COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Department of Industrial Engineering and Technology
ELEX 105 – Industrial Robotics
First Semester, A.Y. 2020-2021
MODULE 2 – ROBOT MECHANISMS
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
1. determine the applications of robotic arm;
2. analyze the movement and functions of robotic arm;
3. and understand the mechanism of an industrial robot;
INSTRUCTIONS TO THE LEARNER:
1. This module contains pre-test to be answered first which aims to help the reader
have an idea for the topics to be explained.
2. After answering the pre-test, wait for the feedback or the score before proceeding
to the learning activities.
3. In the learning activities, read and analyze carefully the topics and its content. The
instructor may set a meeting for a discussion of the topics.
4. Answer the post-test and wait for the feedback after answering the mentioned
post-test.
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PRE-TEST: Encircle the letter of the correct answer. (2pts each).
1. This are machine capable of physical motion for interacting with the
environment.
a. Robot
b. Sensor
c. Switches
d. End effector
2. This robot design features rotary joints and can range from simple two
joint structures to 10 or more joints.
a. Articulated Robot
b. Cartesian Robot
c. Cylindrical Robot
d. Polar Robot
3. These are also called rectilinear or gantry robots.
a. Articulated Robot
b. Cartesian Robot
[Link] Robot
d. Polar Robot
4. Also called spherical robots, in this configuration the arm is connected
to the base with a twisting joint and a combination of two rotary joints
and one linear joint.
a. Articulated Robot
b. Cartesian Robot
c. Cylindrical Robot
d. Polar Robot
5. The robot has at least one rotary joint at the base and at least one
prismatic joint to connect the links.
a. Articulated Robot
b. Cartesian Robot
c. Cylindrical Robot
d. Polar Robot
PRE-TEST FEEDBACK:
____________________________________________________________
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Learning Activities
CONTENT OF THE MODULE
Robot Mechanism
A robot is a machine capable of physical motion for interacting with the environment.
Physical interactions include manipulation, locomotion, and any other tasks changing the
state of the environment or the state of the robot relative to the environment. A robot has
some form of mechanisms for performing a class of tasks. A rich variety of robot mechanisms
has been developed in the last few decades. In this chapter, we will first overview various
types of mechanisms used for generating robotic motion, and introduce some taxonomy of
mechanical structures before going into a more detailed analysis in the subsequent chapters.
Common Type of Robots
Articulated
Cartesian
Cylindrical
Polar
SCARA
Delta
Articulated
This robot design features rotary joints and can range from simple two joint
structures to 10 or more joints. The arm is connected to the base with a twisting joint.
The links in the arm are connected by rotary joints. Each joint is called an axis and
provides an additional degree of freedom, or range of motion. Industrial robots
commonly have four or six axes.
Cartesian
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These are also called rectilinear or gantry robots. Cartesian robots have three
linear joints that use the Cartesian coordinate system (X, Y, and Z). They also may
have an attached wrist to allow for rotational movement. The three prismatic joints
deliver a linear motion along the axis.
Cylindrical
The robot has at least one rotary joint at the base and at least one prismatic
joint to connect the links. The rotary joint uses a rotational motion along the joint axis,
while the prismatic joint moves in a linear motion. Cylindrical robots operate within a
cylindrical-shaped work envelope.
Polar
Also called spherical robots, in this configuration the arm is connected to the
base with a twisting joint and a combination of two rotary joints and one linear joint.
The axes form a polar coordinate system and create a spherical-shaped work
envelope.
SCARA
Commonly used in assembly applications, this selectively compliant arm for
robotic assembly is primarily cylindrical in design. It features two parallel joints that
provide compliance in one selected plane.
Delta
These spider-like robots are built from jointed parallelograms connected to a
common base. The parallelograms move a single EOAT in a dome-shaped work
area. Heavily used in the food, pharmaceutical, and electronic industries, this robot
configuration is capable of delicate, precise movement.
Robot Mechanism Types
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Typical industrial robots are articulated and feature six axes of motion (6
degrees of freedom). This design allows maximum flexibility. Six-axis robots are ideal
for:
Arc Welding
Spot Welding
Material Handling
Machine Tending
Other Applications
An industrial robot with six joints closely resembles a human arm -- it has the
equivalent of a shoulder, an elbow and a wrist. Typically, the shoulder is mounted to a
stationary base structure rather than to a movable body. This type of robot has
six degrees of freedom, meaning it can pivot in six different ways. A human arm, by
comparison, has seven degrees of freedom.
Your arm's job is to move your hand from place to place. Similarly, the robotic
arm's job is to move an end effector from place to place. You can outfit robotic arms
with all sorts of end effectors, which are suited to a particular application. One
common end effector is a simplified version of the hand, which can grasp and carry
different objects. Robotic hands often have built-in pressure sensors that tell the
computer how hard the robot is gripping a particular object. This keeps the robot from
dropping or breaking whatever it's carrying. Other end effectors include blowtorches,
drills and spray painters.
Industrial robots are designed to do exactly the same thing, in a controlled
environment, over and over again. For example, a robot might twist the caps onto
peanut butter jars coming down an assembly line. To teach a robot how to do its job,
the programmer guides the arm through the motions using a handheld controller. The
robot stores the exact sequence of movements in its memory, and does it again and
again every time a new unit comes down the assembly line.
Most industrial robots work in auto assembly lines, putting cars together. Robots
can do a lot of this work more efficiently than human beings because they are so
precise. They always drill in the exactly the same place, and they always tighten bolts
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with the same amount of force, no matter how many hours they've been working.
