ROBOT CLASSIFICATION

OBJECTIVES:

 BE AWARE OF ROBOT CLASSIFICATION.

 BE ACQUAINTED WITH MANIPULATOR ARM

GEOMETRY.

 UNDERSTAND THE DEGREES OF FREEDOM OF A

ROBOTIC SYSTEM.

 RECOGNIZE THE TYPE OF POWER SOURCES USED IN

CURRENT ROBOTS.

 BE FAMILIAR WITH TYPE OF MOTION.

 KNOW A ROBOT’S PATH CONTROL.

 UNDERSTAND THE INTELLIGENCE LEVEL OF ROBOTS.

CLASSIFICATION: CLASSIFIED INTO SIX CATEGORIES

 ARM GEOMETRY: RECTANGULAR;CYLINDIRICAL;SPHERICAL;

JOINTED-ARM(VERTICAL);JOINED-ARM(HORIZONTAL).

 DEGREES OF FREEDOM: ROBOT ARM; ROBOT WRIST.

 POWER SOURCES:
ELECTRICAL;PNEUMATIC;HYDRAULIC;ANY COMBINATION.

 TYPE OF MOTION: SLEW MOTION; JOINT-INTERPOLATION;

STRAIGHT-LINE INTERPOLATION; CIRCULAR
INTERPOLATION.

 PATH CONTROL: LIMITED SEQUENCE; POINT-TO-POINT;

CONTINOUS PATH; CONTROLLED PATH.

 INTELLLIGENCE LEVEL: LOW-TECHNOLOGY(NONSERVO);

HIGH-TECHONOLOGY(SERVO).
ARM GEOMETRY
ROBOT MUST BE ABLE TO REACH A POINT IN SPACE WITHIN
THREE AXES BY MOVING FORWARD AND BACKWARD, TO THE
LEFT AND RIGHT, AND UP AND DOWN.

ROBOT MANIPULATOR MAY BE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE

TYPE OF MOVEMENT NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE TASK.

RECTANGULAR-COORDINATED:

- HAS THREE LINEAR AXES OF MOTION.

- X REPRESENTSD LEFT AND RIGHT MOTION
- Y DESCRIBES FORWARD AND BACKWARD MOTION.
- Z IS USED TO DEPICT UP-AND-DOWN MOTION.

THE WORK ENVELOPE OF A RECTANGULAR ROBOT IS A CUBE

OR RECTANGLE, SO THAT ANY WORK PERFORMED BY ROBOT
MUST ONLY INVOLVE MOTIONS INSIDE THE SPACE.
RECTANGULAR COORDINATES
ADVANTAGES:

 THEY CAN OBTAIN LARGE WORK ENVELOPE BECAUSE RAVELLING ALONG

THE X-AXIS, THE VOLUME REGION CAN BE INCREASED EASILY.

 THEIR LINEAR MOVEMENT ALLOWS FOR SIMPLER CONTROLS.

 THEY HAVE HIGH DEGREE OF MECHANICAL RIGIDITY, ACCURACY, AND

REPEATABILITY DUE O THEIR STRUCTURE.

 THEY CAN CARRY HEAVY LOADS BECAUSE THE WEIGHT-LIFTING

CAPACITY DOES NOT VARY AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS WITHING THE
WORK ENVELOPE.

DISADVANTAGES:

 THEY MAKES MAINTENANCE MORE DIFFICULT FOR SOME MODELS WITH

OVERHEAD DRIVE MECHANISMS AND CONTROL EQUIPMENT.

 ACCESS TO THE VOLUME REGION BY OVERHEAD CRANE OR OTHER

MATERIAL-HANDLING EQUIPMENT MAY BE IMPAIRED BY THE ROBOT-
SUPPORTING STRUCTURE.

 THEIR MOVEMENT IS LIMITED TO ONE DIRECTION AT A TIME.

APPLICATION:

 PICK-AND-PLACE OPERATIONS.

 ADHESIVE APPLICATIONS(MOSTLY LONG AND

STRAIGHT).

