Parallel robots are usually used in occasions requiring high reliability, such as surgical operation, space station remote control and high-speed motion mechanism. Methodologies for parallel robot diagnosis are studied using fault tree analysis in this paper. A summary of mechanical failure levels, modes, effects and causes of parallel manipulators is tabulated to establish the fault tree analysis for parallel robots. Qualitative and quantitative results are presented with probability levels,and the general rules of highly reliable parallel robots for application are derived.

parallel robots  /  failure analysis  /  fault tree analysis