Manufacturing robots are also very important in the computer industry. It takes an
incredibly precise hand to put together a tiny microchip.
Joint Primitives and Serial Linkages
A robot mechanism is a multi-body system with the multiple bodies connected
together. We begin by treating each body as rigid, ignoring elasticity and any
deformations caused by large load conditions. Each rigid body involved in a robot
mechanism is called a link, and a combination of links is referred to as a linkage. In
describing a linkage it is fundamental to represent how a pair of links is connected to
each other.
There are two types of primitive connections between a pair of links:
Prismatic Joint - In other words, one link slides on the other along a straight
line. Therefore, it is also called a sliding joint.
Revolute Joint - where a pair of links rotates about a fixed axis. This type of
joint is often referred to as a hinge, articulated, or rotational join
Joint Primitives Diagram
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Combining these two types of primitive joints, we can create many useful
mechanisms for robot manipulation and locomotion. These two types of primitive
joints are simple to build and are well grounded in engineering design. Most of the
robots that have been built are combinations of only these two types.
Robot mechanisms analogous to coordinate systems
One of the fundamental functional requirements for a robotic system is to locate
its end effecter, a hand, a leg, or any other part of the body performing a task, in
three-dimensional space. If the kinematic structure of such a robot mechanism is
analogous to a coordinate system, it may suffice this positioning requirement.
Figure shows three types of robot arm structures corresponding to the
Cartesian coordinate system, the cylindrical coordinate system, and the spherical
coordinate system respectively
It has three prismatic joints, corresponding to three axes denoted x, y, and z.
The cylindrical robot consists of one revolute joint and two prismatic joints, with r, and
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z representing the coordinates of the end-effecter. Likewise, the spherical robot has
two revolute joints denoted and and one prismatic joint denoted r.
The second type, called an articulated robot or an elbow robot, consists of all
three revolute joints, like a human arm. This type of robot has a great degree of
flexibility and versatility, being the most standard structure of robot manipulators. The
third kinematic structure, also consisting of three revolute joints, has a unique mass
balancing structure. The counter balance at the elbow eliminates gravity load for all
three joints, thus reducing toque requirements for the actuators. This structure has
been used for the direct-drive robots having no gear reducer.
Note that all the above robot structures are made of serial connections of
primitive joints. This class of kinematic structures, termed a serial linkage, constitutes
the fundamental makeup of robot mechanisms. They have no kinematic constraint in
each joint motion, i.e. each joint displacement is a generalized coordinate. This
facilitates the analysis and control of the robot mechanism. There are, however,
different classes of mechanisms used for robot structures. Although more complex,
they do provide some useful properties. We will look at these other mechanisms in
the subsequent sections
.
Parallel Linkages
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Primitive joints can be arranged in parallel as well as in series. Figure illustrates
such a parallel link mechanism. It is a five-bar-linkage consisting of five links,
including the base link, connected by five joints. This can be viewed as two serial
linkage arms connected at a particular point, point A in the figure. It is important to
note that there is a closed kinematic chain formed by the five links and, thereby, the
two serial link arms must conform to a certain geometric constraint.
It is clear from the figure that the end-effecter position is determined if two of the
five joint angles are given. For example, if angles 1? and 3? of joints 1 and 3 are
determined, then all the link positions are determined, as is the end-effecter’s. Driving
joints 1 and 3 with two actuators, we can move the end-effecter within the vertical
plane. It should be noted that, if more than two joints were actively driven by
independent actuators, a conflict among three actuators would occur due to the
closed-loop kinematic chain. Three of the five joints should be passive joints, which
are free to rotate. Only two joints should be active joints, driven by independent
actuators.
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This type of parallel linkage, having a closed-loop kinematic chain, has
significant features. First, placing both actuators at the base link makes the robot arm
lighter, compared to the serial link arm with the second motor fixed to the tip of link 1.
Figure shows the Stewart mechanism, which consists of a moving platform, a
fixed base, and six powered cylinders connecting the moving platform to the base
frame. The position and orientation of the moving platform are determined by the six
independent actuators. The load acting on the moving platform is born by the six
"arms". Therefore, the load capacity is generally large, and dynamic response is fast
for this type of robot mechanisms. Note, however, that this mechanism has spherical
joints, a different type of joints than the primitive joints we considered initially.
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POST-TEST: (3 points each)
1. It features two parallel joints that provide compliance in one selected
plane.
a. Polar
b. SCARA
c. Delta
d. Cylindrical
2. These spider-like robots are built from jointed parallelograms
connected to a common base.
a. Polar
b. SCARA
c. Delta
d. Cylindrical
3. One link slides on the other along a straight line.
a. Prismatic Joint
b. Revolute Joint
c. SCARA
d. Cylindrical
4. Have three linear joints that use the Cartesian coordinate system (X, Y,
and Z).
a. Polar
b. Revolute Joint
c. Cylindrical
d. Cartesian
5. It is where a pair of links rotates about a fixed axis.
a. Prismatic Joint
b. Revolute Joint
c. SCARA
d. Cylindrical
POST-TEST FFEDBACK:
____________________________________________________
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REFERENCES
Groover, M. (1986). Industrial Robotics: Technology, Programming and Applications.
Hegde, G. (2007). A textbook of Industrial Robotics
Ross, L. Walach, M. Fardo, S. (2017) Industrial Robotics Fundamentals: Theory and
Application
Park, F. Lynch, K. (2017) Modern Robotics: Mechanics, Planning, and Control.
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