between two areas: the workspace of the robot and the
prescribed workspace. A genetic algorithm based method is used also in [2] to deal with the optimal dimensional
synthesis of DELTA robot for a prescribed workspace. The geometrical approaches have been used to represent the
workspace of parallel manipulators [3][4][5]. This method allows to establish the border of the workspace. The
principle of these methods is to deduce, from the constraints on each limb, a geometrical entity (sub-workspace)
which describes all the possible poses of the tool center point that satisfy the leg constraints. Then, the robotic
manipulator workspace is generated by the intersection of all the sub-workspaces [6]. The objective of this paper is
to determine and optimize the dimensions of the proposed parallel robots, taking into consideration some
geometrical constraints. The application of this method is performed under CATIA [7] as 3D modeling and
optimization software.

2. Architecture review of the proposed parallel robots

2.1. Planar Parallel robot RRRRR

Fig. 1 shows the Kinematic scheme of the RRRRR planar robot. This mechanism is a closed loop robot with
parallel architecture. Two actuated revolute joints are fixed in the base link AE. The lengths of the links AB, BC and
AE are denoted by 𝐿𝐿1 , 𝐿𝐿2 and 2𝐿𝐿3 respectively. In Addition to the base link AE and the two active links AB and DE,
the mechanism has two other links which are connected to links AB and DE by two passive revolute joints located at
points B and D. Finally, the passive links BC and CD are joined by another passive revolute joint located at point C
that close the kinematic loop.

Fig. 1. Kinematic diagram of the RRRRR planar parallel robot.

The vector describes the RRRRR parallel manipulator parameters is defined as follows:

𝛿𝛿1 = [𝐿𝐿1 𝐿𝐿2 𝐿𝐿3 𝑥𝑥𝐴𝐴 𝑦𝑦𝐴𝐴 𝑥𝑥𝐸𝐸 𝑦𝑦𝐸𝐸 ]𝑇𝑇 (1)

with AB=DE=𝑳𝑳𝟏𝟏 and BC=CD=𝑳𝑳𝟐𝟐 , and 𝑳𝑳𝒊𝒊 are the length of the links.
 Badreddine Aboulissane et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 32 (2019) 1085–1092 1087
Badreddine Aboulissane et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2018) 000–000 3

2.2. The DELTA parallel robot

The DELTA parallel robot is composed of a moving platform linked to a base with three closed kinematic chains.
Each one consists of an actuated rotational joint linked to the base, and the movement of the mobile platform is
transmitted by parallelograms and spherical joints. In this work, all the three arms of the manipulator are identical in
terms of geometrical parameters.
Fig. 2. (a) shows the DELTA robot and Fig. 2. (b) shows one leg profile with geometrical parameters.

Fig. 2. (a) Kinematic diagram of the RRRRR planar parallel robot; (b) Kinematic scheme and profile of one leg of the DELTA robot.

The independent design variables for the DELTA robot are:

𝛿𝛿2 = [𝐿𝐿1 𝐿𝐿2 𝑟𝑟𝐴𝐴 𝑟𝑟𝐵𝐵 ]𝑇𝑇 (2)

with j=1, 2, 3.

3. Workspace determination of parallel robots

First, we need to determine workspace of the proposed robots. This region can be defined as the reachable
positions and rotations by the end-effector center point located generally on the platform of the robots. In this work,
a geometrical technique is used for the representation of the workspace through CATIA software, and there are no
limits for all the revolute joints used for each manipulator.