 ADVANCED MUNITION HANDLING.

 ASSEMBLY AND SUBASSEMBLY(MOSTLY

STRAINGHT).

 AUTOMATED LOADING CNC LATHE AND MILLING

OPERATIONS.

 NUCLEAR MATERIAL HANDLING.

 WELDING.
CYLINDRICAL-COORDINATED
HAS TWO LINEAR MOTIONS AND ONE ROTARY MOTION.

ROBOTS CAN ACHIEVE VARIABLE MOTION.

THE FIRST COORDINATE DESCRIBE THE ANGLE THETA OF BASE

ROTATION--- ABOUT THE UP-DOWN AXIS.

THE SECOND COORDINATE CORRESPOND TO A RADICAL OR Y--- IN

OUT MOTION AT WHATEVER ANGLE THE ROBOT IS POSITIONED.

THE FINAL COORDINATE AGAIN CORRESPONDS TO THE UP-DOWN Z

POSITION.

ROTATIONAL ABILITY GIVES THE ADVANTAGE OF MOVING RAPIDLY

TO THE POINT IN Z PLANE OF ROTATION.

RESULTS IN A LARGER WORK ENVELOPE THAN A RECTANGULAR

ROBOT MANIPULATOR.

SUITED FOR PICK-AND-PLACE OPERATIONS.

ADVANTAGE:

 THEIR VERTICAL STRUCTURE CONSERVES FLOOR SPACE.

 THEIR DEEP HORIZONTAL REACH IS USEFUL FOR FAR-REACHING

OPERATIONS.

 THEIR CAPACITY IS CAPABLE OF CARRYING LARGE PAYLOADS.

DISADVANTAGE:

 THEIR OVERALL MECHANICAL RIGIDITY IS LOWER THAN THAT OF

THE RECTILINEAR ROBOTS BECAUSE THEIR ROTARY AXIS MUST
OVERCOME INERTIA.

 THEIR REPEATABILITY AND ACCURACY ARE ALSO LOWER IN THE

DIRECTION OF ROTARY MOTION.

 THEIR CONFIGURATION REQUIRES A MORE SOPHISTICATED

CONTROL SYSTEM THAN THE RECTANGULAR ROBOTS.
APPLICATION:

 ASSEMBLY
 COATING APPLICATIONS.
 CONVEYOR PALLET TRANSFER.
 DIE CASTING.
 FOUNDARY AND FORGING APPLICATIONS.
 INSPECTION MOULDING.
 INVESTMENT CASTING.
 MACHINE LOADING AND UNLOADING.
SPHERICAL COORDINATED

HAS ONE LINEAR MOTION AND TWO ROTARY MOTIONS.

THE WORK VOLUME IS LIKE A SECTION OF SPHERE.
THE FIRST MOTION CORRESPONDS TO A BASE
ROTATION ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS.
THE SECOND MOTION CORRESPONDS TO AN ELBOW
ROTATION.
THE THIRD MOTION CORRESPONDS TO A RADIAL, OR IN-
OUT, TRANSLATION.
A SPHERICAL-COORDINATED ROBOTS PROVIDES A
LARGER WORK ENVELOPE THAN THE RECTILINEAR OR
CYLINDIRICAL ROBOT.
DESIGN GIVES WEIGHT LIFTING CAPABILITIES.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES SAME AS
CYLINDIRICAL-COORDINATED DESIGN.
APPLICATIONS:
 DIE CASTING
 DIP COATING
 FORGING
 GLASS HANDLING
 HEAT TREATING
 INJECTION MOLDING
 MACHINE TOOL HANDLING
 MATERIAL TRANSFER
 PARTS CLEANING
 PRESS LOADING
 STACKING AND UNSTICKING.
DEGREES OF FREEDOM

THE DEGREE OF FREEDOM OR GRIP OF A ROBOTIC SYSTEM CAN BE

COMPARED TO THE WAY IN WHICH THE HUMAN BODY MOVES.

FOR EACH DEGREE OF FREEDOM A JOINT IS REQUIRED.

