MANUFACTURING EQUIPMENT: Lecture 1 Industrial Robotics - Introduction

magnus.holm@his.se

Today
History Warning!! Mad scientist Definitions System components Control systems

Robot
A mechanical device which performs automated physical
tasks, either according to direct human supervision, a pre-defined program, or a set of general guidelines using artificial intelligence techniques.
- WikiPedia

any automatically operated machine that replaces human effort, though it may not resemble human beings in appearance or perform functions in a humanlike manner. By extension, robotics is the engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction, and operation of robots.
- Encyclopdia Britannica

History 1(4)
1921: R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), a play by Czech writer Karel apek features the first mention of the word robot, from the Czech word robota, meaning forced labour.

History 2(4)

A picture from the film Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang, 1927.

History 3(4)
1956 - The world's first robot company, Unimate. 1961 Unimate, the first industrial robot goes online in a GM automobile factory in NJ, USA. 1963 The first artificial robotic arm to be controlled by a computer is designed 1974 Aseas first robot, IRB 6, is developed Late 1970s: The robot industry starts its rapid growth, with a new robot or company entering the market every month.

History 4(4)
The development of robotics technology followed the development of numerical control, and the two technologies are quite similar. . NC machines are designed to perform specific processes, robots are designed for a wider variety of tasks.
-M.P.Groover

What is an industrial robot?

ISO 8373:1994: A manipulating industrial robot is an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes which may be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial applications

Another definition
A general-purpose, programmable machine possessing certain anthropomorphic (human-like) characteristics.

Commonly used configurations

1. Articulated (industrial) robots (the original and most common) 2. SCARA robots (Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm) 3. Gantry robots

Less common configurations

Parallel arm robots (E.g Tricept, Flexpicker, f200ib) Linear units (articulated robot on a slider)

Fanuc f-200ib

Tricept

Flexpicker

Robot system components

Manipulator Wrist Actuators Transmissions End Effector Controller Sensor

Robot system components

Teaching Pendant

An Industrial robot contains several electrical and mechanical components acting together as a system. The controller contains an operating system and software that dictates how the system operates and communicates.

Controller

Manipulator (robot arm and wrist)

Degrees of freedom, DOF

Each joint, moveable axis, on the arm is considered a degree of freedom. (DOF)
the number of different ways in which a robot arm can move.

How many DOF are needed in order too achieve an arbitrary position? How many DOF are needed in order too achieve an arbitrary orientation?
Roll, Pitch, Yaw Pose: position and orientation taken together

Redundancy
Robots with more than 6 DOF or with parallel joints are redundant, which means that they can achieve the same pose in more than one way. Singularity- pose that can be reached in different ways sometimes creates problems.

Coordinate systems
All robot control and movement is according to defined base coordinate system.
World coordinate system, referenced to shop floor Base coordinate system, in the base of the robot Hand coordinate system, tool mounting plate coordinate system Tool Centre Point (TCP) coordinate system, referenced to the tool working point Object coordinate system. Object relative base coordinate system

y x

Object coordinate system

Robot anatomy 1(2)

Manipulator- a mechanism for the purpose of grasping and/or moving objects
A good manipulator design combines strength and rigidity with minimal geometric volume and great agility. Influence from load and acceleration forces tends to bend the manipulator links affecting negatively the accuracy of the robot.

Robot anatomy 2(2)

(Groover page 212-214)

Prismatic joints (sliding joints) *P:

a) b) Linear joint (L)- sliding movement with the axis of the two links being parallel. Orthogonal joint (O)- sliding movement, but the input and output links are perpendicular to each other.

Rotary joints *R:

c) d) e) Rotational joint ( R) the axis of rotation is perpendicular to both in and output links. Twisting joint ( T)- the axis of rotation is parallel to the axes of the two links. Revolving joint ( V)- the rotation joint is parallel to the input link and perpendicular to the output link.

Spherical arm
Polar configuration (Spherical) TRL
+ Big workspace (two rotary joints and one prismatic). - complex coordinates, difficult too visualize and control.

Applications:
Used were few vertical movements are required. Pick and place applications.

Pendel robot IRB 1000 (pendulum) assembly

Cylindrical arm
Cylindrical configuration, TLO
+ Easy to visualize and control + Very powerful when hydraulic drives used + Good access into cavities and machine openings - Restricted work space

Applications
Material handling, pickand- place, assembly.

