Industrial robot

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Articulated industrial robot operating in a foundry.
A set of six-axis robots used for elding.
Factory Automation ith industrial robots for palleti!ing food products like bread and
toast at a bakery in "ermany
An industrial robot is defined by #$%
&'(
as an automatically controlled,
reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes. )he
field of robotics may be more practically defined as the study, design and use of robot
systems for manufacturing *a top-level definition relying on the prior definition of robot+.
Typical applications of robots include welding, painting,
assembly, pick and place (such as packaging,
palletizing and SMT), product inspection, and
testing; all accomplished with high endurance,
speed, and precision !edit" #obot types, features
)he most commonly used robot configurations are articulated robots, $,A-A robots,
.elta robots and ,artesian coordinate robots, *aka gantry robots or x-y-! robots+. #n the
context of general robotics, most types of robots ould fall into the category of robotic
arms *inherent in the use of the ord manipulator in the above-mentioned #$% standard+.
-obots exhibit varying degrees of autonomy:
$ome robots are programmed to faithfully carry out specific actions over and over
again *repetitive actions+ ithout variation and ith a high degree of accuracy.
)hese actions are determined by programmed routines that specify the direction,
acceleration, velocity, deceleration, and distance of a series of coordinated
motions.
%ther robots are much more flexible as to the orientation of the ob/ect on hich
they are operating or even the task that has to be performed on the ob/ect itself,
hich the robot may even need to identify. For example, for more precise
guidance, robots often contain machine vision sub-systems acting as their 0eyes0,
linked to poerful computers or controllers. Artificial intelligence, or hat passes
for it, is becoming an increasingly important factor in the modern industrial robot.
!edit" $istory of industrial robotics
"eorge .evol, c. '123
"eorge .evol applied for the first robotics patents in '145 *granted in '16'+. )he first
company to produce a robot as 7nimation, founded by .evol and Joseph F.
8ngelberger in '146, and as based on .evol9s original patents. 7nimation robots ere
also called programmable transfer machines since their main use at first as to transfer
ob/ects from one point to another, less than a do!en feet or so apart. )hey used hydraulic
actuators and ere programmed in joint coordinates, i.e. the angles of the various /oints
ere stored during a teaching phase and replayed in operation. )hey ere accurate to
ithin ':';,;;; of an inch
&citation needed(
*note: although accuracy is not an appropriate
measure for robots, usually evaluated in terms of repeatability - see later+. 7nimation
later licensed their technology to <aasaki =eavy #ndustries and "<>, manufacturing
7nimates in Japan and 8ngland respectively. For some time 7nimation9s only competitor
as ,incinnati ?ilacron #nc. of %hio. )his changed radically in the late '1@;s hen
several big Japanese conglomerates began producing similar industrial robots.
#n '161 Aictor $cheinman at $tanford 7niversity invented the $tanford arm, an all-
electric, 6-axis articulated robot designed to permit an arm solution. )his alloed it
accurately to follo arbitrary paths in space and idened the potential use of the robot to
more sophisticated applications such as assembly and elding. $cheinman then designed
a second arm for the ?#) A# Bab, called the 0?#) arm.0 $cheinman, after receiving a
felloship from 7nimation to develop his designs, sold those designs to 7nimation ho
further developed them ith support from "eneral ?otors and later marketed it as the
Crogrammable 7niversal ?achine for Assembly *C7?A+.
#ndustrial robotics took off Duite Duickly in 8urope, ith both AEE -obotics and <7<A
-obotics bringing robots to the market in '1@F. AEE -obotics *formerly A$8A+
introduced #-E 6, among the orld9s first commercially available all electric micro-
processor controlled robot. )he first to #-E 6 robots ere sold to ?agnusson in
$eden for grinding and polishing pipe bends and ere installed in production in January
'1@5. Also in '1@F <7<A -obotics built its first robot, knon as FA?7B7$,
&3(
also one
of the first articulated robot to have six electromechanically driven axes.
#nterest in robotics increased in the late '1@;s and many 7$ companies entered the field,
including large firms like "eneral 8lectric, and "eneral ?otors *hich formed /oint
venture FA>7, -obotics ith FA>7, B). of Japan+. 7.$. startup companies included
Automatix and Adept )echnology, #nc. At the height of the robot boom in '125,
7nimation as acDuired by Westinghouse 8lectric ,orporation for ';@ million 7.$.
dollars. Westinghouse sold 7nimation to $tGubli Faverges $,A of France in '122, hich
is still making articulated robots for general industrial and cleanroom applications and
even bought the robotic division of Eosch in late 3;;5.
%nly a fe non-Japanese companies ultimately managed to survive in this market, the
ma/or ones being Adept )echnology, $tGubli-7nimation, the $edish-$iss company
AEE Asea Eron Eoveri and the "erman company <7<A -obotics.
