In this paper, a new method – named lumped kinetostatic modeling – to analyze the effect of the link flexibility on the mechanism's stiffness
is provided. A new type of mechanism whose degree of freedom (dof) is dependent on a passive constraining leg connecting the base and the platform is introduced and analyzed. With the proposed kinetostatic model, a significant effect of the link flexibility on the mechanism's precision has been demonstrated. The influence of the change in structure parameters, including material properties, on the system behavior is discussed. In the paper, the geometric model of this kind of mechanism is first introduced. Then, a lumped kinetostatic model is proposed in order to account for joint and link compliances; some results and design guidelines are obtained. Finally, the optimization of the precision is addressed using a genetic algorithm.
