Industrial robotics

Alessandro Salmi

Politecnico di Torino
Department of Management and Production Engineering
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Gestionale e della Produzione (DIGEP )

[email protected]
 Introduction
The word robot has the origination in the Czech
dictionary word robota, meaning work.
The perception of a robot as given in science fiction
literature in the mid-twentieth century is different
from the present form of industrial robot which
cannot move on its own but their physical pattern
resembles the human arm. Hence the industrial
robots are known as anthropomorphic robotic
manipulators or robot arms.
The industrial applications and atmospheres are
diverse in nature, frequent, complex, non-reachable
or harmful to human being. In all these cases the
robot can be an alternative to human hands. In this
advanced technological world the skill, the
perfection, the productivity and the speed with
which the work has to be done influence the people
making decision regarding introducing a robot for
efficient manufacturing and manipulation.

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 History of robots

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 Definition
"A robot is a mechanical device with links and joints, guided by sensors, driven by actuators
and controlled through a programmed software, to handle and manipulate parts, materials,
tools and devices for performing various tasks in variety of work environments”.
The study and understanding of 'Robotics' are interdisciplinary in nature and, besides the
mechanical field, they involve other streams like the electrical, electronics and computer ones,
being supplementary and essential for the industrial robots to be flexible, efficient and
accurate in operation. The links and joints are to be designed for strength and rigidity through
static and dynamic force analysis. While the electric motors and hydraulic/pneumatic actuators
produce robot motion.
The required positions are computed through transformations. The electronics contributes in
the form of control system to closely match the desired output with the achieved output. The
computer programs add flexibility for performing a variety of jobs executed by the robotic
manipulators. The software programs, together with the developed algorithms, controllers and
sensing systems, make the robot posses the intelligence to carry out jobs within the work
envelope, defined by the movements (degree of freedom) given to links. The motion of the
links are translatory and/or rotary explaining the configuration and category of a robotic
manipulator.

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 Robot joints and links
A joint of an industrial robot is similar to a joint in
the human body: It provides relative motion
between two parts of the body. Each joint, or axis Joint3 Link3
as it is sometimes named, provides the robot with a
so-called degree-of-freedom (d.o.f.) of motion. In End of Arm
nearly all the cases, only one degree-of-freedom is
associated with a joint.
Robots are often classified according to the total
number of degrees-of-freedom they possess. Link2
Connected to each joint are two links, an input link Link1
and an output link. Links are the rigid components
of the robot manipulator. The purpose of the joint is
to provide controlled relative movement between Joint2
the input link and the output link.
Most robots are mounted on a stationary base on Joint1
the floor. Let us refer to that base and its
connection to the first joint as link 0. It is the input Link0
link to joint 1, the first in the series of joints used in Base
the construction of the robot. The output link of
joint 1 is link 1. Link 1 is the input link to joint 2,
whose output link is link 2, and so forth.
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 Robot Joints
Nearly all industrial robots have mechanical joints that can be
classified into one of five types.
Translational motion
— Linear joint (type L joint).The relative movement between the
input link and the output link is a translational sliding motion, with
the axes of the two links being parallel.
— Orthogonal joint (type O joint). This is also a translational sliding
motion, but the input and output links are perpendicular to each
other during the move.
Rotary motion
— Rotational joint (type R joint). This type provides rotational relative
motion, with the axis of rotation perpendicular to the axes of the
input and output links.
— Twisting joint (type T joint). This joint also involves rotary motion,
but the axis or rotation is parallel to the axes of the two links.
— Revolving joint (type V joint). In this joint type, the axis of the input
link is parallel to the axis of rotation of the joint, and the axis of
the output link is perpendicular to the axis of rotation.
Each of these joint types has a range over which it can be moved. The
range for a translational joint is usually less than a meter. The three
types of rotary joints may have a range as small as a few degrees or as
large as several complete turns

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 Common Robot Configurations
A robot manipulator can be divided into two sections:
— body-and-arm assembly;
— wrist assembly.
There are usually three degrees-of-freedom associated with the body-and-arm, and
either two or three degrees-of-freedom associated with the wrist.
At the end of the manipulator's wrist is a device related to the task that must be
accomplished by the robot. The device, called an end effector, is usually either (1) a
gripper for holding a work part or (2) a tool for performing some process.
The body-and-arm of the robot is used to position the end effector, and the robot
wrist is used to orient the end effector.

