Thesis (M.Eng.(Mechanical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 1999. / Summaries in Afrikaans and English. Includes bibliographical references.

The aim of using parallel kinematic motion systems as an alternative of conventional machine tools for precision machining has raised the demands made on the accuracy of identification of the geometric parameters that are necessary for the kinematic transformation of the motion variables. The accuracy of a parallel manipulator is not only dependent upon an accurate control of its actuators but also upon a good knowledge of its geometrical characteristics. As the platform's controller determines the length of the actuators according to the nominal model, the resulted pose of the platform is inaccurate. One way to enhance platform accuracy is by kinematic calibration, a process by which the actual kinematic parameters are identified and then implemented to modify the kinematic model used by the controller. The first and most general valuation criterion for the actual calibration approaches is the relative improvement of the motion accuracy, eclipsing the other aspects to pay for it. The calibration outlay has been underestimated or even neglected for a long time. The scientific value of the calibration procedure is not only in direct proportion to the achieved accuracy, but also to the calibration effort. These demands become particularly stringent in case of the calibration of hexapods of the so-called simple design. The objectives of the here proposed new calibration procedure are based on the deficits mentioned above under the special requirements due to the circumstances of the simple design-concept. The main goals of the procedure can be summarized in obtaining the basics for an automated kinematic calibration procedure which works efficiently, quickly, effectively and possibly low-cost, all-in-one economically applied to the parallel kinematic machines. The problem will be approached systematically and taking step by step the necessary conclu-sions and measurements through: Systematical analysis of the workspace to determine the optimal measuring procedure, measurements with automated data acquisition and evaluation, simulated measurements based on the kinematic model of the structure and identifying the kinematic parameters using efficient optimization algorithms. The presented calibration has been successfully implemented and tested on the hexapod of simple design `Felix' available at the IWM, TU Dresden. The obtained results encourage the application of the procedure to other hexapod structures.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The research presented in this dissertation establishes a micro-CMM parallel manipulator as a viable positioning device for three degree of freedom micro measurement applications. The machine offers the advantages associated with parallel kinematic manipulators, such as light carrying weight, high stiffness and no accumulation of errors, while avoiding some of the traditional disadvantages of parallel manipulators such as the associated effects of angular errors (Abbé error), singularity problems, work space limitation and the extensive use of spherical joints. In this dissertation, the direct position kinematic solution is developed analytically and the solution of the inverse position kinematic is solved numerically. A workspace analysis has been performed. A fully functional prototype demonstrator is fabricated to demonstrate this machine. While the demonstrator was not intended to achieve submicron accuracy, it was intended to validate the error models. Computer controlled measurement is developed and used to position the probe and to record measurements. A reliable kinematic error model based on the theory of error propagation is derived analytically. A numerical method is used to verify the analytical results. Comparison shows that the results of the error model, both analytical and numerical, represent a very good match and follow the same trend. The kinematic position model is validated using a conventional CMM. Results show that an average difference of less than 0.5 mm over a set of 30 points is achieved. This result of the micro-CMM demonstrator measurements falls within the error budget of approximately 0.75 mm estimated by the proposed analytical error model. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorsing in hierdie tesis vestig ‘n mikro-CMM parallelle manipuleerder as ‘n lewensvatbare posisioneringstoestel vir drie vryheidsgraad-mikrometing toepassings. Die masjien bied voordele geassosieer met parallelle kinematiese manipuleerders, bv. ligte dra-gewig, hoë styfheid en geen ophoping van foute nie. Die tradisionele nadele van parallelle manipuleerders soos die geassosieerde gevolge van hoekfoute (Abbé fout), enkelvoudigheidsprobleme, werkspasiebeperking en die uitgebreide gebruik van sferiese koppelings word vermy. In hierdie tesis word die direkte posisie kinematiese oplossing analities ontwikkel en die oplossing van die omgekeerde posisie kinematies word numeries opgelos. ‘n Werkspasie analise is uitgevoer. ‘n Ten volle funksionele prototipe demonstrasie-model is vervaardig om hierdie masjien te demonstreer. Die model is nie vervaardig om submikron akkuraatheid te bereik nie, maar eerder om foutmodelle geldig te verklaar. Rekenaar-beheerde metings is ontwerp en gebruik om die toetspen te posisioneer en om metings te neem. ‘n Betroubare kinematiese foutmodel gebaseer op die teorie van foutvoortplanting is analities afgelei. ‘n Numeriese metode word gebruik om die analitiese resultate te bevestig. Vergelyking toon aan dat die resultate van die foutmodel, beide analities en numeries, goeie pasmaats is en dieselfde tendens volg. Die kinematiese posisie model word geldig verklaar deur gebruik te maak van ‘n konvensionele CMM. Resultate wys dat daar ‘n gemiddelde verskil van minder as 0.5 mm oor ‘n stel van 30 punte behaal word. Die resultate van die mikro-CMM model se metings val binne die foutbegroting van ongeveer 0.75 mm geskat by die voorgestelde analitiese foutmodel.

