Cairo University

Faculty of Engineering
Credit hours system

Mechanical Engineering
INT– N125
Problem Set # 1

Prepared by: Mohamed Mahmoud Taha

Instructor: Dr. Sayed M. Megahed

29/4/2010
Problem One
Mechanical Structure: The structure of a robot is usually mostly mechanical. The chain is formed of
links, actuators (its muscles), and joints which can allow one or more degrees of freedom. Most
contemporary robots use open serial chains in which each link connects the one before to the one
after it. These robots are called serial robots and often resemble the human arm. Some robots, such as
the Stewart platform, use a closed parallel kinematical chain. Other structures that mimic the
mechanical structure of humans, various animals, and insects, are comparatively rare.

Drivers: Actuators are like the "muscles" of a robot, the parts which convert stored energy into
movement. By far the most popular actuators are electric motors, but there are many others, powered
by electricity, chemicals, and compressed air.

 Motors: The vast majority of robots use electric motors, including brushed and brushless DC on
many robots, other robots may use pneumatic or hydraulic motors. Hydraulic motors are used in
heavy industries as hydraulic motors have a large laod capacity while food and pharmaceutical
industries use pneumatic robots.
 Piezo motors: A recent alternative to DC motors are piezo motors or ultrasonic motors. These
work on a fundamentally different principle, whereby tiny piezoceramic elements, vibrating
many thousands of times per second, cause linear or rotary motion. There are different
mechanisms of operation; one type uses the vibration of the piezo elements to walk the motor in
a circle or a straight line. Another type uses the p iezo elements to cause a nut to vibrate and
drive a screw. The advantages of these motors are nanometer resolution, speed, and available
force for their size. These motors are already available commercially, and being used on some
robots.
 Elastic nanotubes: These are a promising, early-stage experimental technology. The absence of
defects in nanotubes enables these filaments to deform elastically by several percent, with
energy storage levels of perhaps 10 J/cm3 for metal nanotubes. Human biceps could be replaced
with an 8 mm diameter wire of this material. Such compact "muscle" might allow future robots
to outrun and out jump human.

Sensors: Robots contain a large amount of sensors and transducers for a number of functionalities
including position, speed, and vision.

 Touch: Current robotic and prosthetic hands receive far less tactile information than the human
hand. Recent research has developed a tactile sensor array that mimics the mechanical properties
and touch receptors of human fingertips. The sensor array is constructed as a rigid core
surrounded by conductive fluid contained by an elastomeric skin. Electrodes are mounted on the
surface of the rigid core and are connected to an impedance- measuring device within the core.
When the artificial skin touches an object the fluid path around the electrodes is deformed,
producing impedance changes that map the forces received from the object.
 Force Sensors: These sensors are normally used to measure the robotic system’s forces as it
performs various operations. Forces which the robot uses in manipulation and assembly are
usually of great importance.

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 Proximity Sensors: Proximity sensors are used for detecting the properties of the surface
without touching it. The typical strategy is to detect the presence or absence of a surface. They
are used in collision detection situations and in detecting approach situations for the arms.
 Vision: The vision System is usually used for viewing the work area of the robot to provide
information about the environment, in real time. It can also be used for augmenting work area
information to make precise decisions for the robotic system. Also, it can be used to co nfirm the
existence of selected entities in the workspace.
 Ultrasonic Ranging: This sensor is used to sense the distance of an abject. The transducer emits
a pulse of high frequency sound and then listens to the echo. Since the speed of sound is known,
the time between emission and hearing of the echo can be measured to provide the distance.

Tooling: Robots which must work in the real world require some way to manipulate objects; pick up,
modify, destroy, or otherwise have an effect. Thus the 'hands' of a robot are often referred to as end
effectors, while the arm is referred to as a manipulator. Most robot arms have replaceable effectors,
each allowing them to perform some small range of tasks. Some have a fixed manipulator which
cannot be replaced, while a few have one very general purpose manipulator, for example a humanoid
hand.