Given the five types of joints defined above, there are 5 × 5 × 5 = 125 different
combinations of joints that can be used to design the body-and-arm assembly for a
three-degree-of-freedom robot manipulator. In addition, there are design variations
within the individual joint types (e.g. physical size of the joint and range of motion).
It is somewhat remarkable, therefore, that there are only five basic configurations
commonly available in commercial industrial robots.

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 Cartesian Body-and-Arm Assembly (LOO)
These robots are made up of three linear joints
(two of which are orthogonal) that position the
end effector.
An important feature of Cartesian robot is the
equal and constant spatial resolution in all the
axes of motion and throughout the work volume
of the robot.
The advantages are:
— greater accuracy;
— good obstacle avoidness and collision
preventiveness;
— independent of gravity in case of parallel joint
motion control.

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 Cartesian Robots
The main disadvantages of Cartesian robot are:
— large structure frame,
— more complex mechanical design for linear sliding motion,
— requirement of large floor space,
— confined workspace
— restriction on common workspace incompatible with arms of the robot.

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 Cylindrical Body-and-Arm Assembly (TLO)
If the end effector of the robot arm forms a
cylindrical work envelope, the robot is called a
cylindrical robot. A cylindrical coordinate robot has
two prismatic joints and one revolute joint for the
positioning of the part. The main frame of the
cylindrical coordinate robots consists of a horizontal
arm mounted on a rotary base. The horizontal arm
moves in and out. The carriage moves up and down
in the column. These two units rotate on a unit on
the base. Thus the work volume is annular space of
the cylinder.

The advantages of the cylindrical robot are:

— almost independent of gravity, collision free
movement;
— two linear axes make the mechanical design
easier.

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 Cylindrical Body-and-Arm Assembly (TLO)
The main disadvantages of the cylindrical robot are:
— large size of structures, restrict to compatibility with other robots;
— less accurate on the end resolution compared to Cartesian robot.

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 Polar Body-and-Arm Assembly (TRL)
The spherical robot consists of a
rotary base, an elevated pivot and a
telescopic arm which moves in and
out. The robot essentially consists of
two revolute joints and one prismatic
joint. The first motion corresponds to
a base rotation about vertical axis. The
second motion corresponds to an
elbow rotation. The third motion
corresponds to a radial or in and out
translation. The points that can be
reached by the spherical coordinate
robot include the volume of globe of
the sphere.

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 Polar Body-and-Arm Assembly (TRL)
The advantages of a spherical or polar robot arc:
— lower weight and minimal structural complexity,
— compatibility with robots especially with the machines in common
workspace,
— sharp joint level, and
— good resolution because errors in the end effector are perpendicular to each
other.

The main disadvantages of a polar robot are:

— large and variable torque required.
— counter balancing is difficult,
— limited ability to avoid collision with obstacles, and
— position error is large due to rotation motion and proportional radius

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 Jointed-Arm (articulated) robot (TRR)
Articulated robot is also known as
revolute robot. The articulate robot
arm consists of three rigid members
connected by two rotary bases. The
joints of an articulate robot are all
revolute and they closely resemble the
human arm.
The advantages of revolute joint robot
arm are:
— excellent mechanical flexibility,
— compatibility with other robots
working in the same common
workspace
— the robot can rotate at higher
speed.

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 Jointed-Arm (articulated) robot (TRR)

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 Jointed-Arm (articulated) robot (TRR)
The main disadvantages of the articulate arm are:
— poor accuracy and resolution due to revolute joint, hence more positional
errors;
— large and variable torque on the joints creating counter balancing problems;
— limited ability to avoid obstacles;
— higher moment of inertia and gravity and hence dynamic instability.

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 Jointed-Arm (articulated) robot (TRR)

HOLLOW
WRIST

125 kg 200 kg 200 kg SHELF

SMART
SMART H1 SMART H2 SMART H4 H1 - H2 - H3 - H4
SHELF

SMART H3 SMART H3 SWIFT SMART H3 4.60 / 4.90

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 Jointed-Arm (articulated) robot (TRR)

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 SCARA robot (VRO)
Selective compliance assembly robot arm
(SCARA) has two revolute joints that are
parallel and allow the robot to move in the
horizontal plane, plus an additional
prismatic joint that moves vertically.
SCARA is very common in assembly
operations.
This configuration is similar to the jointed
arm robot except that the shoulder and
elbow rotational axes are vertical, which
means that the arm is very rigid in the
vertical direction but compliant in the
horizontal direction. This permits the
robot to perform insertion tasks (for
assembly) in a vertical direction, where
some side-to-side alignment may be
needed to mate the two parts properly.

