This paper studies the workspace of a six-DOF parallel manipulator of three-PPSR (prismatic-prismatic-spheric-revolute) type. It is well recognized that the most significant drawback of parallel manipulators is their limited workspace. To develop new parallel mechanisms with a larger workspace is of interest to additional applications. The mechanism of the three-PPSR manipulator and its variations are briefly analyzed first. The workspace is then determined and the effects of joint limit and limb interference constraints on the workspace shape and size are studied. The constituent regions of the workspace corresponding to different classes of manipulator poses are discussed. It is shown that the workspace of this parallel manipulator is larger than that of a comparable Stewart platform especially in the vertical direction.