Les machines parallèles (MPs) existent depuis plus d'un demi-siècle et ils ont fait l'objet d'études intensives. Par opposition avec leurs homologues de structure série, ces mécanismes sont constitués de plusieurs chaînes cinématiques qui relient la base fixe à la plateforme mobile. L'intérêt de ces architectures s'explique par les nombreux avantages qu'elles offrent, parmi lesquels: une rigidité élevée, un rapport important charge/poids global, des capacités dynamiques élevées en raison des masses en mouvement réduites (en particulier lorsque les actionneurs sont sur ou près de la base), une meilleure précision, des fréquences propres plus élevées, etc. Néanmoins, leur exploitation comme machines-outils reste timide et limitée, et le plus souvent elles ne dépassent pas le stade d'étude et de prototype de laboratoires universitaires ou de fabricants de machines-outils. Les principaux inconvénients qui entravent la généralisation des MPs dans l'industrie sont les suivants: un espace de travail limité, des débattements angulaires réduits, la présence de configurations singulières, la complexité de conception, les difficultés d'étalonnage, les problèmes causés par les collisions, la complexité du contrôle/commande (en particulier dans le cas de redondance à actionnement), etc. De plus, si les MPs ont rencontré un grand succès dans les applications de pick-and-place grâce à leur rapidité (capacité d'accélération), leur précision reste inférieure à ce qui a été prévu initialement. Par ailleurs, on trouve également des MPs de très précision, mais malheureusement avec de faibles performances dynamiques. En partant du constat précédant, cette thèse se concentre sur l'obtention de MPs avec un bon compromis entre rapidité et précision. Nous commençons par donner un aperçu de la bibliographie disponible concernant MPs et les avancées majeures dans ce domaine, tout en soulignant les limites de performance des MPs, ainsi que les limites des outils de conception classique. En outre, nous insistons sur les outils d'évaluation des performances, et montrons leurs limites dès qu'il s'agit de traiter le cas de la redondance ou l'hétérogénéité des degrés de liberté (ddl). En effet, si la synthèse architecturale est un point dur de la conception de MPs, la synthèse dimensionnelle reposant sur des indices de performances réellement significatifs l'est également. Par conséquent, de nouveaux indices de performance sont proposés pour évaluer la précision, les capacités cinétostatiques et dynamiques des manipulateurs de manière générale qui apportent des solutions aux difficultés évoquées ci-dessus. Par la suite, plusieurs nouvelles architectures 3T-2R et 3T-1R (T: signifie ddl en translation et R signifie un ddl de rotation) sont présentées, à savoir MachLin5, ARROW V1, et ARROW V2 et ses versions dérivées ARROW V2 M1 et M2. En outre, la synthèse dimensionnelle d'ARROW V2 M2 est réalisée, et les performances de la machine sont évaluées. Finalement, des améliorations futures concernant la précision sont proposées au regard de premiers résultats obtenus sur le prototype. / Parallel manipulators (PMs) have been there for more than half a century and they have been subject of intensive research. In comparison with their serial counterparts, PMs consist of several kinematic chains that connect the fixed base to the moving platform. The interest in