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 SCARA robot (VRO)

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 SCARA robot (VRO)

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 Wrist Configurations
The robot wrist is used to establish the orientation of the end effector. Robot wrists usually consist of
two or three degrees-of-freedom. The figure illustrates one possible configuration for a three-
degree-of-freedom wrist assembly. The three joints are defined as:
— roll, using a T joint to accomplish rotation about the robot's arm axis;
— pitch, which involves up-and-down rotation, typically using a R joint;
— yaw, which involves right-and-left rotation, also accomplished by means of an R joint. A two-d.o.f
wrist typically includes only roll and pitch joints (T and R joints).

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 Wrist Configurations

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 The Reference Frames
World (base) Reference Frame. The basic x, y and z axes are the three axes of
the base. The base may be fixed or rotate around the z-axis according to the
need of the application. The base reference frame is the universal frame of
reference for a robot
Joint Reference Frame. The reference axes defined at the joints of the robot are
named the joint reference frame. The joint can have both translatory and
rotational movements about its defined axes. In this case the frame is not fixed.

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 The Reference Frames
Tool Reference Frame. This is the local frame of reference defined by the axes at
the arm tip or the robot hand. The tip or the tool reference frame is related to
the base reference frame by the transformation of the coordinates

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 End effector
The end effector enables the robot to accomplish a specific task and it is
attached to the robot's wrist. Because of the wide variety of tasks performed by
industrial robots, the end effector must usually be custom-engineered and
fabricated for each different application.
The end effector is divided into two categories:
— gripper;
— tool holding devices.
Grippers could be utilized to grip an object which is usually a work holding
device. There are varieties of work holding methods that are used in gripping
the parts. The end effectors may be a tool that does a function such as welding
or drilling. Such devices are called tool holders. Process tooling is an end effector
designed to perform work on the part rather than merely grasping an object. By
definition, the tool holder is attached to the robot wrist or tool mounting plate.

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 Grippers and tools

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 Grippers and tools

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 Grippers
Grippers are end effectors used to grasp and manipulate objects during the
work cycle. The objects are usually workparts that are moved from one location
to another in the cell. Machine loading and unloading applications fall into this
category. Owing to the variety of part shapes, sizes, and weights, grippers must
usually be custom designed.
Types of grippers used in industrial robot applications include the following:
— mechanical grippers, consisting of two or more fingers that can be actuated
by the robot controller to open and close to grasp the workpart;
— vacuum grippers, in which suction cups are 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 a fabric
— simple mechanical devices such as hooks and scoops.

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 Mechanical grippers

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 Mechanical grippers
Mechanical grippers are the most common gripper type. Some of the innovations
and advances in mechanical gripper technology include:
— dual grippers, consisting of two gripper devices in one end effector, which are
useful for machine loading and unloading. With a single gripper, the robot must
reach into the production machine twice, once to unload the finished part from
the machine, and the second time to load the next part into the machine. With a
dual gripper, the robot picks up the next workpart while the machine is still
processing the preceding part: when the machine finishes, the robot reaches into
the machine once to remove the finished part and load the next part. This
reduces the cycle time per part;
— interchangeable fingers that can be used on one gripper mechanism. To
accommodate different parts, different fingers are attached to the gripper;
— sensory feedback in the fingers that provide the gripper with capabilities such as:
sensing the presence of the workpart or applying a specified limited force to the
workpart during gripping (for fragile workparts);
— multiple fingered grippers that possess the general anatomy of a human hand;
— standard gripper products that are commercially available, thus reducing the need
to custom-design a gripper for each separate robot application.
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 Tools
Tools are used in applications where the robot must perform some processing operation on
the workpart. The robot therefore manipulates the tool relative to a stationary or slowly
moving object (e.g., work part or subassembly). Examples of the tools used as end effectors by
robots to perform processing applications include:
— spot welding gun;
— arc welding tool;
— spray painting gun;
— rotating spindle for drilling, routing. grinding, and so forth;
— assembly tool (e.g., automatic screwdriver);
— heating torch;
— water jet cutting tool.
In each case, the robot must not only control the relative position of the tool with respect to
the work as a function of time, it must also control the operation of the tool. For this purpose,
the robot must be able to transmit control signals to the tool for starting, stopping, and
otherwise regulating its actions.
In some applications, multiple tools must be used by the robot during the work cycle, For
example, several sizes of routing or drilling bits must be applied to the workpart. Thus, a
means of rapidly changing the tools must be provided. The end effector in this case takes the
form of a fast-change tool holder for quickly fastening and unfastening the various tools used
during the work cycle.