THE DEGREES OF FREEDOM LOCATED IN THE ARM DEFINE THE

CONFIGURATION.

EACH OF THE FIVE BASIC MOTION CONFIGURATIONS DISCUSS

PREVIOUSLY UTILIZES THREE DEGREES OF FREEDOM IN THE ARM.

THREE DEGREES OF FREEDOM LOCATED IN THE WRIST GIVE THE END

EFFECTOR ALL THE FLEXIBILITY.

A TOTAL OF SIX DEGREES OF FREEDOM IS NEEDED TO LOCATE A

ROBOT’S HAND AT ANY POINT IN ITS WORK SPACE.

ALTHOUGH SIX DEGREES OF FREEDOM ARE NEEDED FOR MAXIMUM

FLEXIBILITY, MOST ROBOT EMPLOYEE ONLY THREE TO FIVE DEGREES
OF FREEDOM.

THE MORE THE DEGREES OF FREEDOM, THE GREATER IS THE

COMPLEXITY OF MOTIONS ENCOUNTERED.
DEGREES OF FREEDOM (CONTD.)
THE THREE DEGREES OF FREEDOM LOCATED IN THE ARM OF A
ROBOTIC SYSTEM ARE:

 THE ROTATIONAL REVERSE: IS THE MOVEMENT OF THE ARM

ASSEMBLY ABOUT A ROTARY AXIS, SUCH AS LEFT-AND-RIGHT
SWIVEL OF THE ROBOT’S ARM ABOUT A BASE.
 THE RADIAL TRAVERSE: IS THE EXTENSION AND RETRACTION OF
THE ARM OR THE IN-AND-OUT MOTION RELATIVE TO THE BASE.
 THE VERTICAL TRAVERSE: PROVIDES THE UP-AND-DOWN MOTION
OF THE ARM OF THE ROBOTIC SYSTEM.

THE THREE DEGREES OF FREEDOM LOCATED IN THE WRIST,

WHICH BEAR THE NAMES OF AERONAUTICAL TERMS, ARE

 PITCH OR BEND: IS THE UP-AND-DOWN MOVEMENT OF THE WRIST.

 YAW: IS THE RIGHT-AND-LEFT MOVEMENT OF THE WRIST.
 ROLL OR SWIVEL: IS THE ROTATION OF THE HAND.
POWER SOURCES
THE FOUR POWER SOURCES USED IN CURRENT ROBOTS ARE:

 ELECTRIC: ALL ROBOTS USE ELECTRICITY AS THE PRIMARY SOURCE

OF ENERGY.

 ELECTRICITY TURNS THE PUMPS THAT PROVIDE HYDRAULLIC AND

PNEUMATIC PRESSURE.
 IT ALSO POWERS THE ROBOT CONTROLLER AND ALL THE ELECTRONIC
COMPONENTS AND PERIPHERAL DEVICES.
 IN ALL ELECTRIC ROBOTS, THE DRIVE ACTUATORS, AS WELL AS THE
CONTROLLER, ARE ELECTRICALLY POWERED.
 BECAUSE ELECTRIC ROBOT DO NOT REQUIRE A HYDRAULIC POWER UNIT,
THEY CONSERVE FLOOR SPACE AND DECREASE FACTORY NOISE.
 NO ENERGY CONVERSION IS REQUIRED.


PNEUMATIC: THESE ARE GENERALLY FOUND IN RELATIVELY LOW-
COST MANIPULATORS WITH LOW LOAD CARRYING CAPACITY.

 PNEUMATIC DRIVES HAVE BEEN USED FOR MANY YEARS FOR POWERING
SIMPLE STOP-TO-STOP MOTIONS.
 IT IS INHERENTLY LIGHT WEIGHT, PARTICULARLY WHEN OPERATING
PRESSURES ARE MODERATE.
 HYDRAULIC: ARE EITHER LINEAR POSITION ACTUATORS OR A
ROTARY VANE CONFIGURATION.