 Mechanical Grippers: One of the most common effectors is the gripper. In its simplest
manifestation it consists of just two fingers which can open and close to pick up and let go of a
range of small objects. Fingers can for example be made of a chain with a metal wire run
through it.
 Vacuum Grippers: Pick and place robots for electronic components and for large objects like
car windscreens, will often use very simple vacuum grippers. These are very simple astrictive
devices, but can hold very large loads provided the prehension surface is smooth enough to
ensure suction.
 General purpose effectors: Some advanced robots are beginning to use fully humanoid hands,
like the Shadow Hand, MANUS, and the Schunk hand. These highly dexterous manipulators,
with as many as 20 degrees of freedom and hundreds of tactile sensors.

Controllers: The mechanical structure of a robot must be controlled to perform tasks. The control of
a robot involves three distinct phases - perception, processing, and action. Sensors give information
about the environment or the robot itself. This information is then processed to calculate the
appropriate signals to the actuators which move the mechanical.

The processing phase can range in complexity. At a reactive level, it may translate raw sensor
information directly into actuator commands. Sensor fusion may first be used to estimate parameters
of interest) from noisy sensor data. An immediate task (such as moving the gripper in a certain
direction) is inferred from these estimates. Techniques from control theory convert the task into
commands that drive the actuators.

Either auxiliary computers or embedded microprocessors are used for practically all control of
industrial robots today. These perform all of the required computational functions as well as interface
with and control associated sensors, grippers, tooling, and other associated peripheral equipment.

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The control system performs the necessary sequencing and memory functions for on- line sensing,
branching, and integration of other equipment. Programming of the controllers can be done on- line
or at remote off- line control stations with electronic data transfer of programs by cassette, floppy
disc, or telephone modem.

Self-diagnostic capability for troubleshooting and maintenance greatly reduces robot system
downtime. Some robot controllers have sufficient capacity, in terms of computational ability,
memory capacity, and input-output capability to serve also as system controllers and handle many
other machines and processes. Programming of robot controllers and systems has not been
standardized by the robotics industry; therefore, the manufacturers use their own proprietary
programming languages which require special training of personnel.

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Problem Two
Industrial robots:

An industrial robot is officially defined as an automatically controlled, reprogrammable,

multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes. The field of robotics may be more
practically defined as the study, design and use of robot systems for manufacturing. Typical
applications of robots include welding, painting, assembly, pick and place, packaging and
palletizing, product inspection, and testing, all accomplished with high endurance, speed, and
precision.

The most commonly used robot configurations are articulated robots, SCARA robots and Cartesian
coordinate robots. Some robots are programmed to faithfully carry out specific actions over and over
again (repetitive actions) without variation and with a high degree of accuracy. These actions are
determined by programmed routines that specify the direction, acceleration, velocity, deceleration,
and distance of a series of coordinated motions.

Other robots are much more flexible as to the orientation of the object on which they are operating or
even the task that has to be performed on the object itself, which the robot may even need to identify.
For example, for more precise guidance, robots often contain machine vision sub-systems acting as
their "eyes", linked to powerful computers or controllers.

Robots are made in various shapes and sizes and generally their
load carrying capacity depends up on their size and strength. An
average human sized robot is capable of carrying a load of more
than 100 pounds and can also move it very quickly at the rate of
+/-0.006 inches. One of their major advantages is that they can
work continuously for days and years at a stretch without
developing any fault. Due to this persistent accuracy robots are
fast becoming indispensable part of various industrial set-ups.
Most often these robots are used for repetitive painting, welding
and operations like picking up and placing products into the
machines.

The industrial robots can be programmed for performing a s ingle

function at a time and can only perform that particular function
till they are reprogrammed. The cost of a robot is not very huge,
but generally the cost of programming the robot is so high that instead of reprogramming it the
manufacturers find it more economical to buy a new one for a different task. In simpler terms we can
say that usually the cost of the robot is just a fraction of the cost of programming it.

Robots are made up of easily available materials. Steel, cast iron and aluminum are commonly used
for making the arms and bases of robots. In mobile robots, rubber tires are fixed for smooth and quiet

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operation. Robots may be electronically operated and also laser or radio controlled. The exposed
parts of the robot are enveloped with flexible neoprene sheaths and bellows.