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 Joint Drive Systems
Robot joints are actuated using one of three possible types of drive systems:
— electric;
— hydraulic;
— pneumatic.
Electric drive systems use electric motors as joint actuators (e.g., servomotors or
stepping motors, the same types of motors used in NC positioning). Hydraulic and
pneumatic drive systems use devices such as linear pistons and rotary vane actuators
to accomplish the motion of the joint.
Pneumatic drive is typically limited to smaller robots used in simple material transfer
applications. Electric drive and hydraulic drive are used on more-sophisticated
industrial robots.
Electric drive has become the preferred drive system in commercially available
robots, as electric motor technology has advanced in recent years. It is more readily
adaptable to computer control, which is the dominant technology used today for
robot controllers. Electric drive robots are relatively accurate compared with
hydraulically powered robots. By contrast, the advantages of hydraulic drive include
greater speed and strength.

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 Robot control system
The actuations of the individual joints must be controlled in a coordinated fashion for the
manipulator to perform a desired motion cycle. Microprocessor-based controllers are
commonly used today in robotics as the control system hardware. The controller is
organized in a hierarchical structure so that each joint has its own feedback control
system, and a supervisory controller coordinates the combined actuations of the joints
according to the sequence of the robot program.

Cell
Level 2
Supervisor

Controller
Level 1
& Program

Joint 1 Joint 2 Joint 3 Joint 4 Joint 5 Joint 6 Sensors Level 0

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 Robot control system
Forward and inverse kinematics
— The forward kinematics problem is stated as follows: “Given the angles at each of the
robots joints, where is the robot hand?”
— The inverse kinematics problem is much more interesting and its solution is more
useful. At the position level, the problem is stated as, "Given the desired position of
the robot hand, what must be the angles at all of the robot joints?“
— The existence of multiple solutions adds to the challenge of the inverse kinematics problem.
Typically we will need to know which of the solutions is correct

Geometric data

ϑi (t ) Forward xi (t ), yi (t ), zi (t )
i = 1...n
kinematics

Inverse
kinematics

Geometric data

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 Robot control system
Different types of control are required for different applications. Robot
controllers can be classified into four categories:
— limited sequence control;
— playback with point-to-point control;
— playback with continuous path control;
— intelligent control.

Limited Sequence Control. This is the most elementary control type. It can be
utilized only for simple motion cycles, such as pick-and-place operations (i.e.,
picking an object up at one location and placing it at another location). It is
usually implemented by setting limits or mechanical stops for each joint and
sequencing the actuation of the joints to accomplish the cycle. Feedback loops
are sometimes used to indicate that the particular joint actuation has been
accomplished so that the next step in the sequence can be iniziated. However.
there is no servo-control to accomplish precise positioning of the joint. Many
pneumatically driven robots are limited sequence robots.

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 Robot control system
Playback with Point-to-Point Control. Playback robots represent a more-
sophisticated form of control than limited sequence robots. Playback control
means that the controller has a memory to record the sequence of motions in a
given work cycle as well as the locations and other parameters (such as speed)
associated with each motion and then to subsequently play back the work cycle
during execution of the program. It is this playback feature that gives the control
type its name.
In Point-to-point (PTP) control, individual positions of the robot arm are
recorded into memory. These positions are not limited to mechanical stops for
each joint as in limited sequence robots. Instead, each position in the robot
program consists of a set of values representing locations in the range of each
joint of the manipulator. For each position defined in the program, the joints arc
thus directed to actuate to their respective specified locations. Feedback control
is used during the motion cycle to confirm that the individual joints achieve the
specified locations in the program.