!edit" Technical description
!edit" %efining parameters
Number of axes H to axes are reDuired to reach any point in a planeI three axes
are reDuired to reach any point in space. )o fully control the orientation of the end
of the arm *i.e. the wrist+ three more axes *ya, pitch, and roll+ are reDuired.
$ome designs *e.g. the $,A-A robot+ trade limitations in motion possibilities for
cost, speed, and accuracy.
Degrees of freedom hich is usually the same as the number of axes.
Working envelope H the region of space a robot can reach.
Kinematics H the actual arrangement of rigid members and /oints in the robot,
hich determines the robot9s possible motions. ,lasses of robot kinematics
include articulated, cartesian, parallel and $,A-A.
Carrying capacity or payload H ho much eight a robot can lift.
peed H ho fast the robot can position the end of its arm. )his 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 hen all axes are moving.
!cceleration - ho Duickly an axis can accelerate. $ince this is a limiting factor a
robot may not be able to reach its specified maximum speed for movements over
a short distance or a complex path reDuiring freDuent changes of direction.
!ccuracy H ho closely a robot can reach a commanded position. When the
absolute position of the robot is measured and compared to the commanded
position the error is a measure of accuracy. Accuracy can be improved ith
external sensing for example a vision system or #nfra--ed. $ee robot calibration.
Accuracy can vary ith speed and position ithin the orking envelope and ith
payload *see compliance+.
"epeatability - ho ell the robot ill return to a programmed position. )his is
not the same as accuracy. #t may be that hen told to go to a certain J-K-L
position that it gets only to ithin ' mm of that position. )his ould be its
accuracy hich may be improved by calibration. Eut if that position is taught into
controller memory and each time it is sent there it returns to ithin ;.'mm of the
taught position then the repeatability ill be ithin ;.'mm.
Accuracy and repeatability are different measures. -epeatability is usually the most
important criterion for a robot and is similar to the concept of 9precision9 in measurement
- see Accuracy and precision. #$% 132F
&F(
sets out a method hereby both accuracy and
repeatability can be measured. )ypically a robot is sent to a taught position a number of
times and the error is measured at each return to the position after visiting 5 other
positions. -epeatability is then Duantified using the standard deviation of those samples
in all three dimensions. A typical robot can, of course make a positional error exceeding
that and that could be a problem for the process. ?oreover the repeatability is different in
different parts of the orking envelope and also changes ith speed and payload. #$%
132F specifies that accuracy and repeatability should be measured at maximum speed and
at maximum payload. Eut this results in pessimistic values hereas the robot could be
much more accurate and repeatable at light loads and speeds. -epeatability in an
industrial process is also sub/ect to the accuracy of the end effector, for example a
gripper, and even to the design of the 9fingers9 that match the gripper to the ob/ect being
grasped. For example if a robot picks a scre by its head the scre could be at a random
angle. A subseDuent attempt to insert the scre into a hole could easily fail. )hese and
similar scenarios can be improved ith 9lead-ins9 e.g. by making the entrance to the hole
tapered.
#otion control H for some applications, such as simple pick-and-place assembly,
the robot need merely return repeatably to a limited number of pre-taught
positions. For more sophisticated applications, such as elding and finishing
*spray painting+, motion must be continuously controlled to follo a path in
space, ith controlled orientation and velocity.
$ower source H some robots use electric motors, others use hydraulic actuators.
)he former are faster, the latter are stronger and advantageous in applications
such as spray painting, here a spark could set off an explosionI hoever, lo
internal air-pressurisation of the arm can prevent ingress of flammable vapours as
ell as other contaminants.
Drive H some robots connect electric motors to the /oints via gearsI others connect
the motor to the /oint directly *direct drive+. 7sing gears results in measurable
9backlash9 hich is free movement in an axis. $maller robot arms freDuently
employ high speed, lo torDue ., motors, hich generally reDuire high gearing
ratiosI this has the disadvantage of backlash. #n such cases the harmonic drive is
often used.
Compliance - this is a measure of the amount in angle or distance that a robot axis
ill move hen a force is applied to it. Eecause of compliance hen a robot goes
to a position carrying its maximum payload it ill be at a position slightly loer
than hen it is carrying no payload. ,ompliance can also be responsible for
overshoot hen carrying high payloads in hich case acceleration ould need to
be reduced.
!edit" #obot programming and interfaces
%ffline programming by -%E,A.
A typical ell-used teach pendant ith optional mouse
)he setup or programming of motions and seDuences for an industrial robot is typically
taught by linking the robot controller to a laptop, desktop computer or *internal or
#nternet+ netork.