3.1. Workspace of the RRRRR planar parallel robot

For this manipulator, the workspace is obtained by the intersection of two circular areas, which correspond to the
areas accessible by the end-effector point center when each leg is taken as a serial manipulator. Fig. 3. (a), (b) and
(c) show the steps we followed to generate the workspace of the RRRRR manipulator in CATIA.
Fig. 3. (a) depicts the first step, we used in CATIA the Sketcher workbench. The workspace of the first half AB-
BC is given by two following equations:

𝐶𝐶10 → (𝑥𝑥 − 𝐿𝐿3 )2 + 𝑦𝑦 2 = (𝐿𝐿1 + 𝐿𝐿2 )2 (3)

𝐶𝐶11 → (𝑥𝑥 − 𝐿𝐿3 )2 + 𝑦𝑦 2 = (𝐿𝐿1 − 𝐿𝐿2 )2 (4)

1088 Badreddine Aboulissane et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 32 (2019) 1085–1092
4 Badreddine Aboulissane et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2018) 000–000

For the second leg CD-DE the equations are:

𝐶𝐶20 → (𝑥𝑥 + 𝐿𝐿3 )2 + 𝑦𝑦 2 = (𝐿𝐿1 + 𝐿𝐿2 )2 (5)

𝐶𝐶21 → (𝑥𝑥 + 𝐿𝐿3 )2 + 𝑦𝑦 2 = (𝐿𝐿1 − 𝐿𝐿2 )2 (6)

Fig. 3. (a) First step of the workspace determination for RRRRR robot; (b) Second step; (c) Third step.

The second step is performed in the Part Design workbench, it consists of applying two extrusions with a finite
thickness of these circles. Fig. 3. (b) shows the obtained result. The final step to determine the workspace of the five
bar mechanism is to apply an intersection Boolean operation on the two regions generated in the second step. The
obtained shape corresponding to the theoretical workspace of the mechanism is shown in Fig. 3. (c). This step is also
done in Design Part workbench.

3.2. Workspace of the DELTA parallel robot

The workspace of the DELTA Parallel robot is defined as a 3D volume in the Cartesian space, this volume is
reached by a point on the mobile platform. The equations used to determine the workspace of a parallel robot are
generally complex to solve by using the traditional approaches. Hence, the CAD-based approach is used in this work
to geometrically determine the workspace of DELTA parallel robot.
The workspace of a parallel robot can be quickly generated as an area or a volume using CATIA, than the
complex technique such the numerical method. Discretization based techniques produce an approximate form of the
workspace with low quality. To improve it, it is necessary to use other graphical methods. By implanting the
problem of workspace determination in a CAD software, these techniques will become more reachable to industry
and more precise. As a first step, the proposed method for workspace determination of the DELTA robot consists in
assuming all legs are independent serial arms having the mobile platform as tool center point (TCP). Then, the
region swept by the TCP of each arm is determined for a given orientation of the TCP.
In [2] the workspace of the DELTA robot is presented by the following equation:

2 2
𝑗𝑗 𝑗𝑗 2 𝑗𝑗 2 𝑗𝑗 2 𝑗𝑗 2
��𝑥𝑥𝑃𝑃 − 𝑟𝑟� + �𝑦𝑦𝑃𝑃 � + �𝑧𝑧𝑃𝑃 � + 𝐿𝐿22 − 𝐿𝐿21 � = 4𝑎𝑎² ��𝑥𝑥𝑃𝑃 − 𝑟𝑟� + �𝑧𝑧𝑃𝑃 � � (7)

𝑗𝑗 𝑗𝑗 𝑗𝑗
where 𝑟𝑟 = 𝑟𝑟𝐴𝐴 − 𝑟𝑟𝑏𝑏 , 𝐿𝐿1 , 𝐿𝐿2 are defined in Fig. 2 and (𝑥𝑥𝑃𝑃 , 𝑦𝑦𝑃𝑃 , 𝑧𝑧𝑃𝑃 ) are the local coordinates of the point P.
Fig. 4. (a) shows the volumes reachable by the TCP of each arm of the robot, it can be seen also that the shape
obtained is a torus, and we are only considering the upper half of these volumes. Fig. 4. (b) depicts the first
intersection Boolean operation of two volumes, and the workspace of the DELTA robot is presented in Fig. 4. (c),
obtained by a second intersection.
 Badreddine
Badreddine Aboulissane
Aboulissane et al.et/ Procedia
al. / Procedia Manufacturing
Manufacturing 32 (2019)
00 (2018) 1085–1092
000–000 10895

Fig. 4. (a) Three volumes reached by the three arms of DELTA robot; (b) First intersection; (c) The second intersection corresponds to the
workspace of the DELTA robot.