The importance of robots in industries is increasing day by day and they constitute a very important
part of the modern industries. Robots have made so many things possible, which could not be even
thought of around 6 decades ago. They have taken the place of manual labor, especially in places
where people worked in very dangerous and hazardous conditions like welding, die casting and
forging. They have brought about revolutionary changes in the field of industrial manufacturing.
According to a research conducted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe the
worldwide purchase for robots is increasing at the rate of approximately 19% every year.

In recent years Robots are also being used in industries like consumer electronics and food
packaging where robots outweigh the precision and quality of assembling the products as compared
to work done by human hands. Earlier on some people protested the inclusion of robots in industries
on the account that this will render many people unemployed. But these fears have also been allayed
and the best argument in this regard has been given by economist James Miller. He says “True, the
existence of automation might depress workers' wages but it shouldn't ever leave them
unemployable.”

Mobile Robots:

A mobile robot is an automatic machine that is capable of movement in a given environment. Mobile
robots have the capability to move around in their environment and are not fixed to one physical
location. In contrast, industrial robots usually consist of a jointed arm (multi- linked manipulator) and
gripper assembly (or end effectors) that are attached to a fixed surface.

Mobile robots are the focus of a great deal of current research and almost every major university has
one or more labs that focus on mobile robot research. Mobile robots are also found in industry,
military and security environments. They also appear as consumer products, for entertainment or to
perform certain tasks like vacuum

Mobile robots may be classified by: The environment in which they travel like Land or home robots
where they are most commonly wheeled, but also include legged robots with two or more legs
(humanoid, or resembling animals or insects), aerial robots are usually referred to as unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) and underwater robots are usually called autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs)

The can also be classified according to the device they use to move, mainly legged robot: human- like
legs (i.e. an android) or animal- like legs and wheeled robot.

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Walking Machines:

While the mobility of walkers is arguably higher than that of wheeled or tracked vehicles, their
inherent complexity has limited their use mainly to experimental vehicles, primarily robots. Such
difficulties have let them be primarily known in fictional works. Real life, larger manned walker
vehicles have existed.

There are a few real prototypes of walking vehicles. Currently almost all of these are highly
specialized or just for concept purpose, and as such may not see mass production. For example
Landwalker which is a machine developed by Sakakibara and the T-52 Enryu which is a 3.5 meter-
tall hydraulically-operated robotic vehicle developed by Tmsuk. The vehicle has two hands, which
copy the controller's movements. Its intended application is to open a path in the debris for the rescue
team.

In robots, there are a number of walking robots like humanoid and hexapods. A hexapod robot is a
mechanical vehicle that walks on six legs. Since a robot can be statically stable on three or more legs,
a hexapod robot has a great deal of flexibility in how it can move. If legs become disabled, the robot
may still be able to walk. Furthermore, not all of the robot's legs are needed for stability; other legs
are free to reach new foot placements or manipulate a payload. Many hexapod robots are biologically
inspired by Hexapoda locomotion. Hexapods may be used to test biological theories about insect
locomotion, motor control, and neurology.

A humanoid robot is an autonomous robot because it can adapt to changes in its environment or itself
and continue to reach its goal. This is the main difference between humanoid and other kinds of
robots. In this context, some of the capacities of a humanoid robot may include, among others: self-
maintenance (like recharging itself), autonomous learning, avoiding harmful situations to people,
property, and itself and safe interacting with human beings and the environment.

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Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV):

A remote control vehicle is defined as any mobile device that is controlled by a means that does not
restrict its motion with an origin external to the device. This is often a radio control device, cable
between control and vehicle, or an infrared controller. A re mote control vehicle or RCV differs
from a robot in that the RCV is always controlled by a human and takes no positive action
autonomously.

Remote control vehicles have various scientific uses including hazardous environments, working in
the deep ocean, and space exploration. The majority of the probes to the other planets in our solar
system have been remote control vehicles, although some of the more recent ones were partially
autonomous. The sophistication of these devices has fueled greater debate on the need for manned
spaceflight and exploration.

Military usage of remotly controlled

military vehicles dates back to the
first half of 20th century. Soviet Red
Army used remotely controlled
teletanks during 1930s in the Winter
War and early stage of World War
II. There were also remotely
controlled cutters and experimental
remotely controlled planes in the
Red Army.

