302

Robotics

11.1

ROBOT ANATOMY
The manipulator of an industrial robot is constructed of a series of joints and anatomy deals with the types and sizes of these joints and links and other manipulator's physical construction.

Joints and links

A joint of an industrial robot is similar to a joint in the human body; it motion between two parts of the body. Each joint provides the robot provldes.relhi with a degree offreedom (d.o.f.) of motion. In nearly all cases, only d.o.f, is a joint. Future robots may be designed with joints having more than 1 associateXli:. degree of each. Robots are often classified according to the total number of degrees of they possess. Connected to each joint are two links, one which we call the inputi:i the other called the output link Links are considered to be the rigid robot. The purpose of the joint is to components provide conlrolled relative movement betweeii input link and the output ,link. Nearly all industrial robots have mechanical joints that can be classified of five types. They include two types that provide linear motion and three provide rotary motion. These joint types ae illustrated in Figure 11.1 and are bas; a scheme described in reference [5]. The five joint types are:

fre !

I. Linear joint. The relative link is a linear sliding motion, with mo'ement between the input link and the the axes of the two.links being parallel. this as a type L joint. We referll .!. 2. Orthogonaljoint. This is also a linear sliding motion, but the input and outp links are perpendicular to each other during the move. This is a type 0 joint. 3. Rotational joint. This type provides a rotational relative motion of the with the axis of rotation perpendicular to the axes of the input and output links. This a type R joint. 4. Twisting joint. This joint also involves a rotary motion, but the axis ofrotati( is parallel to the axes of the .two links. We call this a type T joint. 5. Revolving joint. In this joint type, the axis of the input link is parallel to tt axis of rotation of the joint, and the axis of the output link is perpendicular to the ax of rotation We re_fer to this as. a type v joint (v from the-"v" in rwlvii).

ou

joinl

Each of these joint types has a range over which it can be moved. A tylSical linear joint may be from several for inches to several feet. The three types of range joints whic involve rotary motion may have a range as small as a few degrees or as large as sever complete turns. Most robots are mounted on a stationary base on the floor. We shall refer to th base and its connection to the first joint as link 0. It is the input link to in the series joint I, the firs ofJ0ints used in the construction of the robot. The output link of joint

303

Output
Output

Output
(a)

(b)

Output

(c)

(d)

(e)

FIGURE 11.1 Five types of joints commonly used in industrial robot construction: (a) two forms of linear joint--type L; (b) two forms of orthogonal joint--type O; (c) rotational joint--type R; (d) twisting joint--type T; (e) revolving joint--type V.

link 1. Link 1 is the input link to joint 2, whose output link is link 2, and so on. This joint-link numbering scheme is pictured in Figure 11.2. A typical robot manipulator can be divided into two sections: a body-and-arm assembly, and a wrist assembly. There are usually 3 degrees of freedom associated with the body-and-arm, and either 2 or 3 degrees of freedom usually associated with the wrist. At the end of the manipulator's wrist is an objectthat is re!_ated to the tas! that must be accomplished by the robot. For example, the object might be a workpart that is to be loaded into a machine, or a tool that is manipulated to perform some process. The bodyand-arm of the robot is used to position the object and the robot's wrist is used to orient the object. To establish the position of the object, the body-and-arm must be capable of moving the object in any of the following three directions:
1. 2. 3.

Vertical motion (z-axis motion) Radial motion (in-and-out or y-axis motion) Right-to-left motion (x-axis motion or swivel about a vertical axis on the base)

Robotics

304
Link 2
Joint 2

Link3

Link
Joint 3

(T)
Joint

(R)
Link 0
Base
showing how robot FIGURE 11.2 Diagram of robot construction
a series of joint-link combinations.
is made up of

the body-and-arm, there are a v Depending on the types of joints used to construct We examine the various joint combinatii of differentways to accomplish these motions. in the following subsection. defin 3 degrees of freedom:fi the orientation of the object, we can configuration for a 3 d.o.f, wrist assemi the robot s wrist. The following is one possible a T-type joint to rotate the obj I. Roll. This d.o.f, can be accom9,lished by

To,establish

'

about the arm axis. of the object, typically This involves the up-and-down rotation Pitch. 2. by means of a type R joint. of the object, also accomplisl 3. Yaw. This involves right-to-left rotation typically using an R-type jbint. a 11.3. To avoid complications in the pitch These definitions are illustrated in Figure tl To illuslate assumed in its center position. yaw definitions, the wrist roll should be

//Attached
\
to robot

Roll

Yaw of a 3-degree-of-freedom wrist assembly configuration FIGURE 11.3 Typical showing roll, pitch, and yaw.

