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SummaryParallel manipulators, especially those with outputs as one translation and two rotations (1T2R), are being increasingly studied. The kinematic chains of parallel manipulators share the loads and make the stiffness higher than the stiffness of serial manipulators with equivalent limbs. This high stiffness ensures a minimal deformation of the limbs, allowing a high positioning accuracy of the endeffector. Thus, it is very important to be able to measure the stiffness in parallel manipulators. In this work, we present a novel 1T2R multi-axial shaking table (MAST) for automobile pieces testing purposes—the 2PRU–1PRS parallel manipulator—and focus on the analysis of its stiffness all over the useful workspace. Analysis methods based on matrix structural method need to be validated for every parallel manipulator, and we present these steps along with a comparison between experimental and analytical methods.

In the last few years, parallel manipulators are being increasingly studied and used for different applications. The performance of parallel manipulators is very sensitive to the geometric parameters, so it is essential to optimize them in order to obtain the desired function. We propose two optimization algorithms that consider the size and regularity of the workspace. The first one obtains the geometric parameters combination that results in the biggest and most regular workspace. The second method analyzes the geometric parameters combinations that result in an acceptable size of the workspace—even if it is not the biggest one—and finds out which ones result in the lowest power consumption. Even if the results vary depending on the application and trajectories studied, the proposed methodology can be followed to any type of parallel manipulator, application or trajectory. In this work we focus on the dimension optimization of the geometric parameters of the 2PRU-1PRS Multi-Axial Shaking Table (MAST) for automobile pieces testing purposes.