4. Workspace optimization

4.1. Simulated Annealing Algorithm

Simulated annealing Algorithm (SA) is inspired by an analogy to annealing in solids [8]. Annealing is defined as
a physical process of cooling a material until its structure is eventually frozen at a minimum energy configuration.
At each generation of the SA, a new point is randomly created. The distance of the new point from the current
point, is based on a proportional probability to the temperature. The algorithm allows all new points that decrease
the value of the objective function, but also, with a certain probability, points that increase the function value. By
allowing points that increase the objective function, the algorithm escapes local minima in early generations and is
able to explore globally for better solutions.

4.2. Workspace optimization of DELTA parallel robot

For the optimization problem, we are using the example of the DELTA robot workspace’s volume as a
performance index. This optimization depends also on the robot geometrical variables. The geometrical optimization
problem can be written as follows:

𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑊𝑊(𝛿𝛿2 )
(8)
𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝛿𝛿2,𝑖𝑖,𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 ≤ 𝛿𝛿2,𝑖𝑖 ≤ 𝛿𝛿2,𝑖𝑖,𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

Where W is a constant orientation workspace volume, and 𝛿𝛿2 is the array of design variables constrained to vary
in a specific range. The objective of the workspace maximization is to extend the capabilities of the manipulator.
Many parameters impact the size and the shape of the workspace, 𝐿𝐿1 , 𝐿𝐿2 , 𝑟𝑟𝐴𝐴 , 𝑟𝑟𝐵𝐵 , 𝜃𝜃𝑗𝑗 (𝑗𝑗 = 1, 2, 3) as defined in Fig. 3, as
well as 𝜑𝜑1𝑗𝑗 , 𝜑𝜑2𝑗𝑗 , 𝜑𝜑3𝑗𝑗 (𝑗𝑗 = 1, 2, 3). The DELTA robot parameterization is shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5. DELTA robot workspace parameterization.

1090 Badreddine Aboulissane et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 32 (2019) 1085–1092
6 Badreddine Aboulissane et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2018) 000–000

The geometrical optimization implemented in CATIA Product Engineering Optimizer workbench aims to
maximize the workspace volume as a function of the design parameters presented in Table 1. The initial design
variables match to the workspace shown in Fig. 6 with a volume of 𝑊𝑊 = 39,11 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑3 . A first optimization is
performed where we limited the range design variables between 𝛿𝛿2,𝑖𝑖,𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 100 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 and 𝛿𝛿2,𝑖𝑖,𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 400 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚. The
optimal values of the design parameters are given in Table 1, and match to the workspace shown in Fig. 7, with a
volume of 𝑊𝑊 = 132,5 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑3 . The second run, the range of design variables is increased and limited by 𝛿𝛿2,𝑖𝑖,𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 =
190 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 and 𝛿𝛿2,𝑖𝑖,𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 500 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚. Fig. 8 shows the optimal workspace obtained in this optimization with a volume
𝑊𝑊 = 615,7 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑3 . The optimal values of the design parameters are given in Table 1.

Fig. 6. Workspace without optimization.

Fig. 7. Workspace after the first optimization.

Fig. 8. Workspace after the second optimization.

Table 1. Optimization results.