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 Robot control system
Playback with Continuous Path Control. Continuous path robots have the same
playback capability as the previous type. The difference between continuous
path and point-to-point one is the same in robotics as it is in NC. A playback
robot with continuous path control is capable of one or both of the following:
— Greater storage capacity. The controller has a far greater storage capacity
than its point-to-point counterpart, so that the number of locations that can
be recorded into memory is far greater than for the point-to-point controller.
In PTP, only the final location of the individual motion elements are
controlled, so the path taken by the arm to reach the final location is not
controlled. In a continuous path motion, the movement of the arm and wrist
is controlled during the motion.
— Interpolation calculation. The controller computes the path between the
starting point and the ending point of each move using interpolation routines
similar to those used in NC
A servo-control is used to continuously regulate the position and speed of the
manipulator. It should be mentioned that a playback robot with continuous path
control has the capacity for PTP control.

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 Robot control system
Intelligent Control. Industrial robots are becoming increasingly intelligent. In
this context, an intelligent robot is one that exhibits behavior that makes it seem
intelligent. Some of the characteristics that make a robot appear intelligent
include the capacity to:
— interact with its environment;
— make decisions when things go wrong during the work cycle;
— communicate with humans;
— make computations during the motion cycle;
— respond to advanced sensor inputs such as machine vision.
In addition, robots with intelligent control possess playback capability for both
PTP or continuous path control. These features require a relatively high level of
computer control and an advanced programming language to input the decision-
making logic and other "intelligence" into memory.

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 Sensors
Sensors used in industrial robotics can be classified into two categories:
— internal
— external.
Internal sensors are those used for controlling position and velocity of the
various joints of the robot. These sensors form a feedback control loop with the
robot controller. Typical sensors used to control the position of the robot arm
include potentiometers and optical encoders. To control the speed of the robot
arm, tachometers of various types are used.
External sensors are used to coordinate the operation of the robot with other
equipment in the cell. In many cases, these external sensors are relatively
simple devices, such as limit switches that determine whether a part has been
positioned properly in a fixture or that indicate that a part is ready to be picked
up at a conveyor. Other situations require more-advanced sensor technologies,
including the following: tactile sensors, proximity sensors, optical sensors and
machine vision.

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 External sensors
— Tactile sensors. Used to determine whether contact is made between the sensor
and another object. In robot applications, tactile sensors can be divided into two
types: (1) touch sensors and (2) force sensors. Touch sensors are those that
indicate simply that contact has been made with the object. Force sensors are
used to indicate the magnitude of the force with the object. This might be useful
in a gripper to measure and control the force being applied to grasp an object.
— Proximity sensors. Indicate when an object is close to the sensor. When this type
of sensor is used to indicate the actual distance of the object, it is named a range
sensor.
— Optical sensors. Photocells and other photometric devices can be utilized to
detect the presence or absence of objects and are often used for proximity
detection.
— Machine vision. Used in robotics for inspection, parts identification, guidance, and
other uses.
— Other sensors. This miscellaneous category includes other types of sensors that
might be used in robotics, such as devices for measuring temperature, fluid
pressure, fluid flow, electrical voltage, current, and various other physical
properties.

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 External sensors – Machine vision

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 External sensors – Machine vision

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 Robot programming
To do useful work, a robot must be programmed to perform its motion cycle. A robot
program can be defined as a path in space to be followed by the manipulator,
combined with peripheral actions that support the work cycle, Examples of the
peripheral actions include opening and closing the gripper, performing logical
decision making, and communicating with other pieces of equipment in the robot
cell.
ln the case of limited sequence robots, programming is accomplished by setting limit
switches and mechanical stops to control the endpoints of its motions. The sequence
in which the motions occur is regulated by a sequencing device. This device
determines the order in which each joint is actuated to form the complete motion
cycle. Setting the stops and switches and wiring the sequencer is more a manual
setup than programming.
Today nearly all industrial robots have digital computers as their controllers, together
with compatible storage devices and their memory units. For this robots, three
programming methods can be distinguished:
— leadthrough programming;
— computer-like robot programming language;
— off-line programming.

