Keywords: 2-RPU/RPS, hybrid mechanism sorting
With the rapid development of packaging automation, traditional serial and parallel mechanisms can no longer meet people’s needs. The emergence of hybrid mechanisms has addressed the shortcomings of serial and parallel mechanisms, offering advantages such as large workspace, good flexibility, and strong load capacity. Using hybrid mechanisms for product sorting in packaging production lines can save a significant amount of labor and resources, while also improving sorting efficiency. Currently, research on hybrid mechanisms has attracted widespread attention from scholars both domestically and internationally. Jill Group proposes a 4-DOF hybrid mechanism, which employs closed-loop vector method and PSO particle swarm optimization algorithm to analyze the forward and inverse kinematics of the 2-RPU/RPS parallel mechanism, and applies the hybrid mechanism to the product sorting process in packaging production lines.
The degrees of freedom of the (2-RPU/RPS)&R hybrid mechanism are determined to be 4 using the spiral theory. The forward and inverse kinematics of the 2-RPU/RPS parallel mechanism are analyzed using the closed-loop vector method and PSO particle swarm optimization algorithm. The continuous workspace of the parallel mechanism, obtained through numerical search methods, indicates its good kinematic performance. The application of the designed hybrid mechanism in packaging production lines allows the end effector to adjust the orientation of items while sorting and gripping, thereby improving efficiency. Through case analysis of the Jill Group production line, it is confirmed that the mechanism can accurately sort and grip items in different orientations.
In the PSO algorithm example, numerical solutions for the forward kinematics of the platform position and fitness curves are obtained, indicating a continuous workspace without voids, meeting the requirements of sorting activities. The (2-RPU/RPS)&R hybrid mechanism demonstrates good kinematic performance, a large workspace, and smooth operation, making it suitable for sorting variously oriented items on packaging production lines.