305
confusion, a type R joint which provides an up-and-down rotation if the wrist its center position would provide a right-to-left rotation if the roll position were the center. We can use the letter symbols for the five joint types (i.e., L, O, R, T, and to V) ;.::qfine: a joint notation system for the robot manipulator. In this notation system, the ..ipulator is described by the joint types that make up the body-and-arm assembly, ,...f0llgwed by the joint symbols that make up the wrist. For example, the notation TLR:TR a 5-d.o.f. manipulator whose body-and-arm is made up of a twisting joint 7(jtint 1), a linear joint (joint 2), and a rotational joint (joint 3). The wrist consists of two a twisting joint (joint 4) and a rotational joint (joint 5). A colon separates the btdy-and-arm notation from the wrist notation. .i!
i: :roll.is .in

iCommon robot configurations

Given the five types of joint defined above, there are 5 5 x 5 125 different com?binations of joints that can be used to design the body-and-arm assembly for a 3-d.o.f. :i'obot manipulator. This does not even consider variations in desjgn within the individual joint types (e.g., sizes, ranges of motion, orientation, etc.), or that the body-and-arm ..might have more than or fewer than three joints. It is somewhat remarkable, therefore, that there are only about five basic configu,ratioiis commonly available in commercial industrial robots. These five configurations

ae:

has a TRL notation. A slidki arm (type L joint) is actuated relative to theconfiguration body, which can rotate about both a vertical axis
This

1.

Polar configuration.

(type T joint) and a horizontal axis (type R joint). This configuration is pictured in Figure
11 .4.

2. Cylindrical configuration. This robot configuration consists of a vertical column, relative to which an arm assembly can be moved up and down. The end-of-ann can be moved in and out relative to the axis of the column. This configuration can be realized structurally in several ways. The possibilities include TLO and LVL. The first of these constructions is illustrated in Figure 11.5.

FIGURE

11.4

Polar coordinate body-and-arm assembly (TRL).

306

FIGURE 11.5
3.

Cylindrical body-and-a'm ssembly (TLO

figure shows a L00 notatii Another possible notation is OLO. 4. Jointed-arm robot. This robot has the general configuration Its arm has a shoulder joint and an elbow joint, and the ann can be of a human ami swiveled about

names for this configuration include ,Ca.rtes.tan coordinate robot. Other and x-y-z robot. As shown Figure 1..6, it is composed of three slid .mnear.rooot i.n joints, two of which are orthogonal. Th sketch in the

FIGURE 11.6 Cartesian coordinate body-and-arm assembly (LOO).

i:

configurations for this type include TRR and R. The TRR type is 11.7. in.Figare ,..:pictured ." 5..SCARA. SCARA is an acronym for Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm. This is similar to the jointed arm robot exceptthat the sloulder and. elbow rotational axes are vertical. This means that th arm can be constructed to b very rigid in the vertical direction, but compliant in the horizontal direction. This permits the robot to ..prform insertion tasks (for assembly) in a wrtical direction whhm some side-to-side idjustment may: be needed to mat the two parts properly. One p0ssibie notation f0 a .SCARA would be VRO, as indicated in Figure il.8.

base.

Possible

e SCARA robot i uiqu in that it typicy doe not have a septe ,rit .ssembIy: A, indicated in our dscdption., it is used for insertion-type assemb!y operations.
minna] and the wrist is therefore not needed. Rotational orientation of the object to be about a vertical axis is sometimes required, and an additional rtation joint is ,pvided for this purpose. This can be indicated by the notation VROT. The other four body-nd-arm configurations possess wrist assenb]ies that ahnost
inserted

F!GURE 11.7 Join,ted-arm body-and-arm assembly (TRR).

FIGURE 11.8 SCARA body-and-arm assembly (VRO).

308

Robotics

always consist of combinations of rotational joints of types R and T. Typical configurations include TR and TRR. The TRR configuration is illustrated in Figure

Work volume
The work volume of the manipulator is defined as the envelope or space within the robot can manipulate the end of its wrist. It is sometimes referred to by work envelope. Work volume is determined by the number and types of joints ini manipulator (body-and-arm and wrist), the physical size of the joints and links, and! ranges of the various joints. The shape of the work volume depends largely on the type of robot configure A polar configuration tends to have a partial sphere as its work volume; a cylin& robot has a cylindrical work envelope; and a Cartesian coordinate robot has a rectang work space.

theii

:i:i!