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 Leadthrough programming
Work cycle is taught to robot by moving the manipulator through the required
motion cycle and simultaneously entering the program into controller memory for
later playback
— Powered leadthrough
— Common for point-to-point robots
— Uses teach pendant
— Manual leadthrough
— Convenient for continuous path control robots
— A human programmer physically moves the manipulator

Advantages:
— Easily learned by shop personnel
— Logical way to teach a robot
— No computer programming

Disadvantages:
— Downtime during programming
— Limited programming logic capability
— Not compatible with supervisory control
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 Computer-like robot programming language
The use of textual programming languages became an appropriate programming
method as digital computers took over the control function in robotics. Their use has
been stimulated by the increasing complexity of the tasks that robots are called on
to perform, with the concomitant need to imbed logical decisions into the robot
work cycle.
These compurer-like programming languages are really on-line/off-fine methods of
programming, because the robot must still be taught its locations using the
leadthrough method. Textual programming languages for robots provide the
opportunity to perform the following functions that Ieadthrough programming
cannot readily accomplish:
— enhanced sensor capabilities, including the use of analog as weIl as digital inputs
and outputs;
— improved output capabilities for controlling external equipment;
— program logic that is beyond the capabilities of leadthrough methods;
— computations and data processing similar to computer programming languages;
— communications with other computer systems.
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 Simulation and Off-line Programming
The trouble with leadthrough methods and textual programming techniques is that the robot
must be taken out of production for a certain length of time to accomplish the programming.
Off-line programming permits the robot program to be prepared at a remote computer
terminal and downloaded to the robot controller for execution. In true off-line programming
there is no need to physically locate the positions in the workspace for the robot as required
with present textual programming languages. Some form of graphical computer simulation is
required to validate the programs developed off-line, similar to offline procedures used in NC
part programming. The advantage of true off-line programming is that new programs can be
prepared and downloaded to the robot without interrupting production.
The off-line programming procedures being developed and commercially offered use graphical
simulation to construct a three-dimensional model of a robot cell for evaluation and off-line
programming. The cell might consist of the robot, machine tools, conveyors, and other
hardware. The simulator permits these cell components to be displayed on the graphic,
monitor and for the robot to perform its work cycle in animated computer graphics.
After the program has been developed using the simulation procedure, it is then converted
into the textual language corresponding to the particular robot employed in the cell. This is a
step in the off-line programming procedure that is equivalent to postprocessing in NC part
programming.

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 Simulation and Off-line Programming

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 Simulation and Off-line Programming

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 Simulation and Off-line Programming

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 Simulation and Off-line Programming

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 Resolution, accuracy and repeatability
Control resolution is the smallest increment that the robot arm can move by
means of digital to analog converter commands for position feedback control.
Angular resolution multiplied by the arm length gives the control resolution.
Spatial resolution is defined as the smallest increment of motion achieved by
robotics manipulator at its tool or end effector. It is the combined resolution
including the control resolution and the motion inaccuracy that originates from
the mechanical and the dynamic interaction of the robot with the environment.
Spatial resolution can be obtained by multiplying the control resolution of each
joint of the robot arm.

Accuracy refers to a robot ability to position its wrist end at a desired target
point with in the work volume. The accuracy of a robot can be defined in terms
of spatial resolution because the ability to achieve a given target point depends
on how closely the robot arm can define the control increment for each of its
arm motion. By ignoring the mechanical inaccuracies which limit or reduce the
robot accuracy under the worst case assumption is one half of the control
resolution.

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 Resolution, accuracy and repeatability
Repeatability is concerned with the robot ability to position its wrist or an end
effector attached to its wrist at a point in space that had been previously taught
to the robot. Repeatability refers to the ability to return to the programmed
joints when commanded to do so. Mechanical and dynamic inaccuracies are
represented by the statistical distribution of error. Hence the repeatability is ±
3σ where σ is the standard deviation of the error.

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 Resolution, accuracy and repeatability
The accuracy of the robots is affected by several factors. The accuracy varies within
the control volume, tending to be worst when the arm is in the outer range of its
work volume and better when the arm is closer to its base. The result for this is that
the mechanical inaccuracies are magnified with the robot arm fully extended. The
term error map is used to characterize the level of accuracy possessed by the robots
as a function in the work volume.
The accuracy is improved if the motion cycle is restricted to a limited work range.
The mechanical errors tend to be reduced when the robot is exercised through a
restricted range of motions. The robot ability to reach a particular reference point
within the limited workspace is sometimes named local accuracy. When the
accuracy is assessed within the robot full work volume, the term global accuracy is
used.
The third factor influencing accuracy is the load being carried by the robot. A heavier
workload causes greater deflection of the mechanical limbs of the robot, resulting in
lower accuracy.
Additional factors that affect the accuracy and repeatability of a robot arm are:
gravitational effect, acceleration effect, backlash (hysterisis in the transmission),
thermal effect, and bearing play.