Design variables Initial values First Optimization Second Optimization

𝑟𝑟𝐴𝐴 (mm) 350 275,349 458,936

𝑟𝑟𝐵𝐵 (mm) 220 146,957 303,065
𝐿𝐿1 (mm) 300 354,507 499,992
𝐿𝐿2 (mm) 200 299,999 499,988
3
Objective W (dm ) 39,11 135,84 615,7

The optimization method is based on the Simulated Annealing Algorithm (SAA). The number of iterations
realized to reach the objective is 2125 for the first optimization, and 2143 for the second one. The time of these
optimizations is about 20 minutes. They are performed under a computer that has the following characteristics: CPU
@2.10Ghz, 8,00 Go RAM.
 Badreddine Aboulissane et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 32 (2019) 1085–1092 1091
Badreddine Aboulissane et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2018) 000–000 7

Fig. 9. (a), (b) and Fig. 10. (a), (b) shows the evolution of the objective function W and design variables versus
number of generations. In Fig. 9. (b) the objective function W of the first optimization converges to a value that is
about 70% of the initial value after 350 iterations approximately, and during the second optimization, the function
W converges after only 200 iterations (Fig. 7).

500
200

3
180 W (dm )
400
3
Best W (dm )

160
300

140

200
X: 2125
120

)
3
Y: 135.8

100
Design Variables of the DELTA robot

100

Volume (dm
0 80

60
-100
L (mm)
1

L (mm)
2 40
-200 r (mm)
A

r (mm) 20
B

-300
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 0

Number of Generations 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200

Number of Generations

Fig. 9. (a) Evolution of the design variables during the first optimization; (b) Evolution of the objective function during the first optimization.

700 800

L (mm) 3
1 Best W (dm )

L (mm) 700 3
2 W (dm )
600
r (mm)
A

600
r (mm)
B
X: 2143
500
Y: 615.7
500
)
3

400 400
Design Variables of the DELTA robot

Volume (dm

300

300

200

200
100

100 0

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000

Number of Generations Number of Generations

Fig. 10. (a) Evolution of the design variables during the second optimization; (b) Evolution of the objective function during the second
optimization.

5. Conclusion

In this paper a geometrical technique implemented in CATIA software, is used to determine and parameterize the
workspace of parallel manipulators. Boolean intersection is used to obtain to workspace of the 5R planar
manipulator and the DELTA robot. The workspace volume of DELTA robot is used as an objective function to be
maximize in order to extend its capabilities. CATIA Product Engineering Optimizer workbench is also used in order
to implement our optimization problem through Simulated Annealing Algorithm. The obtained results shows the
effectiveness of the approach.

References

[1] R. Boudreau, C. M. Gosselin, The Synthesis of Planar Parallel Manipulators with a Genetic Algorithm, Journal of mechanical design, 121
(1999) 533-537.
1092 Badreddine Aboulissane et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 32 (2019) 1085–1092
8 Badreddine Aboulissane et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2018) 000–000

[2] M. A. Laribi, L. Romdhane, S. Zeghloul, Advanced Synthesis of the DELTA Parallel Robot for a Specified Workspace, Parallel
Manipulators, Towards New Applications. InTech, (2008).
[3] C. Gosselin, Determination of the Workspace of 6-DOF Parallel Manipulators, Journal of mechanical design, 112 (1990) 331-336.
[4] J.P. Merlet, Determination of the orientation workspace of parallel manipulators, Journal of intelligent and robotic systems, 13 (1995) 143-
160.
[5] K. Assad Arrouk, B. Chedli Bouzgarrou, S. D. Stan, G. Gogu, CAD Based Design Optimization of Planar Parallel Manipulators, Solid State
Phenomena. Trans Tech Publications, 166 (2010) 33-38.
[6] I. A. Bonev, J. Ryu, A geometrical method for computing the constant-orientation workspace of 6-PRRS parallel manipulators, Mechanism
and machine theory, 36 (2001) 1-13.
[7] 3D Modeling Solutions | CATIATM - Dassault Systèmes®, (Online), Available: https://www.3ds.com/products-services/catia/. (Accessed:
20-Dec-2017).
[8] Du. Ke-Lin, M. N. S. Swamy, Simulated Annealing, Search and Optimization by Metaheuristics, Birkhäuser, Cham, (2016) 29-36.