 HYDRAULIC ACTUATORS PROVIDE A LARGE AMOUNT OF POWER

FOR A GIVEN ACTUATOR.

 THE HIGH POWER-TO-WEIGHT RATIO MAKES THE HYDRAULIC

ACTUATOR AN ATTRACTIVE CHOICE FOR MOVING MODERATE TO
HIGH LOADS AT REASONABLE SPEEDS AND MODERATE NOISE
LEVEL.

 HYDRAULIC MOTORS USUALLY PROVIDE A MORE EFFICIENT

WAY OF ENERGY TO ACHIEVE A BETTER PERFORMANCE, BUT
THEY ARE EXPENSIVE AND GENERALLY LESS ACCURATE.
TYPES OF MOTION

A ROBOT MANIPULATOR CAN MAKE FOUR TYPES OF MOTION IN

TRAVELLING FROM ONE POINT TO ANOTHER IN THE WORKPLACE:

 SLEW MOTION : SIMPLEST TYPE OF MOTION. ROBOT IS COMMANDED

TO TRAVEL FROM ONE POINT TO ANOTHER AT DEFAULT SPEED.

 JOINT-INTERPOLATED MOTION: REQUIRES THE ROBOT CONTROLLER TO

CALCULATE THE TIME IT WILL TAKE EACH JOINT TO REACH ITS
DESTINATION AT THE COMMANDED SPEED.

 STRAIGHT-LINE INTERPOLATION MOTION: REQUIRES THE END OF THE

END EFFECTOR TO TRAVEL ALONG A STRAIGHT PATH DETERMINE IN
RECTANGULAR COORDINATES.

 USEFUL IN APPLICATIONS SUCH AS ARC WELDING, INSERTING PINS INTO

HOLES, OR LAYING MATERIAL ALONG A STRAIGHT PATH.

 CIRCULAR INTERPOLATION MOTION: REQUIRES THE ROBOT

CONTROLLER TO DEFINE THE POINTS OF A CIRCLE IN THE WORKPLACE
BASED ON A MINIMUM OF THREE SPECIFIED POSITIONS.

 CIRCULAR INTERPOLATION PRODUCES A LINEAR APPROXIMATION OF THE

CIRCLE AND IS MORE READILY AVAILABLE USING A PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
RATHER THAN MANUAL OR TEACH PENDANT TECHNIQUES.
PATH CONTROL
COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS CAN BE
CLASSIFIED INTO FOUR CATEGORIES ACCORDING TO THE PATH
CONTROL SYSTEM.

 LIMITED-SEQUENCE: DO NOT USE SERVO-CONTROL TO INDICATE

RELATIVE POSITIONS OF THE JOINTS.

 THEY ARE CONTROLLED BY SETTING LIMIT SWITCHES AND/OR MECHANICAL

STOPS TOGETHER WITH A SEQUENCER TO COORDINATE AND TIME THE
ACTUATION OF THE JOINTS.
 WITH THIS METHOD OF CONTROL, THE INDIVDUAL JOINTS CAN ONLY BE MOVED
TO THEIR EXTREME LIMITS OF TRAVEL.


POINT-TO-POINT: THESE ROBOTS ARE MOST COMMON AND CAN MOVE
FROM ONE SPECIFIED POINT TO ANOTHER BUT CANNOT STOP AT
ARBITRARY POINTS NOT PREVIOUSLY DESIGNATED.

 CONTROLLED PATH: IS A SPECIALIZED CONTROL METHOD THAT IS A PART

OF GENERAL CATEGORY OF A POINT-TO-POINT ROBOT BUT WITH MORE
PRECISE CONTROL.

 THE CONTROLLED PATH ROBOT ENSURES THAT THE ROBOT WILL DESCRIBE THE
RIGHT SEGMENT BETWEEN TWO TAUGHT POINTS.
 CONTROLLED-PATH IS A CALCULATED METHOD AND IS DESIRED WHEN THE
MANIPULATOR MUST MOVE IN THE PERFECT PATH MOTION.
 CONTINUOUS PATH: IS AN EXTENSION OF THE POINT-TO-
POINT METHOD. THIS INVOLVES THE UTILIZATION OF MORE
POINTS AND ITS PATH CAN BE ARC, A CIRCLE, OR A
STRAIGHT LINE.