11.3 ACCURACY AND

REPEATABILITY

The capacity of the robot to position and orient the end of its wrist with accuracy repeatability is an important control attribute in nearly all industrial applications. assembly applications require that objects be located with a precision of only 0.002 0.005 in. Other applications, such as spot welding, usually require accuracies to 0.040 in. Let us examine the question of how a robot is able to move its various to achieve accurate and repeatable positioning. There are several terms that must defined in the context of this discussion:

2. 3.

Accuracy
Repeatability

Distribution of mechanical errors

Control point

Accuracy

Control resolution

FIGURE 8.12 Accuracyand repeatability for a linear axis.

!.,and Repeatability

:::::
:311

have the same basic meanings in robotics that they have in numerical control "as defined in Chapter 8. In robotics, the characteristics should be defined at the end of ....the wrist and in the absence of any object held or attached at the wrist. Control resolution refers to the capability of the robot's controller and positioning to divide the range of the joint into closely spaced points that can be identified by the controller. These are called addressable points because they represent locations to .which the robot can be commanded to move. Recall from Chapter 8 that the capability divide the range into addressable points is a function of the controller's bit storage for that joint. If n is the number of bits devoted to a particular joint, the number of addressable points in that joint's range of motion is given by

'to

number of addressable points

..,' :.

2"

:.:;.":"

The control resolution is therefore defined as the distance between adjacent addressable points. This. can be determined as

CR

joint range 2

ri.-.
i,

) ..)backlash,

This equation considers only a single joint of the robot. A related term in robotics is the spatial resolution, which combines the control resolution with the mechanical errors in the joint and associated links. The mechanical errors arise from such factors as gar e deflection of the links, hydraulic fluid leaks, and a variety of other sources. If we characterize the mechanical, errors by a normal distribution, as we did in 8, spatial resolution is defined in terms of the standard deviation as.

Chapter

SR

CR

+ 6(std.

dev. of mech. error)

The complete spatial resolution for the manipulator would include the effect of all of the joints, combined with the effect of their mechanical errors. For a multiple-degreeof-freed0m robot, the spatial resolution will vary depending on where in the work volume the wrist end is positioned. The reason for this is that certain joint combinations will tend to magnify the effect of the control resolution and the mechanical errors. For example, for a polar configuration robot (TRL) with its linear joint fully extended, any errors in the R or.T joints will be larger than when the linear joint is fully retracted. Accuracy is- a-measure- of- the robot's ability tO p0sitirnthe efid of its wrist a desired location in the work volume. By the same reasoning used to define accuracy in our discussion of numerical control,

accuracy

In terms of the spatial resolution, accuracy can be defined as

at

CR

+ 3(std.

dev. of mech. error)

312
Robotics

Tech6:}i

accuracy

SR 2

Repeatability is a measure of the robot's ability to position its previously taught point in the work volume. Each time the robot attempts to retuii the programmed point it will return to a slightly different position. Repeatability have as their principal source the mechanical errors previously mentioned. Therefore'i in NC,
repeatability
3(std. dev. of mech. error)

end-of-wrisi.:!

Control resolution, accuracy, and repeatability are illustrated in Figure 8.12. In,.J figure the distribution is shown as having a single dimension. Robots move in thai dimensional space, and the distribution of repeatability errors is therefore three-dim sional. In three .dimensions we can conceptualize the normal distribution as a sph whose center (mean) is at the programmed point and whose radius is equal to 3 stand deviations of the repeatability error distribution. For conciseness, repeatability is usu expressed in terms of the radius of the sphere (e.g., _+ 0.030 in.). Some of today's assembly robots have repeatability values that are as low as 0.002 in.

EXAMPLE 11.1
One of the joints of a certain industrial robot is a type L joint with a range of 0.5 m. storage capacity of the robot controller is I0 bits for this joint. The mechanical errors form normally distributed random variable about a given taught point. The mean of the distribution zero and the standard deviation is 0.06 ram. The errors will be assumed to be isotropic (the in all directions). Determine the control resolution, the spatial resolution, the accuracy, and repeatability for this robot.

The"

sar

Solution:
therefore
The number of addressable points in the joint range is 2

1024. The control resolution

CR

0.50 m 1024

0.4883 mm

This is approximately 0.0192 in. The spatial resolution is the sum of the control resolution and tl mechanical errors.

SR

CR + 6(std. dev. of mech. error) 0.4883 + 6(0.06) 0.8483 mm (0.0334 in.)

