Stiffness-based workspace atlas of hexapod machine tool for optimal work piece location

This paper presents a methodology to plot workspace atlas based on stiffness for hexapod machine tool. The stiffness of hexapod machine tool varies with the configuration changes at every instant. Hence, work piece location is not as simple and straightforward as that of conventional machine tools. Stiffness-based workspace atlas will help in selecting optimal work piece location. An illustrative example to demonstrate the use of atlas in identification of optimal work piece location is also presented.