Mechanical design for assembly of a 4-DOF robotic arm utilizing a top-down concept

Robotica ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 567-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Banka ◽  
Y.J. Lin
Author(s):  
Samuel N. Cubero

This chapter describes the mechanical design, manufacture and performance of a three-degree-of-freedom manipulator arm and gripper that can be attached to a mobile vehicle or electric scooter. Known by the acronym “ESRA”, or “Electric Scooter Robot Arm”, this device can be remotely or automatically controlled to pick up and retrieve heavy objects, such as books or grocery products, from high shelves or difficult-to-reach locations. Such tasks are often considered to be arduous or even impossible for the frail elderly and people with disabilities. This chapter describes one example of how the combination of mechanical and electronic engineering technology can be used to perform physically strenuous tasks and enable the frail elderly and people with disabilities to enjoy a greater degree of self-sufficiency, independence and physical productivity. It includes the design process for robotic arm manipulators and actuators. It also provides a brief overview of existing “state of the art” robotic and machine vision technologies, and how these can be used to perform many everyday domestic or household chores.


Electronics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian del Toro ◽  
Carlos Robles-Algarín ◽  
Omar Rodríguez-Álvarez

This paper presents the design and construction of a robotic arm that plays chess against a human opponent, based on an artificial vision system. The mechanical design was an adaptation of the robotic arm proposed by the rapid prototyping laboratory FabLab RUC (Fabrication Laboratory of the University of Roskilde). Using the software Solidworks, a gripper with 4 joints was designed. An artificial vision system was developed for detecting the corners of the squares on a chessboard and performing image segmentation. Then, an image recognition model was trained using convolutional neural networks to detect the movements of pieces on the board. An image-based visual servoing system was designed using the Kanade–Lucas–Tomasi method, in order to locate the manipulator. Additionally, an Arduino development board was programmed to control and receive information from the robotic arm using Gcode commands. Results show that with the Stockfish chess game engine, the system is able to make game decisions and manipulate the pieces on the board. In this way, it was possible to implement a didactic robotic arm as a relevant application in data processing and decision-making for programmable automatons.


Author(s):  
Dilshad A. Sulaiman ◽  
Akash B. Pandey

This paper provides the design of a simple robotic arm for pick and place operations as well as other material handling operations. The movements of the arm are anthropometric i.e. resembling the human arm with respect to degrees of freedom so as to provide a human touch in industrial and space operations. This system operates using controlled motion of DC geared motors along with a microcontroller based system (8051 or PIC based). Use of PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) can be used to control the RPM of DC geared motors. This system has the advantage of being simple and low cost with a varied flexibility of operation. A collective array of sensors viz. voice sensor, infrared light sensors, proximity sensors etc. can be incorporated to form a feedback induced closed loop system. Whereas for tasks of picking and placing at a fixed location from another location the system can be operational at open-loop. The material for the robotic arm can be polypropylene or acrylic or aluminium to reduce weight without compromising on the strength and lifting capacity of the robotic arm, such that the torque of the DC geared motors (actuators) at each joint are sufficient to lift the arm along with the weight at the end effector. Clutch and gear shifting mechanism can be used to increase the degrees of freedom per actuator. The driving circuit mainly consists of the microcontroller and H-bridge drivers using an 8-bit port to control 4 DC geared motors per port simultaneously or one at a time using delay commands. DC geared motors are quite cheaper than stepper motors and RC Servos thus reducing the total cost of the system drastically. Plus being light weight, DC geared motors reduce the total weight of the system. This paper will also throw light on the programming aspects for the microcontroller (8051 or PIC based) along with the compatible flash programmers and HEX code generators. This project will further explain on the approach followed in the mechanical design of the robotic arm (motion, work volume etc.) as well as the possible future applications of the robotic arm. Also the design of the robotic arm on CAD tools like Solidworks will be discussed in brief along with the modeling and simulation of the various links of the arm as well as the whole assembly of the system. With increasing popularity of Automation, robotic arms are the present and future of all industrial operations. Finally the paper concludes on the further improvements in design and technology.


Author(s):  
Thierry Laliberte´ ◽  
Cle´ment M. Gosselin

It is expected that unmanned on-orbit satellite servicing will soon become state-of-the-art operations. Such tasks will require new robotic tools. In this context, this paper presents the development of a grasping tool for the handling of satellitic thermal blankets. The mechanical design of the tool is first addressed. Mainly, actuated jaws adapted to grasp and lift a thermal blanket attached with velcros are developed. Also, passive compliance is included in order to cope with a position controlled robotic arm and a rigid surface. Then, sensing issues are discussed and included in the design. These features are integrated in a prototype mainly built of plastic by rapid prototyping. Finally, experimental results show that the tool developed in this work is capable of effectively removing thermal blankets.


2011 ◽  
Vol 201-203 ◽  
pp. 1972-1977
Author(s):  
Enaiyat Ghani Ovy ◽  
Shah Muhammad Ferdous ◽  
Mohammad Rokonuzzaman ◽  
Nurul Absar Chowdhury

This project is intended to design an articulated robotic arm which could locate a point in space with its given coordinates at three degrees of freedom. The basic three rotary movements are base rotation, first and second arm swivel. With different payload capability and design, the robot can be employed in various industrial applications including spot welding, assembling, cutting, material handling and many more. The mechanical structure is designed and a physical setup is developed for which a microcontroller based control circuit is designed for the purpose of control. This paper is focused mainly on the mechanical design of the structure. An elaborate analytic description of the components and tools is presented with necessary specifications. This structure is very flexible and has the ability to reach over obstructions. It can achieve different positions and orientations with in the working envelop.


Author(s):  
Matthew Ahlstedt ◽  
Carter Duling ◽  
Yimesker Yihun

Majority of wheelchair users experience upper-body muscular weakness, resulting from neuromuscular diseases, which limit their ability to perform common activities of daily living. A Wheelchair Mounted Robotic Arm (WMRA) will assist these individuals to eat, drink, and move objects as needed. This paper presents the design of a new WMRA as well as the analysis of its function. The design is side-mounted onto either a normal or power wheelchair, and incorporates a slim profile to allow ease of passage through doorways and be otherwise unobtrusive. The arm is easily removable, with assistance, for storage or travel. The mechanical design utilizes a belt and pulley system for remote actuation of each joint, driven by DC Gearmotors located in the base of the arm. This helps to shift the weight closer to the wheelchair and to maintain the required speed, torque and inertia while actively driving each joint of the robot. The end-effector is a unique design, intended to have the adaptability to securely lift a large variety of objects. Grasping simulations were performed on several standard objects which might be encountered daily. Structural, kinematic and workspace analyses are conducted, and results confirm that the designed WMRA is rated to lift a 4 kg payload, while also having a reach of 1.3 meters long radius.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-146
Author(s):  
Dr. Ranganathan G.

The proposed paper outlines the design of an economical robotic arm which is used to visualize the chess board and play with the opponent using visual servoing system. We have used the FaBLab RUC's mechanical design prototype proposed and have further used Solidworks software to design the 4 jointed gripper. The proposed methodology involves detecting the squares on the corners of the chessboard and further segmenting the images. This is followed by using convolutional neural networks to train and recognize the image in order to determine the movement of the chess pieces. To trace the manipulator, Kanade-Lucas-Tomasi method is used in the visual servoing system. An Arduino uses Gcode commands to interact with the robotic arm. Game Decisions are taken with the help of chess game engine the pieces on the board are moved accordingly. Thus a didactic robotic arm is developed for decision making and data processing, serving to be a good opponent in playing chess.


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