A robot and a collection of machines or peripherals is referred to as a orkcell, or cell. A
typical cell might contain a parts feeder, a molding machine and a robot. )he various
machines are 9integrated9 and controlled by a single computer or CB,. =o the robot
interacts ith other machines in the cell must be programmed, both ith regard to their
positions in the cell and synchroni!ing ith them.
oftware% )he computer is installed ith corresponding interface softare. )he use of a
computer greatly simplifies the programming process. $peciali!ed robot softare is run
either in the robot controller or in the computer or both depending on the system design.
)here are to basic entities that need to be taught *or programmed+: positional data and
procedure. For example in a task to move a scre from a feeder to a hole the positions of
the feeder and the hole must first be taught or programmed. $econdly the procedure to get
the scre from the feeder to the hole must be programmed along ith any #:% involved,
for example a signal to indicate hen the scre is in the feeder ready to be picked up.
)he purpose of the robot softare is to facilitate both these programming tasks.
)eaching the robot positions may be achieved a number of ays:
$ositional commands )he robot can be directed to the reDuired position using a "7# or
text based commands in hich the reDuired J-K-L position may be specified and edited.
&each pendant% -obot positions can be taught via a teach pendant. )his is a handheld
control and programming unit. )he common features of such units are the ability to
manually send the robot to a desired position, or 0inch0 or 0/og0 to ad/ust a position. )hey
also have a means to change the speed since a lo speed is usually reDuired for careful
positioning, or hile test-running through a ne or modified routine. A large emergency
stop button is usually included as ell. )ypically once the robot has been programmed
there is no more use for the teach pendant.
'ead(by(the(nose is a techniDue offered by many robot manufacturers. #n this method,
one user holds the robot9s manipulator, hile another person enters a command hich de-
energi!es the robot causing it to go limp. )he user then moves the robot by hand to the
reDuired positions and:or along a reDuired path hile the softare logs these positions
into memory. )he program can later run the robot to these positions or along the taught
path. )his techniDue is popular for tasks such as paint spraying.
)ffline programming is here the entire cell, the robot and all the machines or
instruments in the orkspace are mapped graphically. )he robot can then be moved on
screen and the process simulated. )he techniDue has limited value because it relies on
accurate measurement of the positions of the associated eDuipment and also relies on the
positional accuracy the robot hich may or may not conform to hat is programmed *see
accuracy and repeatability, above+.
)thers #n addition, machine operators often use user interface devices, typically
touchscreen units, hich serve as the operator control panel. )he operator can sitch
from program to program, make ad/ustments ithin a program and also operate a host of
peripheral devices that may be integrated ithin the same robotic system. )hese include
end effectors, feeders that supply components to the robot, conveyor belts, emergency
stop controls, machine vision systems, safety interlock systems, bar code printers and an
almost infinite array of other industrial devices hich are accessed and controlled via the
operator control panel.
)he teach pendant or C, is usually disconnected after programming and the robot then
runs on the program that has been installed in its controller. =oever a computer is often
used to 9supervise9 the robot and any peripherals, or to provide additional storage for
access to numerous complex paths and routines.
!edit" &nd'of'arm Tooling
)he most essential robot peripheral is the end effector, or end-of-arm-tooling *8%)+.
,ommon examples of end effectors include elding devices *such as ?#"-elding guns,
spot-elders, etc.+, spray guns and also grinding and deburring devices *such as
pneumatic disk or belt grinders, burrs, etc.+, and grippers *devices that can grasp an
ob/ect, usually electromechanical or pneumatic+. Another common means of picking up
an ob/ect is by vacuum. 8nd effectors are freDuently highly complex, made to match the
handled product and often capable of picking up an array of products at one time. )hey
may utili!e various sensors to aid the robot system in locating, handling, and positioning
products.
!edit" (ontrolling Mo)ement
For a given robot the only parameters necessary to completely locate the end effector
*gripper, elding torch, etc.+ of the robot are the angles of each of the /oints or
displacements of the linear axes *or combinations of the to for robot formats such as
$,A-A+. =oever there are many different ays to define the points. )he most common
and most convenient ay of defining a point is to specify a ,artesian coordinate for it,
i.e. the position of the 9end effector9 in mm in the J, K and L directions relative to the
robot9s origin. #n addition, depending on the types of /oints a particular robot may have,
the orientation of the end effector in ya, pitch, and roll and the location of the tool point
relative to the robot9s faceplate must also be specified. For a /ointed arm these coordinates
must be converted to /oint angles by the robot controller and such conversions are knon
as ,artesian )ransformations hich may need to be performed iteratively or recursively
for a multiple axis robot. )he mathematics of the relationship beteen /oint angles and
actual spatial coordinates is called kinematics. $ee robot control
Cositioning by ,artesian coordinates may be done by entering the coordinates into the
system or by using a teach pendant hich moves the robot in J-K-L directions. #t is
much easier for a human operator to visuali!e motions up:don, left:right, etc. than to
move each /oint one at a time. When the desired position is reached it is then defined in
some ay particular to the robot softare in use, e.g. C' - C4 belo.