The accuracy

one/half the spatial resolution.

accuracy

0.8483
2

0.42415mm(0.0167 in.)

;ations

313
Repeatability is defined as
_+ 3

standard deviations:
3

repeatability

0.06

0.18ram
0.36 ram.

The repeatability is 0.18 mm (0.0071 in.), or a total of 6 standard deviations

In reality, the shape of the error distribution will not be a : dimensions. In other words, the errors will not be isotropic as perfect sphere in three assumed in the example. Instead, the radius will vary because the associated mechanical errors will be different m certain directions than others. The mechanical arm of a robot is more rigid in certain directions, and this rigidity influences the errors. Also, the so-called sphere will not remain constant in size throughout the robot's work volume. As with spatial resolution it will be affected by the particular combination of joint positions of the manipulator. In :some regions of the work volume the reneatabili ii:". '. ,: :I:' regions We take these imn rfeeti,, :-" ty_err0 wll,.be larger than n other uu repeataamty aennition into '.i'i:'-;!. account by t; that worst case conctltaons apply for defining repeatability. ::i!i.: Accuracy and repeatability have ;iT:! ;I:. .i :manipulator. However, these precision been defined above as stati parameters of the parameters are affected by the dynamic operation !::("i :i" of the ot. Such characteristics as speed, i:i the robot s accuracy and repeatability [9]. payload, and direction of approach will affect

. ..

assumi-

e..rr.e

ro.b,

OTHER SPECIFICATIONS
specification that is often cited in the marketing literature of robot firms. Other specifications that should be mentioned are speed and load-carrying capacity. The speed of movement of an industrial robot is an important factor in determining work cycle time. The upper speed of a large robot might be as high as 2 rrds. Thespeed can be programmed into the work cycle so that different portions of the cycle are carried out at different velocities. What is sometimes more important than speed is the robot's capability to accelerate and decelerate in a controlled manner. In many work cycles, much of the robot's movement is performed in a confined area of the work volume; hence, the robot never achieves its top-rated velocity. In these cases, nearly all of the motion cycle is engaged in acceleration and deceleration rather than in constant speed. Other factors that influence the speed of the motion cycle are the weight (mass) of the object that is being manipulated and the precision with which the object must be located at the end of a given move. The load-carrying capacity of the robot is dependent on its physical size and construction and by the force and power that can be transmitted to the end of the wrist. The weight-carrylng capacity of commercial robots ranges from about lb to approximately 2000 lb. Medium-sized robots designed for typical industrial applications have capacities in the range 25 to 100 lb. One factor that should be kept in mind when considering load-carrying capacities is that robots usually work with tools or grippers attached to their wrists. Grippers are

Repeatability is a

II

314
designed to grasp and move objects about the workcell. The net of the robot is obviously reduced by the weight of the gripper. load-carrying If the robot 25-Ib chpacity and the weight of the gripper is I0 lb, the net reduced to 15 lb. weight-carrying

11.5 END

EFFECTORS

......
t

The tools and grippers mentioned in the t, ,,rec*a: ,-,,- secaon are called, end effecto end effector is defined as the special device that attaches to the manipulator's enable the robot to accomplish a specific task. Because of that are performed by industrial robots, the end effector must the wide variations in usually be custom enginei. and fabricated for a specified job. In the case of a gripper the p,art vary for different applications; this shape and size will influence the design of thr"gripper. and grippers are the two general categories of end Tools are used ,,,!,*,,nuons :^-.: effectors used n where must perform some on the workpart The robot processing operafi therefore mampulates the relat" e to a stationary or slowli moving object (e. ,,r, workn )" of the tools used effectors by

Tools

.,

...... me.rooot

robosgt; pfoP2'nroc;;simb,l_Y_',_.e_t_c:. Ex.an,pl,es a...pncauons

Include:

tool

roboti

"
:7,

Arc welding tool

Spot welding gun

'-"

.,.

grinding, Assembly tool (e.g., automatic screwdriver) Heating

torch

Spray painting gun Rotating spindle for drilling, routing,

etc.