such architectures is due to the several advantages they offer, among which we mention: high rigidity and payload-to-weight ratio, elevated dynamical capabilities due to reduced moving masses (especially when the actuators are at or near the base), better precision, higher proper frequencies, etc. Nevertheless, despite of the aforementioned merits, their exploitation as machine tools is still timid and limited, in which they most often do not exceed the research and prototyping stages at university laboratories and machine tool manufacturers. The main drawbacks that hinder the widespread of parallel kinematic machines (PKMs) are the following: limited operational workspace and tilting capacity, presence of singular configurations, design complexities, calibration difficulties, collision-related problems, sophistication of control (especially in the case of actuation redundancy), etc. Besides, though PMs have met a great success in pick-and-place applications, thanks to their rapidity (acceleration capacity), still their precision is less than what has been initially anticipated. On the other hand, extremely precise PMs exist, but unfortunately with poor dynamic performance. Starting from the aforementioned problematics, the current thesis focuses on obtaining PKMs with a good compromise between rapidity and precision. We begin by providing a survey of the available literature regarding PKMs and the major advancements in this field, while emphasizing the shortcomings on the level of design as well as performance. Moreover, an overview on the state of the art regarding performance evaluation is presented and the inadequacies of classical measures, when dealing with redundancy and heterogeneity predicaments, are highlighted. In fact, if finding the proper architectures is one of the prominent issues hindering PKMs' widespread, the performance evaluation and the criteria upon which these PKMs are dimensionally synthesized are of an equal importance. Therefore, novel performance indices are proposed to assess precision, kinetostatic and dynamic capabilities of general manipulators, while overcoming the aforementioned dilemmas. Subsequently, several novel architectures with 3T-2R and 3T-1R degrees of freedom (T and R signify translational and rotational degrees of freedom), namely MachLin5, ARROW V1, and ARROW V2 with its mutated versions ARROW V2 M1/M2, are presented. Furthermore, the dimensional synthesis of the executed PKM, namely ARROW V2 M2, is discussed with its preliminary performances and possible future enhancements, particularly regarding precision amelioration.

Der Vortrag verdeutlicht die Möglichkeiten der Mathcad-Funktionen "Minimieren" bzw. "Maximieren" durch ein komplexes Beispiel aus dem Gebiet der parallelkinematischen Robotik. Innerhalb eines technologisch geforderten Arbeitsbereiches werden durch Auswertung der Vorwärts- und Rückwärtsinformation Bewertungskriterien erfasst und anschaulich dargestellt. Durch eine geeignete Formulierung mit den "Programmier"-Werkzeugen von Mathcad kann die Bewertung in einer Funktion über den gesamten Arbeitsraum automatisiert aufgerufen werden. Diese Aufbereitung gestattet die Anwendung der "Maximieren"-Funktion auf die Arbeitseigenschaften der Maschine durch Variation der kinematischen Abmessungen. Das Ergebnis der Optimierung sind die Maße des mechanischen Führungsgetriebes.

