Method for workspace calculation of 6R serial manipulator based on surface enveloping and overlaying

Aiming at the workspace calculation problem of multi-joint serial manipulators, a surface enveloping and overlaying (SEO) method is presented to identify and visualize the manipulator workspace. The SEO method is composed of two stages: the first stage is to choose reference points of the manipulator and calculate their boundary surfaces using the nth enveloping method; the second stage is to overlay these boundary surfaces to identify the final workspace. The SEO method is basically a combination of the analytic method and the numerical method. By delineating the graphic representation of the workspace step by step, the SEO method is easy to analyze the existence and the shape of voids and holes. The basic theory of the SEO method and formulas for workspace calculation are presented based on a 6R serial manipulator. By showing the workspace calculation results, the SEO method is proved working correctly.