Water-jet cutting tool

In each case the robot must not only control the relative position of the tool with function of time, it must also control the operation of the tool. pfirpose, the robot must be able to For thi? transmit control signals to the and otherwise tool for starting, stoppini regulatihg its actions. Grippers are end effectors used to grasp and manipul ate objects during-th cyele-The objeet areusiall,, wrf! .r 0r-k22-:-s- t,arts mat are moved from one the cell. Machine loading location to anotherifi and unloading applications fall into this category Other objert! that Can be handled by grilpers include tools. When tools are held by grippers rathe. than being attached directl,, to 0" .r manipulated during, the work cycle. wrist ena, it Is lgecause more than one tool is to The gripper takes the form'ofa for quickly fastening and fast-change unfastening the. various tools used during the cycle. Examples of grippers Jsed as end effectors in industrial robot applications the following: include
to the work as a

respeii

toolholderlii

Mechanical grippers, in which the part is held between mechanical fingers and the fingers are mechanically actuated

Robotics

315

FIGURE 11.10 Robot mechanical gripper.

used to hold flat objects Magnetized devices, for holding ferrous parts Adhesive devices, where an adhesive substance is used to hold a flexible material such as fabrics

Vacuum grippers; in which suction cups are

A mechanical gripper design is illustrated in Figure. 11.10. Some principles erations in the design of robot and considgrippers are presented in references 3 and 5. Some of the innovations and advances in end effector technologyiric]ude 'ppers (two gripper devices for two double workparts on one end effector), interchangeable ingers that can be used on one gripper mechanism, quick-change grippers (and tools, as mentioned previously), sensory feedback capabilities in the fingers, and configurations [6]. Standard end multiple-fingered effector products' are beginning to become available, thus reducing the need to commercially custom-design the gripper for each separate robot application.

SENSORS IN ROBOTICS
Sensors used in industrial robotics can be .classified into two categories, although same types of sensors might be used the in both categories. The two classes are sensors that are internal to the robot and sensors that are external to.the robot.Sensors internal to the robot hose used control/ing posidon and velocity of the various joints. These sensors form a feedback for control loop with the robot controller. Typical sensors used to control the position of the robot arm includ optical encoders. To control the potentiometers and speed of the robot ann, tachometerse of various types are used.

are

Sensors external to the robot are used to coordinate the operation of the robot with the other equipment in the cell. The term workcell control is used in reference to these sensor applications. We discuss workcell control in Chapter 12. In external sensors are relatively simple many cases these devices such as limit switches that a part has been positioned determine whether properly in a fixture, or to indicate that a part is ready to be

316
picked up at a conveyor. Other situations require more advanced including 0he following: sensor

technol6
'!

sensors cart be div"lded into two tvV' , lliors anQ robotics anolicafio,,o. I0rce sensot "Puuc-n sensors are those that indi' simply that Contact has been made with the object. Force sensors are the magnitude of the force with used to the object. This might be useful in a gripper o the magnitude of the force being applied to gras an ob'e this type of or. W..l is used to indicate the actual distance of the ooject, it is cases a sensor, Machine vision and optical sensors Vision and other optical sensors used for various v',,w,o, tvpttcat sensors SUCla as photocells and other devices can be utilized to detect the presence or absence of obj ts, and for proximity detection Machine are Often vision is used in robotics for ficafion, guidance, and other uses. pection, parts id In Chapter 18 discussion Of machine vision and optical .provtte a more comprehenh sensors relative to their uses in automat inspection systems M!cellaneous sensors. This category includes other types of sensors that mi be us in robotics, including devices for measuring temperature, flow, electrical voltage, current, fluid pressure, trill and variOUS other physical properties.

Tactile sensors. These sensors between the sensor and another -; are used to determine whe.th,- ontact is ,,d,-- actne

sensor

dete
r
;

ind!

.......

photom

w.e

OF PROGRAMMING
programming commands into its controller Four methods of entering the commands memcan
be distinguished:
programmed by entering the

1. Manual setup 2. Leadthrough programming 3. Computerlike robot programming languages 4. Off-line programming

The manual setup method is associated with i- limited-sequence robots. These.,rc are programmed by setting limit switches and mechanical stops to control the of their motions. The sequence in which the morons occur is regulated by a seqiJ device (e.g., a stepping switch). This device determines the order in which each actuated to form the complete motion cycle. Setting the stops and switches the sequencer is more of a manual setup of' the robot rather than a Today and in the foreseeable future, nearly all industrial programming robots have puters as their controllers together with compatible storage devices as their memory!{ Leadthrough programming and robot language programming are the two commonly used today for entering the commands into computer memory. Leadthi programming dates back to the early 1960s before computer methods are used today for computer-controlled robots. control was prevalent. Leadthrough volves teaching of the task by moving the manipulator through the required Leadthrough programming is sometimes called "teach by The use of computer-type programming languages showing." became an appropriate ruing method as digital computers took over the control function in robotics. has been stimulated by the increasing complexity of the tasks that robots are being on to perform, with the concomitant need to embed logical decisions into the robot cycle. These computerlike programming languages are really on-line/off-line methodi programming., because the robot must still be taught its locations the using leadthro method.