The use of robotic manipulators in industrial applications is continuously growing. Therefore, the proposal of novel kinematic architectures for robotic manipulators can be a strategy for coping with the required performance of specific tasks. On this matter, the parallel manipulators represent an alternative to fulfill this gap. The objective of this manuscript is to prove that the energy efficiency of parallel manipulators can be increased by the use of kinematic redundancy. Due to the presence of kinematic redundancy, the number of solutions to the inverse kinematics problem become infinite. Hence, a redundancy resolution scheme is required to select a suitable one among the infinite solutions. In this work, a model predictive control (MPC) based method is proposed as redundancy resolution scheme. This proposal is evaluated numerically and experimentally by comparing the energy consumption of non-redundant and kinematically redundant manipulators during the execution of pre-defined tasks. The non-redundant manipulator under study is the planar parallel 3RRR manipulator. This manipulator consists of three identical kinematic chains containing one active revolute joint and two passive revolute joints. Kinematic redundancies were added to the manipulator by including one active prismatic joint in each kinematic chain. In this way, the kinematically redundant manipulator under study is the planar parallel 3PRRR manipulator. By activating or locking the prismatic joints, up to three levels of kinematic redundancy can be evaluated. Numerical kinematic and dynamic models of the manipulators under study were derived not only for their numerical evaluation but also for the derivation of the model-based redundancy resolution scheme. Experimental data was acquired using the prototype built at the Laboratory of Dynamics at São Carlos School of Engineering at University of São Paulo. This experimental data was exploited for assessing the usability of the MPC for deriving a redundancy resolution scheme and for evaluating the impact of several levels of kinematic redundancy on the manipulator\'s energy consumption. Based on this data, one can conclude that MPC can be a suitable alternative for solve redundancy resolution problems and that the redundant parallel manipulators presented a lower energy consumption than the non-redundant one to execute the pre-defined tasks. The rate of reduction on the energy consumption achieved by the redundant manipulators varied between 6% and 60% depending on the task. Nevertheless, the numerical and experimental data presented differences in some particular cases. / O número de aplicações realizadas pelos manipuladores robóticos cresce continuamente. Assim, o desenvolvimento de novas arquiteturas para os manipuladores robóticos mais adaptadas a aplicações concretas é necessário. Destarte, os manipuladores paralelos constituem uma alternativa a ser considerada. O objetivo deste texto é provar que a eficiência energética dos manipuladores paralelos pode ser incrementada por meio da redundância cinemática. A presença de redundância cinemática implica um número infinito de soluções no problema da cinemática inversa. Logo, é precisso um esquema de resolução de redundância para escolher uma das soluções. No presente texto, um método baseado no modelo de controle preditivo (MPC), é proposto como esquema de resolução de redundância. Esta proposta é avaliada tanto numérica como experimentalmente comparando o consumo energético dos manipuladores não redundante e redundantes durante a execução de umas trajetórias predefinidas. O manipulador paralelo não redundante estudado é o 3RRR. Este manipulador é composto por três cadeias cinemáticas idênticas que incluem uma junta rotativa ativa e duas juntas rotativas passivas. Redundâncias cinemáticas foram adicionadas ao manipulador incluindo uma junta prismática ativa em cada uma das três cadeias cinemáticas, obtendo assim, o manipulador redundante 3PRRR. Ativando ou bloqueando as juntas prismáticas podem ser avaliados até três níveis de redundância cinemática. Modelos matemáticos dos manipuladores foram propostos tanto para a estabelecer uma avaliação numérica como para a dedução do esquema de resolução de redundância. Um protótipo do manipulador 3PRRR construído na Escola da Engenharia de São Carlos foi usado para realizar os experimentos. Os dados experimentais foram utilizados para comprovar a utilidade do MPC como esquema de resolução de redundância, e para avaliar os efeitos da redundância cinemática no consumo energético. Com fundamento nos resultados é possível concluir que o MPC pode ser uma alternativa adequada para resolver problemas de resolução de redundância e que os manipuladores paralelos redundantes apresentaram um menor consumo energético para realizar a mesma tarefa quando comparados aos não redundante. A taxa de redução da energia em favor dos manipuladores redundantes varia entre 6% e 60% dependendo da tarefa. Por outro lado, a análise numérica mostrou discrepâncias com a análise experimental em certas circunstâncias.