Remote control vehicles are used in

law enforcement and military
engagements for some of the same reasons. The exposure to hazards are mitigated to the person who

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operates the vehicle from a location of relative safety. Remote controlled vehicles are used by many
police department bomb-squads to defuse or detonate explosives.

There is also remotely operated underwater

vehicles. They are common in deepwater
industries such as offshore hydrocarbon
extraction. ROVs are unoccupied, highly
manoeuvrable and operated by a person
aboard a vessel. They are linked to the ship
by a tether, a group of cables that carry
electrical power, video and data signals
back and forth between the operator and the
vehicle. High power applications will often
use hydraulics in addition to electrical
cabling. Most ROVs are equipped with at
least a video camera and lights. Additional
equipment is commonly added to expand
the vehicle’s capabilities. These may include sonars, magnetometers, a still camera, a manipulator or
cutting arm, water samplers, and instruments that measure water clarity, light penetration and
temperature.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have undergone a dramatic evolution in capability in the past
decade. Early UAV's were capable of reconnaissance missions alone and then only with a limited
range. Current UAV's can hover around possible targets until they are positively identified before
releasing their payload of weaponry. Backpack sized UAV's will provide ground troops with over the
horizon surveillance capabilities.

Parallel Robot:

A parallel robot is a device for performing manipulations, where

the end effector is connected to the base via multiple kinematic
chains. Any two chains thus form a closed loop. This is opposed
to classical open loop mechanisms such as the serial robot robotic
arm (e.g. articulated robots such as jointed arms).

The actuators for the prismatic joints can be placed in the

motionless base platform, so that their mass does not have to be
moved, which again makes the construction lighter.
Parallel manipulators have (in principle) high structural stiffness,
since the end effector is supported in several places at the same
time. All these features result in manipulators with a wide range of motion capability. Their major
drawback is their limited workspace, because the legs can collide and, in addition, each leg has five
passive joints that each have their own mechanical limits. Another drawback of Parallel Robots is

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that they lose stiffness in singular positions completely (The robot gains finite or infinite degrees of
freedom which are uncontrollable; it becomes shaky or mobile).

Robot Tooling and Grippers:

In robotics, an end effector is the device at the end of a robotic arm, designed to interact with the
environment. The exact nature of this device depends on the application of the robot. The end
effector of an assembly line robot would typically be a welding head, or a paint spray gun. A surgical
robot's end effector could be a scalpel or others tools used in surgery. Other possible end effectors
are machine tools, like a drill or milling cutters. The end effector on the space shuttle’s robotic arm
uses a pattern of wires which close like the aperture of a camera around a handle or other grasping
point.

When referring to robotic prehension there are four general categories of robot grippers, these are

1. Impactive – jaws or claws which physically grasp by direct impact upon the object.
2. Ingressive – pins, needles or hackles which physically penetrate the surface of the object
(used in textile, carbon and glass fibre handling).
3. Astrictive – suction forces applied to the objects surface (whether by vacuum, magneto– or
electroadhesion).
4. Contigutive – requiring direct contact for adhesion to take place (such as glue, surface tension
or freezing).

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Problem Three
The robot in figure is: Kuka Robot

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Specifications:

 Axes: 6
 Payload: 60 kg
 H-Reach: 2233 mm
 Repeatability: ±0.2 mm
 Robot Mass: 600 kg
 Mounting: shelf
 Robot Motion Range:

Axis 1 ±150°

Axis 2 +75° -105°

Axis 3 +158°, -120°

Axis 4 ±350°

Axis 5 ±119°

Axis 6 ±350°

 Robot Motion Speed:

Axis 1 128 °/s (2.23 rad/s)

Axis 2 102 °/s (1.78 rad/s)

Axis 3 128 °/s (2.23 rad/s)

Axis 4 260 °/s (4.54 rad/s)

Axis 5 245 °/s (4.28 rad/s)

Axis 6 322 °/s (5.62 rad/s)

Spot and Arc Welding Robot Specifications

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Painting robot specification:

 Axes: 6
 Payload: 5 kg
 H-Reach: 704 mm
 Repeatability: ±0.02 mm
 Robot Mass: 35 kg
 Mounting: floor, ceiling, angle and wall
 Software: All Fanuc robots sold by RobotWorx include
legal software and manufacturer software support.
 Wrist mome nts N-m(Kgf-m):

J4 11.9 (1.21)

J5 11.9 (1.21)

J6 6.7 (0.68)

 Robot Motion Range:

J1 ±340°

J2 ±200°

J3 ±388°

J4 ±380°

J5 ±240°

J6 ±720°

 Robot Motion Speed :

J1 350 °/s (6.11 rad/s)

J2 350 °/s (6.11 rad/s)

J3 400 °/s (6.98 rad/s)

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J4 450 °/s (7.85 rad/s)

J5 450 °/s (7.85 rad/s)

J6 720 °/s (12.57 rad/s)

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Problem Four
Pick-and place end effectors:

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 Loading CNC machine end effectors:

Loading robot

CNC Machine

Inspection applications end effectors:

Visual inspection end effector

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Problem Five
Actuator Advantages Disadvantages
 Fast and accurate  Requires transmission
 Ability to use sophisticated system
Electrical controller  Gear backlash
 East to use  Power limit
 Available and inexpensive
 Large load capacity  Expensive
 Moderate speed  Causes pollution
Hydraulic  Oil is incompressible  Cannot be used in food and
pharmaceutical industries
 Requires testing
 Relatively inexpensive  Air is compressible
 High speed  Noise pollution still exist
Pneumatic  Availability  Need air filtering system
 No pollution  Air leakage problems

Electrical Driver Specification

Size scope: 6.35mm

No-load speed: 0-2,800rpm

Rated input power: 430W

Rated voltage: 110V/220V

Rated frequency: 60Hz/50Hz

Hydraulic Driver Specification

Motor type: permanent magnet 12vdc.
Fluid capacity: 21 cu. in.(0.7 pint)
Weight with fluid: 12.5 lbs.
Construction 6061-T6 aluminim alloy construction.
Fasteners: 18.8 Stainless Steel
Stroke length: 5, 8, 10 and 12 inches.
Thrust (Extend): 5000 lbs. min.
Thrust (Retract): 3750 lbs. min.

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Pneumatic Driver Specification

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Problem Six
Linear Displacement sensors:

The linear variable differential transforme r (LVDT) is a type of

electrical transformer used for measuring linear displacement. The
transformer has three solenoidal coils placed end-to-end around a tube.
The centre coil is the primary, and the two outer coils are the
secondaries. A cylindrical ferromagnetic core, attached to the object
whose position is to be measured, slides along the axis of the tube.

An alternating current is driven through the primary, causing a voltage

to be induced in each secondary proportional to its mutual inductance
with the primary. The frequency is usually in the range 1 to 10 kHz.

As the core moves, these mutual inductances change, causing the voltages induced in the secondaries
to change. The coils are connected in reverse series, so that the output voltage is the difference
(hence "differential") between the two secondary voltages. When the core is in its central position,
equidistant between the two secondaries, equal but opposite voltages are induced in these two coils,
so the output voltage is zero.

When the core is displaced in one direction, the voltage in o ne coil increases as the other decreases,
causing the output voltage to increase from zero to a maximum. This voltage is in phase with the
primary voltage. When the core moves in the other direction, the output voltage also increases from
zero to a maximum, but its phase is opposite to that of the primary. The magnitude of the output
voltage is proportional to the distance moved by the core (up to its limit of travel), which is why the
device is described as "linear". The phase of the voltage indicates the direction of the displacement.

Because the sliding core does not touch the inside of the tube, it can move without friction, making
the LVDT a highly reliable device. The absence of any sliding or rotating contacts allows the LVDT
to be completely sealed against the environment. LVDTs are commonly used for position feedback
in servomechanisms, and for automated measurement in machine tools and many other industrial and
scientific applications.

The figure to the left shows a sketch for an LVDT

figure (a) and an RVDT figure (b)

Rotary Displacement sensors:

A rotary variable differential transformer

(RVDT) is a type of electrical transformer used for
measuring angular displacement. More precisely, a
Rotary Variable Differential Transformer (RVDT) is an electromechanical transducer that provides a
variable alternating current (AC) output voltage that is linearly proportional to the angular

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displacement of its input shaft. When energized with a fixed AC source, the output signal is linear
within a specified range over the angular displacement.