endi

digiti!i method!i

Off-line programming is a teach mthod whose but will grow in the future. The trouble with the applications are very limited method and the currd language programming techniques is that the robot leadthrough must be taken out of production a certain length of time in order-to accomplish the programming. The advantage offer by true off-line programming is that new robot programs could be prepared on a compu and downloaded to the robot without interrupting its production. It is likely that somi form of graphical computer simulation will be used to validate the programs that developed off-line. Leadthrough methods, computerlike robot languages, and off-line programming ar the topics of the following three sections.

tod

ar

12.2

LEADTHROUGH PROGRAMMING
Leadtlrough programming requires the operator to move the robot arm through the desired motion path during a teach procedure, thereby entering the program into the controller memory. There are two methods of performing the leadthrough teach procedure:

;. :

2.

Manual leadthrough

power. Manual leadthrough is convenient for programming playback robots with continuous path control in which the continuous path is an irregular motion pattern such as in spray painting. This programming method equires. the operator to physically grasp the

The difference between the two is the manner in which the manipulator is moved through the motion cycle. Powered leadthrough is commonly used as the programming method for playback robots with point-to-point control. It involves the use of a teach pendant (hand-held control box) which has toggle switches or contact buttons for controlling the of the manipulator joints. Figure 12.1 illustrates the important components of a teach pendant. Using the toggle switches or buttons, the programmer power drives the robot arm to the desired positions, in sequence and records the positions into memory. During subsequent playback, the robot oves through the sequence of positions under its own

movement

-.

end-of-arm or tool attached to the arm and manually .move through the motion sequence, recording the path into .memory. Because the robot arm itself may have significant mass " and would therefore be difficult to move, a special progr.amming device often replace.s the actual robot for the teach procedure. The programming device has a similar joint configuration to the robot, and it is equipped with a trigger handle (or other control switch), whic.h is activated when the operator Wishes to record motions into memory. The motions are recorded as a series of closely spaced points. During playback, the path. is recreated by controlling .the actual robot arm through the sagne sequence of points. It is instructional to survey the important capabilities of the. leadthrough programruing methods. Our survey will focus principally on the features of powered leadthrough and the use of a teach pendant to enter the programming commands, Powered leadtlr0ugh '; is flae most common programming method in industry at this time.

Motion Programming

The.' leadthrough .metho.d..s provide a very natural way of programming motion commands into the robot controller."In manual leadthrough the operator simply moves the arm through the required path o create the program. Inpgwered leadthrough the operator uses a teach
pendant to drive the manipulator. The teach pendant is equippedwith a toggle switch or a pair of contact buttons for each joint. By activating these switches or buttons in a cooi:dinated fashion for the various joints, the programmer moves the manipulator to the ed pos!tions in the work space. Coordinating theindividual joints with the teach pendan.t is sometimes an awkward to enter motion commands to the robot. For example it is difficult to coordinate the individual jolts of a jointed-arm robot (TRR configuration) to drive the end-of-arm in a straight-line motion. Therefore, many of the robotsusing powered leadthrough provide two alternative methods for cont?olling movement of the manipulator during programming, in addition to individual joint controls. With these methods the programmer can control the robot's wrist end-to-move in straight-line paths-. The names given to these alemhtives are (1) world coordinate system, and (2)too! coordinate system. Both Systems make use of a Cartesian coordinate system. In the worm coordinate system, Oae origin and frame of reference are defined with respect to some fixed position and alignment relative to the robot base. This arrangement is illustrated in Figure 1.2.2(a). In the tool coordinate system, shown in Figure 12.2(b), the alignment of the axi.s system defined i.s relative to the orientation of the wrist faceplate (to which the end effec.tor is attached). In this way, the programmer can orient, the tool in a desired way and then control the robot to make linear moves in directions parallel or perpendicular to the tool. The world coordinate system and the tool coordinate syskrm are useful only if the robot laas the capacity to move its wrist end in a straight-line motion, parallel to one of the axes of the coordinate system. Straight-line motion is quite natural for a Cartesian coordinate robot (LOO configuration), but unnatural for robots with any combination of rotational joints (types R, T, and V). To accomplish slraight-line motion for manipulators with these types of joints requires a linear interpolation process to be carried out by the robot's controller. In straight-line interpolation, the control computer calculates the se-

.way.