Manipuladores robóticos com cinemática paralela apresentam alta rigidez, alta relação carga/peso próprio e boa precisão quando comparados a manipuladores de cinemática serial. No entanto, a região de trabalho dos manipuladores paralelos é limitada devido à presença de singularidade. Com o objetivo de aumentar a região de trabalho, redundâncias cinemáticas podem ser introduzidas nas cadeias cinemáticas. Devido à sua arquitetura paralela, a incerteza nos parâmetros geométricos pode ter grande influência no comportamento cinemático e no desempenho dinâmico. O estudo do impacto dessas incertezas quando redundâncias são introduzidas em uma manipulador robótico planar de cinemática paralela é o objetivo desse trabalho. Distribuições normais foram adotadas para a avaliação do comprimento dos elos. O impacto dessas variações foi avaliado numericamente através da comparação de resultados da simulação de trajetórias para os diferentes manipuladores robóticos. Além disso, verificou-se o impacto dessas variações nas regiões de singularidades dos sistemas robóticos. Essas avaliações numéricas foram realizadas para o manipulador robótico 3(P)RRR. Este manipulador consiste de 3 cadeias cinemáticas em paralelo. Cada cadeia apresenta uma junta prismática ativa (P), uma junta de revolução ativa (R) e duas juntas de revolução passivas (RR). Através desse trabalho, uma metodologia de avaliação do impacto de incerteza geométricas em manipuladores robóticos paralelos com redundância de atuação foi proposta e investigada. / Parallel kinematic manipulators present higher rigidity, better load capacity and improved accuracy when compared to serial kinematic manipulators. However, the workspace of parallel kinematic manipulator is usually limited due to the presence of singularity regions. In order to enlarge the workspace, kinematic redundancy can be introduced in the kinematic chains. Due to its parallel architecture, the uncertainty and variability of some geometric parameters may have great influence on its kinematic behavior and dynamic performance. The impact of these variabilities when redundancies are considered should also be verified. The aim of this study is to evaluate some geometric uncertainties in the links\' dimensions of a planar parallel robot manipulator with kinematic redundancy. Normal distributions are adopted for evaluating the variability of length of the links. The impact of these changes was evaluated numerically by comparing the results obtained by simulating trajectories for different robotic manipulators. In addition, the impact of these variabilities in the singularity regions is also assessed. These numerical evaluations have been performed for the redundant manipulator 3(P)RRR. This manipulator consists of three kinematic chains in parallel. Each chain has an active prismatic joint (P), an active revolute joint (R) and two passive revolute joints (RR). Through this work, a methodology for assessing the impact of geometric uncertainty in parallel robotic manipulators with kinematic redundancy has been proposed and investigated.

Les travaux de recherche présentés dans ce mémoire concernent la prédiction et l’amélioration des performances des machines-outils à structure parallèle dans le but de produire des pièces conformes à la qualité requise en un temps minimal. Le problème abordé permet de déterminer l’influence de la structure sur la productivité et la qualité de la pièce usinée dans le contexte de l’Usinage à Grande Vitesse de pièces automobiles et aéronautiques. Ce travail propose alors des avancées suivant deux axes fondamentaux : - la modélisation du comportement anisotrope de la cellule d’usinage ; - la proposition de nouvelles méthodes d’adaptation du processus.Ces deux axes sont dans un premier temps abordés vis-à-vis d’un objectif d’amélioration des temps de déplacement d’outil hors matière. La méthode développée nécessite l’élaboration d’un modèle cinématique des déplacements hors matière spécifique à chaque structure de machine outil et basé sur l’utilisation d’une loi de commande articulaire. Un outil d’aide à la mise en place d’un usinage sur machine-outil à structure parallèle est ensuite proposé. Cet outil repose sur un modèle numérique de comportement cinématique utilisant une loi de commande de déplacement dans le repère lié à la pièce permettant de prédire le temps d’usinage en fonction des trajectoires. L’optimisation du processus d’usinage s’appuie également sur la prédiction de la qualité d’usinage. Pour cela, un modèle expérimental basé sur une campagne de mesures effectuée sur la machine-outil considérée a été développé. Ces approches sont appliquées à des usinages de pièces industrielles sur la machine-outil PCI Tripteor X7. Leur originalité réside dans l’amélioration des performances des machines-outils à structure parallèle à partir de l’analyse du comportement durant l’usinage et permet, par conséquent, d’étendre leur domaine d’application. / The research works presented here deal with the prediction and the performance improvement of parallel kinematic machine tools in order to produce machine parts with a specified quality level and in a minimum time. The problem treated allows determining the structure influence on the productivity and the machined part quality in the context of High Speed Machining for automotive and aeronautical parts.So, these works propose improvements along two fundamental ways : - modelling of the machine tool anisotropic behaviour ; - new methods of process adaptation. These approaches lead in a first time to a study of the time taken by the linking tool movement between cutting operations. The developed method is based on the definition of a kinematic model of linking tool movements, specific to each machine-tool and based on a command law defined in the joint workspace. A helpful resource for the setting up of machining with a parallel kinematic machine tool is then proposed. It is based on a numerical model of the kinematic behaviour using a command law of the movement defined in the programming workspace and providing a prediction of machining time. The process optimization is also based on the machining quality prediction brought by an experimental model enhanced by a measurement campaign realized on the considered machine tool. These approaches are applied to industrial parts with the PCI Tripteor X7 machine-tool. Their originality lies in the improvement of parallel kinematic machines tool performances from an analysis of the machine behaviour during the machining, and consequently allows extending their application field.