Cartesian arm
Cartesian arm (gantry)
+ Easy to visualize + Easy kinematics and programming + Rigid structure (gantry) - Requires a big volume to operate, cant use all of it. - Difficult to adapt to new applications

Applications:
Pick-and-place, heavy loads. Electronic industry and in measurement applications.

Articulated (Jointed) arm

Pros and cons:
+ Maximum flexibility and covers biggest work space relative to volume of robot. + Revolute joints easy to seal + Reach over and under objects - Complex kinematics, difficult to control - Difficult to visualize - Linear motion difficult to control - Structure not very rigid at full reach.

Applications:
Most common arm configuration Painting, arc and spot-welding, material handling, etc.

SCARA
Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm
+ Compliant in the horizontal direction + High acceleration + Rigid in vertical direction - Limited work space - Often only 3 DOF, with no orientation

Applications
Assembly

Tricept
Tricept, Parallel axis robot, Swedish design by Neos robotics.
+ Powerful, stiff, sturdy, accurate. - Small work space

Applications:
Suitable for processing, heavy-duty cleaning and pre-machining of aluminum casting.

Work envelope

The region of space a robot can reach.

Robot wrist
The wrist is used to establish the orientation of the end effector (tool, gripper etc.) Can have 1- 3 axis Rotation in 3 axis
Roll ( T ) Pitch ( R ) Yaw ( R ) (compare whit airplane maneuvers)

Difficult to design.
Small size No singularities in work area Rigid etc.

Joint drive system

Robot joints are actuated driven systems. Terms
Speed- the speed at the tool mounting plate, what's more important is acceleration and retardation figures Speed of response- The time it takes to move from one pose to another Stability- refers to the amount of overshoot, from the calculated robot path, due to the weight and speed of the end effector

Actuators
Pneumatic
+ Relatively inexpensive + High speed + Common energy source in industry - Limited control and accuracy (air is compressed) - Difficulties with control of speeds and take up of loads

Hydraulic
+ + + + Large lift capacity High power to weight ratio Good servo control Fast response Maintenance problems with seals causing leakage - Not suitable for high speed cycling. - Expensive

Applications
Small robots Often pick and place with simple control Use often by peripheral equipment

Applications:
Used on very big machines

Actuators
Electrical
(DC- servo and stepper motors) + Fast and accurate + Possible to apply sophisticated control techniques to motion + Relatively inexpensive - Brakes needed to lock them in position - Problems with overheating in stalled conditions - Gear backlash limits precision - High speed with low torque

Transmissions 1(4)
A robotic transmission can contain a variety of different devices (gears, tendons and linkages)
Virtually all robotic systems employ some sort of gear train, and many contain at least a parking brake Systems can contain a clutch to disengage the motor from the drive train in the case of an emergency Some systems make use of direct drive motors that do not contain a gear train at all

Transmissions 2(4)
Why transmissions?
To convert the high speed - low torque output of the prime mover into a reduced speed - high torque input to the robotic joint.

However, these systems typically have two major disadvantages:

First, they introduce an additional element of inefficiency into the system in the form of lost motion or windup in the transmission; this effect is termed backlash Second, they introduce a certain amount of compliance into the system

Transmissions 3(4)
When backlash occurs, the gear teeth are able to move without imparting motion upon the next gear. This results in energy being wasted in "winding up" the transmission.

Transmissions 3 (4)

Transmissions 4(4)
How to minimize backlash?
Careful design and manufacturing

Harmonic Drive

Transmissions 4(4)
How to minimize backlash?

Harmonic Drive

End effector
A device or tool connected to the end of a robot arm. Grippers and tools

Mechanical grippers 1(2)

Mechanical grippers are usually pneumatic or electrical driven Consist of two or more fingers Special variants
Double grippers, increase work cycle efficiency. Sensory feedback, can be used to detect whether part is on place or not and to use the right amount of force

Mechanical grippers 2(2)

Multiple-fingered gripper: possesses the general anatomy of a human hand

Vacuum grippers
Used when objects are soft or difficult to grasp
There are many standard vacuum grippers to buy Vacuum control

Magnetic grippers
Magnetized often used on flat parts manufactured in magnetic materials Adhesive- use some kind of adhesive substance

Tools
The robot performs some processing operation on the work part
Arc welding tool Spot welding gun Spray painting gun Water jet cutting, etc.

Tool changers

The robot can change between different tools by itself, thereby increasing flexibility.