Ehd-of-arm
moves are

parallel to world axes

Tol

World coordinate

(a)

Move are relative

to axis ystem defined by tool orientation

(b) FIGURE 12,2 (a) World CoOrdinate system; (b) tool coordinate system.

quence of addressabie points in space that the wrist end must move through to achiex;e a straight-line path between two pointS. There are other types of interpolation that the robot can use. More common than straight-line interpolation is joint interpolation. When a robot is commanded to move its wrist end between two points .using joint interpolation, it actuates eich of the joints simultaneously at its own constant speed such that all the joints start and stop at the same time:-The-advantage of-joiiit iiitliitiifioiier trgh=lineiheol-aii- idiattfie Susually less total motion energy required to make the move. This mean that the move could be made in slightly less time. It should be noted that in the case of a Cartesian eoO.rdinate robot, joint intei'poladon and straight-line interpolation result in the same motion path. Still another form of interpol.ation is hat which is used in manual leadthrough programming. In this case the robot must follow the sequence of closely spaced points that are defined during the programming procedure. In effect, this is an interpolation process for a path that usually consists of irregular smooth motions.

may

J7

The speed of the robot is the teach pendant and/or controlled by means a dml or other input dev" he control panel Certai,, ,-,-.-,: mould be nerfo,-..i ./g., moving arts ov Workcell), while other ,arto r er substantial dis,--: P ^ me program require ? that require hioh low-sneed , el,.,.,on in ,,... ,,tuon pacing the worlm,* opee ,-ognm to ve tried out zt, control also .--v,-,). ue slow speed, and then for a higher during production

o.n

:.

,,

.mare

o.f

Interlocks
Interlocks ar a means interfacing sequence of the program of and to

sPe;si
Pe

the robot with external devices to regulati coordinate the ac control signals to flow back In the cell. The interface the robot conlxol]er and There are two types of and fo#; the external interlocks: Input interlocks are signals input interlocks an interlocks. ,-,,atw illl external sensor, machine too!) and are that ori,,o, device (e.g., a limit swit] transmitted to the robot contro/ler. of either intermpting--e They have the regular execution of the eff execution of the program should program or indicating that n6 proceed. For by a machine tool to example, an input interlock communicate to the robot that would be a

tvm.es

d ouut,

!nter!ocks can be set by means of leadthrough up to regulate the operation of playback robots programni techniques The input/output panel of the robot connections are controller,, and a is provided to synchronizemade at the these interlocks with the the operationi program In most cases, the are simple on/off signals interlocks used with rather Playback robrt "- we examine analo.g si n als. usin the WAIT o,,a eo_x,^, _g interlocks o-t.,,.'XL comanas in more m ection 12.3.

mtertocks are Signals sent from the robot controller to (e.g., machine tool, some external conveyor). They are used to device and to coordinate control the operation of its operation with the that of the robot. For interlock would be utilized to example, an signal a machine tool to robot has loaded it. begin its automatic cycle

deg! exte
bi

after.

nethod

th

de

Advantages and disadvantages

shop personnel.
is

learned by someone whose especially the more advanced languages, are background includes computer more easily There are several inherent programming. disadvantages of the [3J. First, normal production that requires use of theleadthrough programming methods the.leadthrough programming procedures. robot must be interrupted during In other words, results in downtime of

th robot hY mov"mg ts ;, a logical way for through someone teach the work cyo,e. ,s the reqmred motaon,!: progra er to possess a not for in computer described in the next section, programming. The robot langnage!i
path

.he advantage offered by the leadthr........ ougn meraoas

Programming

is

that they can be readily

learned

bac gro.

oecess

leadthrough the robot cell or production line. The economic programmingconsequence of

this is that the leadthrough methods must be used for relatively long production runs and are inappropriate for small batch sizes. Second, the teach pendant used with powered leadthrough and the programming devices used with manual leadthrough are limited in terms of the decision-making logic that can be incorporated into the program. It is mnch easier to write logical instructions using the computerlike robot languages than the leadthrough methods. Third, since the leadthrough methods were developed before computer control became common for robots, these methods are not readily compatible with modem computer-based technologies such as CAD/CAM, manufacturing data bases, and local communications networks. The capability to readily interface the various computer-automated subsystems in the factory for Wansfer of data is considered arequirement for-

achieving computer-integrated manufacturing.