Manipuladores robóticos com cinemática paralela apresentam alta rigidez, alta relação carga/peso próprio e boa precisão quando comparados a manipuladores de cinemática serial. No entanto, a região de trabalho dos manipuladores paralelos é limitada devido à presença de singularidade. Com o objetivo de aumentar a região de trabalho, redundâncias cinemáticas podem ser introduzidas nas cadeias cinemáticas. Devido à sua arquitetura paralela, a incerteza nos parâmetros geométricos pode ter grande influência no comportamento cinemático e no desempenho dinâmico. O estudo do impacto dessas incertezas quando redundâncias são introduzidas em uma manipulador robótico planar de cinemática paralela é o objetivo desse trabalho. Distribuições normais foram adotadas para a avaliação do comprimento dos elos. O impacto dessas variações foi avaliado numericamente através da comparação de resultados da simulação de trajetórias para os diferentes manipuladores robóticos. Além disso, verificou-se o impacto dessas variações nas regiões de singularidades dos sistemas robóticos. Essas avaliações numéricas foram realizadas para o manipulador robótico 3(P)RRR. Este manipulador consiste de 3 cadeias cinemáticas em paralelo. Cada cadeia apresenta uma junta prismática ativa (P), uma junta de revolução ativa (R) e duas juntas de revolução passivas (RR). Através desse trabalho, uma metodologia de avaliação do impacto de incerteza geométricas em manipuladores robóticos paralelos com redundância de atuação foi proposta e investigada. / Parallel kinematic manipulators present higher rigidity, better load capacity and improved accuracy when compared to serial kinematic manipulators. However, the workspace of parallel kinematic manipulator is usually limited due to the presence of singularity regions. In order to enlarge the workspace, kinematic redundancy can be introduced in the kinematic chains. Due to its parallel architecture, the uncertainty and variability of some geometric parameters may have great influence on its kinematic behavior and dynamic performance. The impact of these variabilities when redundancies are considered should also be verified. The aim of this study is to evaluate some geometric uncertainties in the links\' dimensions of a planar parallel robot manipulator with kinematic redundancy. Normal distributions are adopted for evaluating the variability of length of the links. The impact of these changes was evaluated numerically by comparing the results obtained by simulating trajectories for different robotic manipulators. In addition, the impact of these variabilities in the singularity regions is also assessed. These numerical evaluations have been performed for the redundant manipulator 3(P)RRR. This manipulator consists of three kinematic chains in parallel. Each chain has an active prismatic joint (P), an active revolute joint (R) and two passive revolute joints (RR). Through this work, a methodology for assessing the impact of geometric uncertainty in parallel robotic manipulators with kinematic redundancy has been proposed and investigated.