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 Robot specifications
The broad classification of the robots is conveniently based on drive system
types, work space geometries and movement control techniques. Apart from
these, there are specific characteristics provided to the customer, useful in the
selection of the robotic manipulators, precisely to the required application

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 Robot specifications
Number of Axes
— The translatory movements of the links along a particular direction and/or rotational
motions about a specific axis decide on the number of axes attached to a given robotic
manipulator. To achieve arbitrary position for the wrist and any specific position for the tool
or the gripper the general axes for the robotic manipulator are given in the table below:

— The movements assigned to links, aiding in positioning the wrist, are the major types of axis
which vary from 1 to 3, which can be regarded as the independent axes of motion.
— Activating the tool and griper fingers is the function of the mechanisms, the movement of
which are not considered to be about/along independent axis which are called minor types
and they vary from 4 to six axes.
— The obstacles within the work envelop are to be tackled by one or more redundant axes
assigned to the redundant manipulator links. The incorporation of the redundant axes adds
extra complexity to the design of robot mechanism.

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 Robot specifications
Capacity
— “It is nothing but load carrying ability of the robot with the allowed deflection of
the manipulator end". Capacity is dependent upon the synthesis of the
manipulator dimension based on statics and dynamics of the forces coming on
the manipulator. The selection of a particular robot for a given application should
be just enough to the required capacity rather than to go in for additional
specification.
Speed
— "It is the distance moved by the tool tip in unit time". The time required to
execute periodic motion while performing work can be one of the meaningful
measure of speed. Sometimes the accuracy with which a task is to be performed
may over ride the speed. The higher speed may be a requisite in high volume
production. Higher speeds put a limit on the capacity of the robot.
Reach and Stroke
— The work volume (the term work envelope is also used) of the manipulator is
defined as the envelope or space within which the robot can manipulate the end
of its wrist. Work volume is determined by the number and types of joints in the
manipulator (body-and-arm and wrist), the ranges of the various joints, and the
physical sizes of the links. The shape of the work volume depends largely on the
robot's configuration.
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 Industrial Robot Applications
One of the earliest installations of an industrial robot was around 1961 in a die
casting operation. The robot was used to unload castings from the die casting
machine. The typical environment in die casting is not pleasant for humans due to
the heat and fumes emitted by the casting process. It seemed quite logical to use a
robot in this type of work environment in place of a human operator. Work
environment is one of the several characteristics that should be considered when
selecting a robot application. The general characteristics of industrial work situations
that tend to promote the substitution of robots for human labor are the following:
— Hazardous work environment for humans. When the work environment is unsafe,
unhealthful, hazardous, uncomfortable, or otherwise unpleasant for humans,
there is reason to consider an industrial robot for the work. In addition to die
casting, there are many other work situations that are hazardous or unpleasant
for humans, including forging, spray painting, continuous arc welding, and spot
welding. Industrial robots are utilized in all of these processes;
— Repetitive work cycle. A second characteristic that tends to promote the use of
robotics is a repetitive work cycle. 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 can be achieved in a manual operation.

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 Industrial Robot Applications
— Difficult handling for humans. If the task involves the handling of parts or tools
that are heavy or otherwise difficult to manipulate, it is likely that an industrial
robot is available that can perform the operation. Parts or tools that are too heavy
for humans to handle conveniently are well within the load carrying capacity of a
large robot
— Multishift 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.
— 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 also be reprogrammed, thus adding to the downtime. Consequently,
robots have traditionally been easier to justify for relatively long production runs
where changeovers are infrequent. As procedures for off-line robot programming
improve, it will be possible to reduce the time required to perform the
reprogramming procedure. This will permit shorter production runs to become
more economical.

