UNIT 2: Robot Anatomy

SEM 5

Prepared by: Mr.SUDHEESH THAMPI, NTTF TTC

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Syllabus:
2.1 Links, Joints and Joints Notation Scheme

2.2 Degrees Of Freedom, Required DOF in a

Manipulator
2.3 Arm Configuration, Wrist Configuration,
Work Cell, Work Envelope, and Work
Volume.

Syllabus :
2.4 Robot End Effectors Definition,
Classification of End Effectors, Types of
Grippers, consideration in gripper selection
and designing.

2.5 General structure of Robot and

Specifications of Robots.

2.1 Robot anatomy:

The manipulator or robotic arm has many

similarities to the human body.

The mechanical structure of a robot is like the
skeleton in the human body.
ROBOT ANATOMY is the study of skeleton of
robot, that is, physical construction of the
manipulator structure.
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The mechanical structure of a manipulator that consists

of rigid bodies (links) connected by means of
articulations (joints)is segmented into an arm that
ensures mobility and reach ability.
A wrist that confers orientation, and an end-effector
that performs the required task.
Most manipulators are mounted on a base fastened to
the floor or on the mobile platform of an autonomous
guided vehicle (AGV).
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2.1 Links
The
mechanical
structure of a robotic
manipulator
is
a
mechanism,
whose
members are rigid links
or bars.
A rigid link that can be
connected, at most,
with two other links is
referred to as a binary
link
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Links

Joints and joints notation scheme

Many types of joints can be made between two
links. However, only two basic types are
commonly used in industrial robots.
They are:
Revolute (R)
Prismatic (P)
The relative motion of the adjoining links of a
joint is either rotary or linear depending on
the type of joint.
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 Revolute joint: It is sketched in below fig. The

two links are joined by a pin (pivot) about the
axis of which the links can rotate with respect
to each other.
Prismatic Joint: The two links are so jointed
that these can slide (linearly move) with
respect to each other. Screw and nut (slow
linear motion of the nut), rack and pinion are
ways to implement prismatic joints.
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Other types of possible joints used are:

Planar one surface sliding over another
surface
Cylindrical one link rotates about the other
at 90 angle
Spherical one link can move w.r.t the other
in 3D

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2.2 Degrees of Freedom (DOF)

The number of independent movements that

an object can perform in a 3-D space is called
the number of Degrees of freedom (DOF). A
rigid body free in space has six degrees of
freedom three position and three for
orientation.

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2.2.1 Required DOF in a manipulator

It is concluded from DOF that to position and
orient a body freely in 3-D space, a
manipulator with less than 6-DOF is required.
Such a manipulator is called spatial
manipulator. It has three joints for positioning
and three for orienting the end-effector.

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2.2.1 Required DOF in a manipulator

A manipulator with less than 6-DOF has
constrained motion in 3-D space. There are
situations where five or even four joints (DOF)
are enough to do the required job. There are
many industrial manipulators that have five or
fewer DOF. These are useful for specific
applications that do not require 6-DOF.

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2.2.1 Required DOF in a manipulator

A planar manipulator can only sweep a 2-D space or a
plane and can have any number of degrees of freedom.
For example, a planar manipulator with three joints (3DOF) may be two for positioning and one for
Orientation can only sweep a plane.
Spatial manipulator with more than 6-DOF have
surplus joints and are known as redundant Manipulator
(that can be omitted without any loss of significance).
The extra DOF may enhance the performance by
adding to its dexterity (skill in using ones hand).

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2.3 Arm configuration

The mechanics of the arm with 3-DOF
depends on the type of three joints employed
and their arrangement. The purpose of the
arm is to position of the arm is to position the
wrist in the 3-D space and the arm has
following characteristics requirements.

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The four basic configurations

i.

Cartesian (rectangular) configuration all three P

joints

ii. Cylindrical configuration one R and two P joints

iii. Polar (Spherical) configuration two R and one P joint
iv.