The use of robotic manipulators in industrial applications is continuously growing. Therefore, the proposal of novel kinematic architectures for robotic manipulators can be a strategy for coping with the required performance of specific tasks. On this matter, the parallel manipulators represent an alternative to fulfill this gap. The objective of this manuscript is to prove that the energy efficiency of parallel manipulators can be increased by the use of kinematic redundancy. Due to the presence of kinematic redundancy, the number of solutions to the inverse kinematics problem become infinite. Hence, a redundancy resolution scheme is required to select a suitable one among the infinite solutions. In this work, a model predictive control (MPC) based method is proposed as redundancy resolution scheme. This proposal is evaluated numerically and experimentally by comparing the energy consumption of non-redundant and kinematically redundant manipulators during the execution of pre-defined tasks. The non-redundant manipulator under study is the planar parallel 3RRR manipulator. This manipulator consists of three identical kinematic chains containing one active revolute joint and two passive revolute joints. Kinematic redundancies were added to the manipulator by including one active prismatic joint in each kinematic chain. In this way, the kinematically redundant manipulator under study is the planar parallel 3PRRR manipulator. By activating or locking the prismatic joints, up to three levels of kinematic redundancy can be evaluated. Numerical kinematic and dynamic models of the manipulators under study were derived not only for their numerical evaluation but also for the derivation of the model-based redundancy resolution scheme. Experimental data was acquired using the prototype built at the Laboratory of Dynamics at São Carlos School of Engineering at University of São Paulo. This experimental data was exploited for assessing the usability of the MPC for deriving a redundancy resolution scheme and for evaluating the impact of several levels of kinematic redundancy on the manipulator\'s energy consumption. Based on this data, one can conclude that MPC can be a suitable alternative for solve redundancy resolution problems and that the redundant parallel manipulators presented a lower energy consumption than the non-redundant one to execute the pre-defined tasks. The rate of reduction on the energy consumption achieved by the redundant manipulators varied between 6% and 60% depending on the task. Nevertheless, the numerical and experimental data presented differences in some particular cases. / O número de aplicações realizadas pelos manipuladores robóticos cresce continuamente. Assim, o desenvolvimento de novas arquiteturas para os manipuladores robóticos mais adaptadas a aplicações concretas é necessário. Destarte, os manipuladores paralelos constituem uma alternativa a ser considerada. O objetivo deste texto é provar que a eficiência energética dos manipuladores paralelos pode ser incrementada por meio da redundância cinemática. A presença de redundância cinemática implica um número infinito de soluções no problema da cinemática inversa. Logo, é precisso um esquema de resolução de redundância para escolher uma das soluções. No presente texto, um método baseado no modelo de controle preditivo (MPC), é proposto como esquema de resolução de redundância. Esta proposta é avaliada tanto numérica como experimentalmente comparando o consumo energético dos manipuladores não redundante e redundantes durante a execução de umas trajetórias predefinidas. O manipulador paralelo não redundante estudado é o 3RRR. Este manipulador é composto por três cadeias cinemáticas idênticas que incluem uma junta rotativa ativa e duas juntas rotativas passivas. Redundâncias cinemáticas foram adicionadas ao manipulador incluindo uma junta prismática ativa em cada uma das três cadeias cinemáticas, obtendo assim, o manipulador redundante 3PRRR. Ativando ou bloqueando as juntas prismáticas podem ser avaliados até três níveis de redundância cinemática. Modelos matemáticos dos manipuladores foram propostos tanto para a estabelecer uma avaliação numérica como para a dedução do esquema de resolução de redundância. Um protótipo do manipulador 3PRRR construído na Escola da Engenharia de São Carlos foi usado para realizar os experimentos. Os dados experimentais foram utilizados para comprovar a utilidade do MPC como esquema de resolução de redundância, e para avaliar os efeitos da redundância cinemática no consumo energético. Com fundamento nos resultados é possível concluir que o MPC pode ser uma alternativa adequada para resolver problemas de resolução de redundância e que os manipuladores paralelos redundantes apresentaram um menor consumo energético para realizar a mesma tarefa quando comparados aos não redundante. A taxa de redução da energia em favor dos manipuladores redundantes varia entre 6% e 60% dependendo da tarefa. Por outro lado, a análise numérica mostrou discrepâncias com a análise experimental em certas circunstâncias.