Design and analysis of a reconfigurable mechanism based on double slider morphing mechanism

Abstract In this paper, a novel special structure derived from the double-slider mechanism is presented and apply it to the design of a parallel mechanism, endowing the designed parallel mechanism with reconfigurable characteristics. First, a comprehensive analysis of the motion modes of the double-slider mechanism is carried out. By ingeniously varying the slider structure of the double-slider mechanism, a special structure capable of three distinct motion modes is obtained. This special structure is then integrated into the 3UPU parallel mechanism. As a result, the redesigned 3UPU parallel mechanism exhibits reconfigurability and can seamlessly switch among the three motion modes. Subsequently, the inverse kinematics, workspace, and singular pose of the parallel mechanism in these three modes are meticulously analyzed. Moreover, the Jacobian matrix is utilized to evaluate its flexibility and load-bearing performance. The analysis reveals that in different motion modes, all performance indicators of the mechanism are remarkable, indicating a promising application prospect. Finally, a prototype is fabricated using 3D printing technology to further validate the effectiveness of the proposed special structure. Additionally, its versatility is further explored and analyzed in-depth.