Elements of Mechanical Engineering [21EME15/25] Introduction to Robotics Robotics s the art, knowledge base, and the know-how of designing, applying, and using robots, in human endeavours. Robotics is an interdisciplinary subject that benefits fom mechanical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, computer science, biology, and many other disciplines. History of roboties: The word “ROBOT” was first coined by Karel Capek, a Czech novelist in his play called “Rassum Universal Robots: RUR™ In Czech ROBOT means a servant or a worker. e then, many electro-mechanized robots are developed and used on their expertise. ‘© In 2000 HONDA, designed and developed worlds most advanced. humanoid Robot called ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility), © In 2003 NASA developed a rover for space exploration ( + In 2012, NASA along GM developed the Robonaut2, \dustries based. Definitio The robot Institute of America in 1979 defined a Robot as follows: “A Robot is a programmable, multifunctional manipulator, designed to move material, parts, tools or specialized devises through variable programmed motions of performance of varies Task”, Roboties can be defined as “a field of technology that deals with the conception, design, construction, operation and appli Robot Anatomy: Jolat2 Badotann Figure: Robot Anatomy 1, Manipulator: It is arm like mechanism which is designed to manipulate or move materials, parts or tools without human interface. 2. Joint: A joint is the one which integrates two or more links to provide controlled relative movement between input link and output link, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 23Elements of Mechanical Engineering [21EME15/25] 3. Link: The link is a rigid member that connects the joint. 4. DOF: The degrees of freedom describe a robot’s freedom of motion in three- dimensional space 5. End effector: It isa device at the end of the arm of a robotic arm which is shaped like a hand or as special tool depending upon the application, 6. Base: The support for the robot arm is called as a base. Elements of a Robotie system: 1. The Robot: this is consisting of 1, Manipulator (base & arm assembly) 2. End-of-the-arm/ End effector 3. Actuator 4, Transmission elements (Pulleys, screws, belts, gears ete.) . Control System: This system generates the required signals to coordinate and execute the robotic movements, 1. control system: Electroni 2. Sensors: touch, visi 3.Equipment Interface - Computer System |. Power system ‘mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic 4 'ypes of Robot Joints: 1. Rotational joint or R-joint: This type of joint allows rotary relative motion where the axis of the rotation is perpendicular to the axes of the input link and the output link ‘input link . output link Figure: Rotational Joint This type of joint allows a translation sliding motion between the input and the out put Jinks with the axes of the links are parallel. ‘input link ——— output Tink Figure: Linear Joint Department of Mechanical Engineering, 24Elements of Mechanical Engineering [21EME15/25] 3. Orthogonal Joint or O-joint: ‘This type of joint allows translation sliding between the input link and the output Link with the axis of the output link is perpendicular to input link. Figure: Orthogonal Joint 4, Twisting Joint or T-join ‘This type of joint allows a translation rotary motion where the axis of the rotation is parallel to the axes of the input and output links. Figure: Twisting Joint 5. Revolving Joint or V-Joint: In this type of joint, the input link axis is parallel to the rotational axis of the joint ‘whereas the output link axis is perpendicular to the rotational axis of the joint. Figure: Revolving Joint Department of Mechanical Engineering, 25,Elements of Mechanical Engineering [21EME15/25] ROBOT CONFIGURATIONS Basically, the robot manipulator has two parts viz. a body-and-arm assembly with three degrees of freedom: and a wrist assembly with two or three degrees-of freedom, For body-and-arm configurations, different combinations of joint types are possible for a three degree of freedom robot manipulator. Five common body and arm configurations are outlined in figure. — Ce a uy (b) ina (a) Polar C2 Figure: Various Robot Configurations a. Polar configuration, It consists of a sliding arm L-joint, actuated relative to the body, which rotates around both a vertical axis (T-joint), and horizontal axis (R-joint) Cylindrical configuration It consists of a vertical column. An arm assembly is moved up or down relative to the vertical column. The arm can be moved in and out relative to the axis of the column, Common configuration is to use a T-joint to rotate the column about its axis. An L. joint is used to move the arm assembly vertically along the column, while an O-joint is used to achieve radial movement of the arm. ¢. Cartesian co-ordinate robot Its also known as rectilinear robot and x-y-z robot. It consists of three sliding joints, two of which are orthogonal O-joints. Department of Mechanical Engineering, 26Elements of Mechanical Engineering [21EME15/25] 4. Jointed-arm robot It is similar to the configuration of a human arm. It consists of vertical column that swivels about the base using a T-joint. Shoulder joint (R-joint) is located at the top of the column. The output link is an elbow joint (another R joint). e.SCARA Configuration Its full form is “Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm’. tis similar in construction to the jointer-arm robot, except the shoulder and elbow rotational axes are vertical. It means that the arm is very rigid in the vertical direction, but compliant in the horizontal direction. Application of Roboties in Mechanical industry: I. __ Material / Part Handling applications: Most of the applications of the Robot falls under this category. Here the Robots are used to a. Transfer materials from one location to another location. Typical applications are as given below: i, Piek-and-place appli ‘The most common and simplest application here is the pick-and-place application where objects are picked