ME 102B Design Review II - Parameter Calculations

Group 16
Updated May 5, 2016

Acknowledgments

Special thank you to the Delta Droid team for the entire Delta robot base structure fixtures and components.
Their hardware contributions to our project are detailed below and their project is featured in the following
link. (http://courses.me.berkeley.edu/ME102B/Past_Proj/s14/group14.mp4)

Delta Robot Dimensions

The shape of the delta robot is defined as a triangular base plate connected to a triangular end effector
through three parallel arms. In order to support the base plate, we have a hexagonal plate that allows room
for mounting the three arms as well as structural supports. Using the inverse position kinematics solution for
a delta robot we calculate the required angular positions of the servo motors given the range of end effector
positions we require. This will help ensure that the delta robot we have is suitable for our purpose. Note
that if we had no starting material, we would have iteratively picked design geometry, performed the same
calculations for position ranges, and optimized size and cost constraints based on the results. However, with
the following geometric constants, we simply follow Williams derivations to solve for theta.
Name
sB
sP
L
l
h

Description
Base Equilateral Triangle Side
Platform Equilateral Triangle Side
Upper Leg Length
Lower Leg Length
Lower Leg Width

Value (inches)
10.7
2.11
6
13
1

We first define wB = 63 sB , uB = 33 sB , wP = 63 sP , and uP = 33 sP , as planar distances from the triangle

center to the nearest edge (w) and to the nearest vertex (u) for the base
triangle (B) and platform triangle
(P). For convenience we use the constants a = wB uP , b =
solution we require the following
Name
E1
F1
G1
E2
F2
G2
E3
F3
G3

sP
2

(3)
2 wB ,

and c = wP

wB
2 .

For the

Equation
2L(y + a)
2zL
x2 + y 2 + z 2 +
a2 + L2 + 2ya l2
L( 3(x + b) + y + c)
2zL
2
+ 2(xb + yc) l2
x2 + y 2 + z 2 + b2 + c2 + L
L( 3(x b) y c)
2zL
x2 + y 2 + z 2 + b2 + c2 + L2 + 2(xb + yc) l2

We can then use the following equations to solve for theta.

p
Fi Ei2 + Fi2 G2i
ti1,2 =
Gi Ei
1

(1)

i = 2tan1 (ti )

(2)

A full derivation of these equations can be found in Williams publication [1]. The calculations are done in
MATLAB (attached). Note that there are two different theta solutions at each point, but we choose the one
that results in the robot arms being kinked out rather than in. Zero degrees is defined as the position where
the short arm is horizontal. Thus, we require that the theta solutions remain within the bounds of [-90, 90].
For the range of motion that we require from the robot, we see that the servo motors will be able to achieve
all of the specified positions.

Material Selection

Most of the 316 steel bolts in the structure are used to simply connect two different members without any
external load. These bolts will only experience a preload force that will certainly not exceed their yield
strengths [2] [3]. For the parts that are under loading, we choose 6061 Aluminum and 10-32 bolts for the
frame. Using the equation
F
(3)
=
A
we find that the maximum shear load on any bolt supporting the weight of the frame is approximately 187.5
psi. This is well within the bolts yield strength of 42 kpsi. Furthermore, the aluminum bars holding the
components of the robot are subject to a maximum load of 15 psi, so they will not reach their yield strength
of 40 kpsi.
We also analyze the Delta Droid teams deisgn for their robot arm components. In order to make the delta
robot as fast as possible, they optimized the weight of the arms using carbon fiber tubes and an aluminum
skeleton, as well as a 3D-printed piece for the end effector. Given the equation
= I

(4)

reducing the mass (inertia) of the linkages will allow for a greater angular acceleration, assuming constant
torque from the servos. Thus, the robot arm components fully minimize mass before we have to consider
the servo torques in the next section.

Torque Calculations

The HS-5485HB Servo Motors installed by the Delta Droid team has a maximum stall torque of 4.5 lb-in.
and a no-load speed of 300 degrees/s when operating at 4.8 V [4]. Each servo is required to drive its own
delta arm, as well as a portion of the end effectors total weight. Using a conservative estimate of 0.25 lb
(approximately double the actual weight) as the load, the required torque to drive the upper arm is given
by
=F r
(5)
For a moment arm of 6 inches, the servo needs 1.5 lb-in torque. Also, since the moment of inertia of the arm
about the servos axis of rotation is 1.64lb in2 (calculated in SolidWorks), we use Equation 4 to find that
the short arm has an angular acceleration of 0.366rad/s2 . Using the kinematic equation
1
= 0 + 0 t + t2
2

(6)

with 0 and 0 set to zero, we find that the arms will take approximately 4.14 seconds to make a 180 degree
rotation. From the delta robot kinematics calculations, the maximum travel required in a single motion is
2.46 rad, which will take 2.67 seconds to complete. This is an acceptable speed for our purposes, especially
since we used very conservative estimations for our calculations. To further decrease the travel time, we can
also consider supplying the servo with 6 V, which will increase the operating torque and speed.

