Parallel Kinematic Mechanisms (PKMs) are well suited for high-accuracy applications such as meso-milling. However, drawbacks such as limited platform tilting angle and high configuration dependency of stiffness often limit their usage. In this Thesis, a new six degree-of-freedom (dof) PKM architecture based on a 3×PPRS topology is proposed, in order to address these problems.

The new PKM is presented, and its inverse kinematics and Jocobian matrix are derived. The kinematic relations are incorporated into MATLAB to calculate the workspace of the PKM. The stiffness of the new PKM is obtained using Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and configuration dependency of stiffness is investigated. The proposed new mechanism is compared with three similar existing 6-dof PKMs, and it is shown that the new PKM exhibits higher stiffness. Lastly, three meso-Milling Machine Tool prototypes were designed and built. In particular, Prototype III is based on the new mechanism.