gingery_machines @Wiki hexapod

Hexapod

• The variable length struts all point directly towards the end effector. All force vectors are directly along a strut. There is only tension or compression, and no bending anywhere in the (ideal) structure. This leads to a very rigid and lightweight structure, similar in function to a geodesic dome.
• The total error is averaged over all six actuators, instead of accumulating error as in a stacked slide (milling machine) or serial rotary joint mechanism (robot arm). Similarly, wear is evenly distributed.
• All six actuators work together to move the platform, providing higher power/weight ratios since less time is spent idle per actuator. The high rigidity and low mass allow for very high acceleration rates, making feasible techniques such as high speed machining and active vibration compensation.
• The machine is composed of multiple identical parts, greatly simplifying manufacture, design, and repair.
• It is easily disassembled, shipped, and reassembled on-site. Machines with an enclosing frame (such as the ingersoll octahedral hexapod ) do not require heavy foundations or precision leveling.

Fanuc F-100i robot

The F-100i is capable of a static payload of 140kg in a vertical direction and 75 kg in a horizontal direction. It seems to be less than one meter tall, and weighs somewhere around 100 kg. It's not in production, unfortunately. It seems to have been eclipsed by the much less aesthetically pleasing

f-200iB:

http://www.fanuc.co.jp/en/product/robot/lineup/f200ib.html

The F-200iB has a functional work envelope in the shape of a cylinder, with diameter 500mm and height 300 mm, but the full work envelope is a complex lenticular shape about 1 meter in diameter and 500mm in height. Repeatability is within 0.2mm. The robot is 800-1300mm tall, 630mm in diameter, and weighs 190kg. It is capable of moving a 100kg payload, has a maximum speed of 1.5m/s, and is primarily intended for welding and assembly applications. Just to give you some idea of what the run of the mill hexapod is like.