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 Industrial Robot Applications
— Part position and orientation are established in the work cell. Most robots in
today's industrial 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 a checklist of features to look for in a work
situation to determine if a robot application is feasible. The more feature are
applicable in a given work situation, the more likely that an industrial robot is
suitable for the application.
Robots are being used in a wide field of applications in industry, most of the current
applications of industrial robots are in manufacturing. The application can usually be
classified into one of the following categories:
— material handling;
— processing operations;
— assembly and inspection.
At least some of the work characteristics discussed previously must be present in the
application to make the installation of a robot technically and economically feasible

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 Material Handling Applications
Material handling applications are those in which the robot moves materials or
parts from one place to another. To accomplish the transfer, the robot is
equipped with a gripper type end effector. The gripper must be designed to
handle the specific part or parts that are to be moved in the application.
Included within this application category are the following cases:
— material transfer;
— pick-and-place (the robot picks up a part and deposits it at a new location);
— palletizing and depalletizing;
— stacking (placing flat parts on top of each other, such that the vertical location of
the drop-off position is continuously changing with each cycle);
— insertion (the robot inserts parts into the compartments of a divided carton).
— machine loading and/or unloading.
In nearly all material handling applications, the parts must be presented to the
robot in a known position and orientation. This requires some form of material
handling device to deliver the parts into the work cell in this defined position
and orientation

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 Material Handling Applications
Industrial robot applications of machine loading and/or unloading include the following processes:
— Die casting. The robot unloads parts from the die casting machine. Peripheral operations
sometimes performed by the robot include dipping the parts into a water bath for cooling.
— Plastic molding. Plastic molding is a robot application similar to die casting. The robot is used to
unload molded parts from the injection molding machine.
— Metal machining operation. The robot is used to load raw blanks into the machine tool and
unload finished parts from the machine. The change in shape and size of the part before and
after machining often presents a problem in end effector design, and dual grippers are often used
to deal with this issue.
— Forging. The robot is typically used to load the raw hot billet into the die, hold it during the
forging blows, and remove it from the forge hammer. The hammering action and the risk of
damage to the die or end effector are significant technical problems. Forging and related
processes are difficult as robot applications because of the severe conditions under which the
robot must operate.
— Pressworking. Human operators work at considerable risk in sheet metal press working
operations because of the action of the press. Robots are used as substitutes for the human
workers to reduce the danger. In these applications, the robot loads the blank into the press, the
stamping operation is performed, and the part fails out the back of the machine into a container.
In high-production runs, press working operations can be mechanized by using sheet metal coils
instead of individual blanks. These operations require neither humans nor robots to participate
directly in the process.
— Heat treating. These are often relatively simple operations in which the robot loads and/or
unloads parts from a furnace.

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 Material Handling Applications

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 Material Handling Applications

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 Material Handling Applications

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 Processing Operations
Processing applications are those in which the robot performs a processing
operation on a workpart. A distinguishing feature of this category is that the robot,
equipped with some type of tool as its end effector to perform the process, must
manipulate the tool relative to the part during the work cycle.
In some processing applications, more than one tool must be used during the work
cycle. In these instances, a fast change tool holder is used to exchange tools during
the cycle. Examples of industrial robot applications in the processing category
include:
— spot welding;
— continuous arc welding;
— laser welding;
— spray painting;
— various machining and other rotating spindle processes:
— drilling, routing, and other machining processes;
— grinding, wire brushing, and similar operations;
— waterjet cutting;
— laser cutting.

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 Processing Operations

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 Processing Operations – Arc welding

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 Processing Operations – Submerged Arc Welding

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 Processing Operations – Laser welding

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 Assembly and Inspection
In some respects, assembly and inspection are hybrids of the previous two
application categories: material handling and processing. Assembly and
inspection applications can involve either the handling of materials or the
manipulation of a tool. For example, assembly operations typically involve the
addition of components to build a product.
Assembly and inspection are traditionally labor-intensive activities. They are also
highly repetitive and usually boring. For these reasons, they are logical
candidates for robotic applications. However, assembly work typically involves
diverse and sometimes difficult tasks, often requiring adjustments to be made in
parts that do not quite fit together.
Inspection work requires high precision and patience, and human judgment is
often needed to determine whether a product is within quality specifications or
not. Because of these complications in both types of work, the application of
robots has not been easy. Nevertheless, the potential rewards are so great that
substantial efforts are being made to develop the necessary technologies to
achieve success in these applications.
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 Assembly and Inspection

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 Assembly and Inspection

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 Applications of industrial robotics

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 Applications of industrial robotics

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 Applications of industrial robotics

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 Applications of industrial robotics

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 Applications of industrial robotics

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