Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 August 2005
Parallel kinematic machines (PKMs) and, in particular linapods, are being increasingly used in the industrial workplace. The complex control required for various linapod kinematics, each having different numbers and types of Degrees-of-Freedom (DOF), require corresponding transformations to be generated. This paper introduces a general form of transformation that can be adapted to a wide range of linapods. The approach is illustrated by an example and the concept of a five-DOF linapod for the milling process is proposed. Furthermore, the advantages from the two types of three-DOF Linapods are discussed, and it is shown how the position accuracy can be increased.