Articulated (Revolute / Jointed-arm) configuration

all three R joints

v. Other configurations
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Cartesian (Rectangular)
configuration :

This is the simplest configuration with all three

prismatic joints as shown in just above fig.
It is constructed by three perpendicular slides,
giving only linear motions along the three
principal axes.
There is an upper and lower limit for movement
of each link.
Consequently, the endpoint of the arm is capable
of operating in a cubical space called workspace
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Cartesian (Rectangular)
configuration
The workspace represents the portion of
space around the base of the manipulator that
can be accessed by the arm endpoint.
The shape and size of the workspace depends
on the arm configuration, structure, degrees
of freedom, size of links, and design of joints

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Cartesian (Rectangular)
configuration:
The physical space that can be swept by a
manipulator (with wrist and end-effector) may
be more or less than the arm endpoint
workspace.
The volume of the space swept is called work
volume; the surface of the workspace
describes the work envelope

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Cartesian (Rectangular)
configuration
The workspace of Cartesian configuration is
cuboidal and is shown in fig. Two types of
constructions are possible for Cartesian arm:
a) Cantilevered Cartesian
b) Gantry or box Cartesian

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Cylindrical configuration
It uses two perpendicular prismatic joints and a
revolute joint.
The difference from the Cartesian one is that one
of the prismatic joint is replaced with a revolute
joint.
One typical construction is with the first joint as
revolute.
Rotary joint may either have the column rotating
or a block revolving around stationary vertical
cylindrical column.
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The cylindrical configuration

offers:

Good mechanical stiffness

Wrist positioning accuracy decreases as the
horizontal stroke increases
Suitable to access narrow horizontal cavities
Useful for machine-loading operations

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Polar (Spherical) Configuration:

It consists of telescopic link (prismatic joint)
that can be raised or lowered about a
horizontal revolute joint.
Two links are mounted on a rotating base. This
arrangement of joints, known as RRP
configuration.
It gives the capability of moving the arm endpoint within a partial spherical shell space as
work volume.
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Polar (Spherical) Configuration:

work envelope is a portion of a sphere.
Spherical configuration allows manipulation of
objects on the floor because its shoulder joint
allows its end-effector to go below the base.

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Polar arms are employed for

industrial applications such as :

Machining, Spray painting and so on.

Other joint arrangement RPR
PRR will not give a spherical work volume

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Articulated (Revolute or Jointed-arm)

configuration

It consists of two straight links, corresponding to

human forearm and upper arm with two
rotary joints corresponding to elbow and
shoulder joints.

RRR configuration is called revolute because

three revolute joints are employed.
The work volume is spherical shaped and with
proper sizing of links and design of joints, the arm
endpoint can sweep a full spherical space.
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Other Configurations:
New arm configurations can be obtained by
assembling the links and joints differently
For instance, if the characteristics of articulated
and cylindrical configurations are combined, the
result will be another type of manipulator with
revolute motions, confined to the horizontal
plane.
Such a configuration is called SCARA, which
stands for Selective Compliance Assembly Robot
Arm.
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2.3.1 Wrist configuration

Wrist second part of a manipulator attached
to the end-effector to perform the task
properly, for example, the gripper must be
oriented at an appropriate angle to pick and
grasp a work piece.
For arbitrary orientation in 3-D space, the
wrist must possess at least 3-DOF to give three
rotations about the three principal axes.
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2.3.1 Wrist configuration

Fewer than 3-DOF may be used in a wrist,
depending on requirements.
The wrist has to be compact and it must not
diminish (make smaller or less) the
performance of the arm.

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2.3.1 Wrist configuration

roll (motion in a plane perpendicular to the end of the
arm).
pitch(motion in vertical plane passing through the
arm).
Yaw (motion in a horizontal plane that also passes
through the arm.

This type of wrist is called roll-pitch-yaw or RPY wrist.

A wrist with the highest dexterity is one where three
rotary joint axes intersect at a point
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Workspace
The end point of the arm is capable of operating
in a cubical space, called workspace.