 BECAUSE OF THE LARGE NUMBER OF POINTS, THE ROBOT IS

CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMOOTH MOVEMENTS THAT GIVE THE
APPEARANCE OF CONTINUOUS OR CONTOUR MOVEMENT.
INTELLIGENCE LEVEL
THE INTELLIGENT CONTROL ROBOT IS CAPABLE OF PERFOMING SOME OF THE
FUNCTIONS AND TASKS CARRIED OUT BY HUMAN BEINGS.

IT CAN DETECT CHANGES IN THE WORK ENVIRONMENT BY MEANS OF

SENSORY PERCEPTION.

INTELLIGENT ROBOT IS EQUIPPED WITH A VARIETY OF SENSORS AND

SENSOR APPARATUS PROVIDING VISUAL (COMPUTER VISION) AND TACTILE
(TOUCHING) CAPABILITIES TO RESPOND INSTANTLY TO VARIABLE
SITUATIONS.

MUCH LIKE HUMANS, THE ROBOT OBSERVES AND EVALUATES THE

IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT BY PERCEPTION AND PATTERN RECOGNITION.

BECAUSE ITS OPERATION IS SO COMPLEX, POWERFUL COMPUTERS ARE

REQUIRED TO CONTROL ITS MOVEMENTS AND MORE- SOPHISTICATED
SENSING DEVICES TO RESPOND TO ITS ACTIONS.

EXTENSIVE RESEARCH HAS BEEN AND STILL CONCERNED WITH HOW TO

EQUIP ROBOTS WITH SEEING “EYES” AND TACTILE “FINGERS”.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) THAT WILL ENABLE THE ROBOTS TO RESPOND,

ADAPT, REASON, AND MAKE DECISIONS TO REACT TO CHANGE IS ALSO AN
INHERENT CAPABILITY OF THE INTELLIGENT ROBOT.
SUMMARY
INTRODUCES THE GENERAL CONCEPTS OF ROBOT CLASSIFICATION.

PROVIDED OVERVIEW OF ALL TYPES OF ROBOT ARM GEOMETRY

AND STYLES, CONSIDERING DEGREES OF FREEDOM, POWER
SOURCES, CONTROL SYSTEMS, AND PATH CONTROL.

THE ARM GEOMETRY IS AVAILABLE IN FIVE BASIC

CONFIGURATIONS: RECTANGULAR, CYLINDRICAL, SPHERICAL,
JOINTED-ARM, AND SCARA.

THE THREE DEGRESS OF FREEDOM LOCATED IN THE ARM OF

ROBOT SYSTEM ARE THE ROTATIONAL TRAVERSE, THE RADIAL
TRAVERSE, AND THE VERTICAL TRAVERSE.

THE THREE DEGREES OF FREEDOM LOCATED IN THE WRIST ARE

PITCH, YAW, AND ROLL.

THE FOUR POWER SOURCES USED IN THE CURRENT ROBOTS ARE

ELECTRIC, HYDRAULIC, PNEUMATIC, AND ELECTROMECHANICAL.
SUMMARY (CONTD.)

THERE ARE FOUR TYPES OF MOTION THAT A ROBOT

MANIPULATOR CAN MAKE IN TRAVELING FROM ONE POINT TO
ANOTHER IN THE WORKPLACE: SLEW, JOINT-INTEROLATED,
STRAIGHT LINE INTERPOLATION, CIRCULAR.

THERE ARE FOUR TYPES OF PATH CONTROLS OF ROBOTS:

LIMITED-SEQUENCE, POINT-TO-POINT, CONTROLLED-PATH,
AND CONTINUOUS PATH.

ROBOT SYSTEMS ARE USUALLY CLASSIFIED AS HIGH-

TECHNOLOGY AND LOW-TECHNOLOGY GROUP.