RVDT’s utilize brushless, non-contacting technology to ensure long- life and reliable, repeatable
position sensing with infinite resolution. Such reliable and repeatable performance assures accurate
position sensing under the most extreme operating conditions.

Most RVDT are composed of a wound, laminated stator and a salient two-pole rotor. The stator,
containing four slots, contains both the primary winding and the two secondary windings. Some
secondary windings may also be connected together.

Torque sensors:

A torque sensor or torque transducer is a device

for measuring and recording the torque on a
rotating system. Static torque is relatively easy to
measure. Dynamic torque, on the other hand, is
not easy to measure, since it generally requires
transfer of some effect (electric or magnetic) from
the shaft being measured to a static system.

One way to achieve this is to condition the shaft

with a series of permanent magnetic domains. The
magnetic characteristics of these domains [in the
form of slip-rings] will vary according to the
applied torque, and thus can be measured using
non-contact sensors.

Commonly, torque sensors or torque transducers use strain gauges applied to a rotating shaft or axle.
With this method, a means to power the strain gauge bridge is necessary, as well as a means to
receive the signal from the rotating shaft. This can be accomplished using slip rings, wireless
telemetry, or rotary transformers.

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Problem Seven
a- Robot Manipulator, Arm, hand, wrist, and gripper giving the function of each

Manipulator: is a device used under human

control to manipulate materials without direct
contact. The materials are frequently
radioactive, biohazardous or in inaccessible
places. It is an armlike mechanism on a
robotic system that consists of a series of
segments, usually sliding or jointed which
grasp and move objects with a number of
degrees of freedom, under automatic control.

Robotic arm: is a robot manipulator, usually programmable, with similar functions to a human
arm. The links of such a manipulator are connected by joints allowing either rotational motion (such
as in an articulated robot) or translational (linear) displacement. The links of the manipulator can be
considered to form a kinematic chain. The business end of the kinematic chain of the manipulator is
called the end effector and it is analogous to the human hand. The end effector can be designed to
perform any desired task such as welding, gripping, spinning etc., depending on the application. For
example robot arms in automotive assembly lines perform a variety of tasks such as welding and
parts rotation and placement during assembly.

Robotic Hand

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Robot Grippe rs: Robots which must work in the real world require some way to manipulate
objects; pick up, modify, destroy, or otherwise
have an effect. Thus the 'hands' of a robot are often
referred to as end effectors, while the arm is
referred to as a manipulator. Most robot arms have
replaceable effectors, each allowing them to
perform some small range of tasks. Some have a
fixed manipulator which cannot be replaced, while
a few have one very general purpose manipulator, for example a humanoid hand.

 Mechanical Grippers: One of the most common effectors is the gripper. In its simplest
manifestation it consists of just two fingers which can open and close to pick up and let go of a
range of small objects. Fingers can for example be made of a chain with a me tal wire run through
it.
 Vacuum Grippers: Pick and place robots for electronic components and for large objects like
car windscreens, will often use very simple vacuum grippers. These are very simple
astrictivedevices, but can hold very large loads provided the prehension surface is smooth enough
to ensure suction.
 General purpose effectors: Some advanced robots are beginning to use fully humanoid hands,
like the Shadow Hand, MANUS,and the Schunk hand.These highly dexterous manipulators, with
as many as 20 degrees of freedom and hundreds of tactile sensors.

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b- Degree of mobility, Degree of freedom, and Degree of flexibility of a robot arm

Degree of Freedom (DOF): Each joint or axis on the robot introduces a degree of freedom. Each
DOF can be a slider, rotary, or other type of actuator. The number of DOF that a manipulator
possesses thus is the number of independent ways in which a robot arm can move. An industrial
robot typically have 5 or 6 degrees of freedom. 3 of the degrees of freedom allow positioning in 3D
space (X, Y, Z), while the other 2 or 3 are used for orientation of the end effector (yaw, pitch and
roll). 6 degrees of freedom are enough to allow the robot to reach all positions and orientations in 3D
space. 5 DOF requires a restriction to 2D space, or else it limits orientations. 5 DOF robots are
commonly used for handling tools such as arc welders

Degree of Mobility: Mobility is the condition of being mobile; A measure of the extent to which
something is mobile.