The workspace represents the portion of space

around the base of the manipulator that can be
assessed by the arm endpoint.
The shape and size of the workspace depends on
the arm configuration, structure, DOF, size of links
and design of joints.
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2.3.2 Work envelope &

Work volume

The surface of the workspace describes the

work envelope
The physical space that can be swept by a
manipulator (with wrist and end-effector) may
be more or less than the arm endpoint
workspace. The volume of the space swept is
called work volume.

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2.4 Robot End Effectors Definition

An end-effector is a device that attaches to

the wrist of the robot arm and enables the
general-purpose robot to perform a specific
task.
It is sometimes referred to as the robots
hand.
The end-effector is a part of that specialpurpose tooling for a robot.
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2.4.1 Classification of end- effector

Grippers
Depends on no. of gripper for best applies mechanically

Single Gripper

Multi Gripper

Double Gripper
Depends on whether the part is grasped on its exterior
surface or internal Surface

External Gripper

Internal Gripper
Tools
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Gripper
Grippers are end effectors used to grasp and
hold objects.
These part-handling applications include
machine loading, picking parts from a
conveyor, and arranging parts onto a pallet.
In addition to the work parts, other objects
handled by robot grippers include cartons,
bottles, raw materials, and tools.
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Gripper
Grippers can be classified as single grippers
and
double
grippers
although
this
classification applies best to mechanical
grippers.
The single gripper is distinguished by the fact
that only one grasping device is mounted on
the robots wrist.
A double gripper has two separate objects
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Tools
Tools are end effectors designed to perform
work on the part rather than to merely grasp
it.
One of the most common applications of
industrial robots is spot welding, in which the
welding electrodes constitute the end effector
of the robot.

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Tools
Other example of robot applications in which
tools are used as end effectors include spray
painting and arc welding.
Grippers are sometimes used to hold tools
rather than work parts

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2.4.2 Types of grippers

Mechanical gripper
Vacuum cups
Magnetic grippers
Adhesive grippers

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Mechanical gripper

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Magnetic gripper
Magnetic grippers can be a very feasible
means of handling ferrous materials.
A magnet does not attract 18-8 stainless steel,
so it is not be an appropriate application for a
magnetic gripper.
Other steels, however, including certain types
of stainless steel would be suitable candidates
for this means of handling,
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Magnetic grippers can be divided into two

categories, those using :
Electromagnet
Permanent magnet

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Vacuum gripper
Vacuum cups, also called suction cups, can be
used as gripper devices for handling certain
types of objects.
The usual requirements on the objects to be
handled are that they be flat, smooth and
clean, conditions necessary to form a
satisfactory vacuum between the object and
the suction cup.
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Adhesive gripper :
Gripper designs in which an adhesive substance
performs the grasping action can be used to handle
fabrics and other lightweight materials.
The requirements on the items to be handled are that
they must be gripped on one side only and that other
forms of grasping such as a vacuum or magnet are not
appropriate.

One of the potential limitations of an adhesive gripper

is that the adhesive substance loses its tackiness on
repeated usage
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2.5 General structure of robot and

specifications of robots

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Functional parameters:

Important parameters are:

Axes of motion.
Arm movement.
Wrist movement.
End of arm speed.
Weight carrying capacity.

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Functional parameters:

Control.
Programming methods.
Interfacing.
Positioning accuracy and repeatability.
End of arm tooling.
Max. Ambient operating temperature.

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Physical Characteristics:
Mechanical
Robot configuration
Number of axes of movement
Floor space required for mounting
Weight
Physical dimensions
Physical details
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Physical Characteristics:
Power
Power drive system
Power/services requirements
Control
Programming method
Type of control system
External sensors supported
Program backing storage device
Memory size
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Performance Characteristics
Specific
Accuracy
Repeatability
Resolution
Velocity range
Operating cycle time
Load-carrying capacity
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Performance Characteristics
Non-specific
Life expectancy.
Reliability.
Maintainability.
Mean time between failures (MTBF).
Mean time to repair (MTTR).
Performance specification are usually the means
by which robots are judged suitable (or capable)
for a particular application.
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