Gripper Mechanism

The gripper will be printed with ABS plastic for weight constraints. Also, the specific gears and main
structural parts are fairly complex to machine and 3D printing is simpler. The mass of each Jenga block
can be approximated at 20 grams or .196 N. The servo motor we have selected for the gripper has a torque
of 11.75 N*cm [5], and based on the 15 cm length of the gripper, this translates to an applied maximum
normal force of .78 N on each of the two sides of the block. With an estimated static coefficient of friction of
0.3 between the gripper and the block (approximating between alder wood and ABS plastic), we use force
balance to find that the frictional force on the sides of the block is
f = 2N

(7)

This translates to a maximum upward force of .468 N holding the block, which is enough to counter the
weight of the block. If needed, the ends of the gripper can also have rubber caps attached, thus increasing
the friction coefficient and the holding force.

References
[1] R.L. Williams II, The Delta Parallel Robot: Kinematics Solutions, Internet Publication, www.ohio.edu/
people/williar4/html/pdf/DeltaKin.pdf, January 2016.
[2] Liwei Lin. Table 8-2. Homework 2. http://www.me.berkeley.edu/~lwlin/me102B/hw2.pdf.
[3] Aerospace Specification Metals Inc. AISI Type 316 Stainless Steel. http://asm.matweb.com/search/
SpecificMaterial.asp?bassnum=MQ316A
[4] ServoCity.
HS-5485HB
.VvT0N-IrLmg
[5] Hobby King. HK15178
idproduct=16257

Servo.
Analog

https://www.servocity.com/html/hs-5485hb_servo.html#
Servo.

http://www.hobbyking.com/mobile/viewproduct.asp?

3/24/2016

IPK

functiontheta=IPK(x,y,z)
%InversePositionKinmetaicsSolutionforDeltaRobot
%Inputs:x,y,zpositiondata
%Outputs:thetaanglesofthreedifferentarms
%constants
L=6;
l=13;
h=1;
sb=10.7;
wb=(sqrt(3)/6)*sb;
ub=(sqrt(3)/3)*sb;
sp=2.11;
wp=(sqrt(3)/6)*sp;
up=(sqrt(3)/3)*sp;
a=wbup;
b=sp/2(sqrt(3)/2)*wb;
c=wpwb/2;
%solution
E1=2*L*(y+a);
F1=2*z*L;
G1=x^2+y^2+z^2+a^2+L^2+2*y*al^2;
r1a=(F1+sqrt(E1^2+F1^2G1^2))/(G1E1);
r1b=(F1sqrt(E1^2+F1^2G1^2))/(G1E1);
t1a=2*atand(real(r1a));
t1b=2*atand(real(r1b));
E2=L*(sqrt(3)*(x+b)+y+c);
F2=2*z*L;
G2=x^2+y^2+z^2+b^2+c^2+L^2+2*(x*b+y*c)l^2;
r2a=(F2+sqrt(E2^2+F2^2G2^2))/(G2E2);
r2b=(F2sqrt(E2^2+F2^2G2^2))/(G2E2);
t2a=2*atand(real(r2a));
t2b=2*atand(real(r2b));
E3=L*(sqrt(3)*(xb)yc);
F3=2*z*L;
G3=x^2+y^2+z^2+b^2+c^2+L^2+2*(x*b+y*c)l^2;
r3a=(F3+sqrt(E3^2+F3^2G3^3))/(G3E3);
r3b=(F3sqrt(E3^2+F3^2G3^2))/(G3E3);
t3a=2*atand(real(r3a));
t3b=2*atand(real(r3b));
theta=[t1at1b;t2at2b;t3at3b];
end

ErrorusingIPK(line22)
Notenoughinputarguments.

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ME102BDesignReviewIIGroup16

ME102BDesignReviewIIGroup16
Contents
DeltaRobotInversePositionKinematics

DeltaRobotInversePositionKinematics
clc;clearall;closeall
%xyzchecks
%highestz,checkxylimits
x=0;y=0;z=5;
theta1L=IPK(x,y,z)
x=4;y=2.14;
theta2L=IPK(x,y,z)
y=3.8;
theta3L=IPK(x,y,z)
x=4;
theta4L=IPK(x,y,z)
y=2.14;
theta5L=IPK(x,y,z)
%lowestz,checkxylimits
x=0;y=0;z=15;
theta1H=IPK(x,y,z)
x=4;y=2.14;
theta2H=IPK(x,y,z)
y=3.8;
theta3H=IPK(x,y,z)
x=4;
theta4H=IPK(x,y,z)
y=2.14;
theta5H=IPK(x,y,z)

theta1L=
50.594050.5940
50.594050.5940
167.182250.5940

theta2L=
60.525242.0070
82.082082.0820
159.957431.4512

theta3L=
85.309285.3092
71.340371.3403
146.679724.5795
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ME102BDesignReviewIIGroup16

146.679724.5795

theta4L=
85.309285.3092
93.877124.5795
167.717671.3403

theta5L=
60.525242.0070
67.624231.4512
172.667082.0820

theta1H=
155.341138.8760
155.341138.8760
135.821138.8760

theta2H=
153.212756.7259
137.100222.7621
135.380557.7966

theta3H=
134.674330.6667
139.333643.0076
143.594372.6864

theta4H=
134.674330.6667
158.810972.6864
114.217043.0076

theta5H=
153.212756.7259
153.945857.7966
107.875222.7621

Publishedw ithMATLAB7.14

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