from one location and placed. to another location. ii, Palletizing application: Another application that is slightly complex is the “Palletizing application” where the robot stacks products or carton boxes onto a pallet at various. positions on the pallet to the required height. iii, Stacking application: Here, the robots are used to stack parts one upon another. After each placement, the vertical position is re-calculated and the new stacking height is determined. iv. Insertion operation: Here, the robots are used to insert parts into the compartments ‘or spaces provided in a carton. io Il, Machine loading/unloading. In the machine loading/unloading application, a robot is used to move the work parts to or/and from the production machine. The following three possibilities can be included for the loading/unloading application: i, Machine loading: In the loading operation, a robot is used to load parts into the production machine, but the unloading of the finished parts after completion of operations of the production mac! Example: This is commonly applied in Press working process. is done by means other than the use of robot. ji, Machine unloading: In the unloading operation, a robot is used to unload the finished. parts that come out of a production machine, but the loading of the parts on to the production machine is done by means other than the use of a robot Example: Die casting and plastic modelling. Department of Mechanical Engineering, a7Elements of Mechanical Engineering [21EME15/25] IL. Processing operations Robots are used {0 carry out the processing operations such as spray painting, spot welding, ete by using a tool at its end-effector. The tools can be a spray-painting gun for spray painting operation, a spot-welding gun for spot welding operation, etc. In. processing operations, the robot manipulates a tool to perform a process on the work part. Following are few processes that use industrial robots: a. Spot Welding: Spot Welding is a metal joining process where two metal parts are squeezed together between two electrodes and subjected to a large amount of current to form a joint at particular points or spots. The end-effector of the robot here is the spot-welding gun that applies the approximate pressure and current to the sheet parts to be welded. The spot-welding robots have enough number of axes of motion to approach points in the work envelope at any angle. This was ‘manned environment in the absence of robots. Spot welding is, used largely in the automobile industry to weld automobile bodies such as car panels. ult to real b, Are Welding: Are welding is a metal joining process where metals are welded by using the heat generated by an electric arc, The welding here is continuous unlike spot welding. When are welding is manually carried out, the conditions are difficult for the operators since they require Personal Protective Equipment like welding shield with special glass to avoid UV rays, are under the danger of operating at high temperatures involving high amount of heat and moreover they must be accurate in following the welding path. These problems are now overcome with the use of arc welding robots. ¢. Spray Coating: Spray coating is a process where parts are coated by a spray gun spraying the fluid on to the surface of the part. The fluid passes through the nozzle of the spray gun and is dispersed at high velocity to the surface to be coated. Common examples are powder coating and spray painting. IIL Assembly and Inspection: a, Assembly: The combination of two or more parts to form a new object is called as an assembly. The parts that join to form a new entity is securely held together either by fastening or joining processes. Assembly automation using robots will ensure higher productivity, consistency in quality and cost savings when compared to manual assembly. Robots have saved the assembly ‘workers from the tedious, dull and repetitive jobs which were quite labour-intensive. b. Inspection: Inspection is a means to separate poor quality products from the good ones to ensure the required quality. i, The robot arm manipulates an inspection probe that moves relative to the product to be pected. The end-effector here is the inspection probe. Here care must be taken to present the part at the inspection workstation at the right position and the right orientation so that the part is inspected accurately. Department of Mechanical Engineering, 28Elements of Mechanical Engineering [21EME15/25] ii, Robots can inspect whether the partis present on an assembly or not. Inspection systems for instance look at an engine to find out if it is completely assembled or not. Example: Car ‘manufacturers can use robot to confirm whether an oil filter is put in an engine or not. iii, ‘The robot pick’s part at the cell entry point, loads to the inspection machine and after inspection unloads the part and then places to the cell exit point. Few cases may also involve robot taking additional responsibility of segregating parts based on inspection result iv. Robots are used to detect flaws by comparing the good part with the bad part. This requires the end users to define what a good part is and what a bad part is. Advantages of Industrial Robots Y Robots can be substituted for humans to work in hazardous work environments, Robot can produce Superior quality in less time with great repeatability and accuracy. Robots can work at constant speeds without any break. Robots can carry heavier pay loads. Robots can work at very tight spaces where human can’t reach: ‘They can be reprogrammed. ‘They van be integrated to CIM systems in production field. ‘The usage robotics produces lesser or no defective parts, KKK KKK Disadvantages of Industrial Robots * Organizations have to make huge investments. ‘= It requires skilled technicians, engineers and programmers, Unless the level of artificial intelligence is highly sophisticated robots may not be able to respond properly during times of emergency. The parts of robots are costlier in order to replace if it is damaged. Department of Mechanical Engineering, 29