Degree of Flexibility:

c- Versatility, Auto-adaptability, Robot reach, Compliance, Payload, and Tool velocity

Adaptability: means adjustment to the task being carried out.

Versatility: means that the robot should have such a mechanical structure that it can carry out
different tasks or perhaps the same task in different ways.

Reach: The maximum horizontal distance from the center of the robot base to the end of its wrist.

Envelope : A three-dimensional shape that

defines the boundaries that the robot
manipulator can reach; also known as
reach envelope.

 Maximum envelope: the envelope

that encompasses the maximum
designed movements of all robot parts,
including the end effector, workpiece
and attachments.
 Restricted envelope is that portion of
the maximum envelope which a robot
is restricted by limiting devices.
 Ope rating envelope: the restricted
envelope that is used by the robot
while performing its programmed
motions.

Payload: The maximum payload is the

amount of weight carried by the robot manipulator at reduced speed while maintaining rated
precision. Nominal payload is measured at maximum speed while maintaining rated pre cision. These
ratings are highly dependent on the size and shape of the payload due to variation in inertia
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Speed: how fast the robot can position the end of its arm. This may be defined in terms of the
angular or linear speed of each axis or as a compound speed i.e. the speed of the end of the arm when
all axes are moving.

Compliance: this is a measure of the amount in angle or distance that a robot axis will move when a
force is applied to it. Because of compliance when a robot goes to a position carrying its maximum
payload it will be at a position slightly lower than when it is carrying no payload. Compliance can
also be responsible for overshoot when carrying high payloads in which case acceleration would
need to be reduced.

The robot arm compliance allowed the peg to be d irected by the whole wall.

d- Repeatability, Accuracy, Control Resolution, and Spatial Resolution.

Accuracy: refers to a robot's ability to position its wrist end at a desired target point within the work
volume, and it is defined in terms of spatial resolution. At first accuracy depends on robot technology
and how closely the control increments can be defined for each of the joint motions, excluding for
the moment the mechanical inaccuracy which includes the robot manufacture quality. Initially we
define accuracy as one-half of the control resolution considering the worst case where the target
point is directly between two control points. A more realistic considerations include mechanical
inaccuracies with a statistical distribution, in that case accuracy is defined as one-half of the spatial
resolution.

Diagram of accuracy in two dimensions frame, without mechanical inaccuracy consideration

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 Diagram of accuracy and spatial resolution in which mechanical inaccuracies are represented by a
statistical distribution

Repeatability: The ability of a robot to return repeatedly to a given position. It is the ability of a
robotic system or mechanism to repeat the same motion or achieve the same position. Repeatablity is
is a measure of the error or variability when repeatedly reaching for a single position. Repeatability
is often smaller than accuracy.

Example of representation of resolution, accuracy, and repeatability of a robot arm

Resolution: The smallest increment of motion or distance that can be detected or controlled by the
robotic control system. It is a function of encoder pulses per revolution and drive (e.g. reduction
gear) ratio. And it is dependent on the distance between the tool center point and the joint axis.

The resolution of a robot is a feature determined by the design of the control unit and is mainly
dependent on the position feedback sensor. It is important to distinguish the programming resolution
from the control resolution. The programming resolution is the smallest allowable position increment
in robot programs and is referred to as the basic resolution unit (BRU).

The control resolution is the smallest change in position that the feedback device can sense.

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Problem Eight
Accuracy is the measure of how close the manipulator can come to a given point within its
workspace while repeatability is the measure of how close the manipulator can return to a previously
taught point.

Accuracy depends on many factors like computational errors, machining accuracy in the construction
of the manipulator, flexibility effects of the links, gear backlash, controller resolution, and a host of
other static and dynamic effects. However, repeatability only depends on the controller resolution.

Since accuracy depends also on controller resolution which is the smallest increment of motion that
the controller can sense, which in turn depends on encoder accuracy and a lot of more factors then
repeatability is always less (better...smaller number) than accuracy.

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