ROBOTLANGUAGES
The introduction of textual programming languages for robots has provided the opportunity for performing certain important functions that leadthrough programming cannot readily accomplish. These functions include: Enhanced sensor capabilities, including the use of analog as well as digital inputs and outputs Improved output capabilities for ontrolling external equipment Program logic control far beyond the capabilities of leadthrough methods Computations and data processing similar to computer programming languages Communications with other computer systems
There are a variety of commercially available robot languages, including VAL II (by Unimation-Westinghouse), AML (IBM Corp.), RAIL (A-tomatix Inc.), HELP (General Electric), and others. In this section we review some of the capabilities of these current-generation robot programming languages. Many of the language statements will be taken from actual robot programming languages; in other cases, examples are used that do not derive directly from any single language. A more comprehensive treatment of the robot languages is provided in reference 3.

Motion

programming

Motion programming with today's robot languages requires a combination of textual statements and leadthrough techniques. Accordingly, this method of programming is sometimes referred to by the name on-line/off-line programming. The textual statements are used to describe the motion, and the leadthrough methods are used to define the position and orientation of the robot during and/or at the end of the motion. To illustrate, the basic motion statement is

13.1

CHARACTERISTICS OF ROBOT APPLICATIONS

One of the earliest installations of an industrial robot was around in a die casting operation [3]. The robot was used to unload the casted parts from the die casting machine. The typical environment around a die casting machine is not pleasant for human bei.ngs because of the heat and fumes that are errdtted by the casting process. It.seemed quite logical to use a robot in this type of work environment in place of a human operator. The work environment is one of several characteristics that should be considered

19il

when selecting a robot application. The general characteristics of an industrial work situation which have tended to promote the substitution of a robot for human labor are the following:
1. Hazardous work environmentfor human beings. When the work environment is unsafe, unhealthful, hazardous, uncomfortable, or otherwise unpleasant for people, this is a reason to consider an industrial robot for the work. In addition to die casting, there are many ohet work situations that are hazardous or unpleasant for human beings, including forging, spray painting, continuous are welding, and spot welding. Industrial robots have been utilized in all these applications. 2. Repetitive work cycle. A second characteristic that promotes the use of robotics is a repetitive work ycle. If the sequence of elements in the cycle is the same and the elements consist of relatively simple motions, a robot is usually capable of performing the work cycle with greater consistency and repeatability than a human worker. Greater consistency and repeatability are usually manifested as higher product quality than that which can be achieved in a manual operation. 3. Difficult handling for human beings. If the tsk involves the handling of parts or tools that are heavy or otherwise dfficult to manipulate, it is likely that an industrial robot is available that can perform the operation. Parts or tools that are too heavy for human beings to handle conveniently are well within the load-carrying capacity of a large robot. 4. Multihift operation. In manual operations requiring second and third shifts, substitution of a robot will provide a much faster financial payback than a single-shift operation. Instead of replacing one worker, the robot replaces two or three workers. 5. Infrequent changeovers. Most-batch or job shop operations require a changeover of the physical workplace between one job and the next. The time required to make the changeover is nonproductive time since parts are not being made. In an industrial robot application, not only must the physical setup be changed, but the robot must be reprogrammed, thus adding to the downtime. Consequently, robots have triditionally been easier to justify for relavely long production runs where changeovers are infrequent. In the future, when off-line robot programming becomes technically more feasible, it will be possible to reduce the time required to perform the reprogramming procedure. This will permit shorter production runs to become more economical. 6. Partpoitioh did -riehtatibn are -tablisti#d. Mft-ob0ts in today's industria! applications are without vision capability. Their capacity to pick up an object during each work cycle relies on the fact that- the part is in a known position and orientation. A means of presenting the part to the robot at the same location each cycle must be

engineered.
These characteristics might be used as checklist of features to look for in a 'work situation in order to determine if a robot application is feasible.

Production machines

g]

base

Tracks

FIGURE 13.3 Mobile robot cell layout.

13.3 TYPES OF ROBOT APPLICATIONS

As indicated in the introduction to this chapter, almost all of the current applications of industrial robots are in manufacturing. The applications can usually be classified into the following three categories:
1. Material handling 2. Processing operations 3. Assembly and inspection

At least some of the work characteristics discussed in Section 13.1 must be present in any of these application categories in order to make the installation of a robot technically and economically feasible.. Most eompatties require an economic analysis to be performed to justify the in, vestment in the robot cell. The justification of a robot cell is sometimes difficult when eonvehfional methods of investment analysis are used. Accordingly, the analysis should include the effects of inventory reduction, quality improvement, capaeity,and other factors discussed in Chapter 3 that are often neglected in the traditional economic analysis.