Technological Studies Introduction to Robotics

Introduction to Robotics
1 What is robotics?..............................................................................................2
2 Design of industrial robots...............................................................................2
(a) Dynamic system............................................................................................................3
(b) End-of-arm tools...........................................................................................................4
(c) om!uteri"ed digital controller.....................................................................................4
(d) #ctuators........................................................................................................................$
(e) %eedbac& system...........................................................................................................$
(f) Sensors..........................................................................................................................$
3 Operation of industrial robots.........................................................................5
(a) 'oint to !oint.................................................................................................................(
(b) ontinuous !ath.............................................................................................................(
4 Applications of industrial robots.....................................................................7
(a) )elding..........................................................................................................................*
(b) +andling materials.........................................................................................................*
(c) ,oad and unload of cutting tools...................................................................................-
(d) #ssembling com!onents................................................................................................-
(e) ast treatment................................................................................................................-
(f) 'ainting...........................................................................................................................
5 The adantages of robots.................................................................................!
" The restrictions of robots...............................................................................1#
7 $afet% precautions in robots..........................................................................1#
&nteractie &nfor'ation.....................................................................................11
()ercise...............................................................................................................12
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Technological Studies Introduction to Robotics
Introduction to Robotics
1 What is robotics?
)hen mentioning robots0 many !eo!le 1ill thin& about machines 1ith hands and feet (%ig.
/a). +o1e2er0 this &ind of machines often a!!ears in scientific mo2ies0 entertainment0
e3hibitions and toy stores. They are 2ery different from industrial robots. Industrial robots are
abbre2iated as IR. 4ost of them are sim!le a!!aratus. Sometimes they are called robotic arms
(%ig. /b). Robotic arms are used in !erforming sim!le u!-and-do1n motion0 to ta&e and !ic& out
com!onents from machines. +o1e2er0 a lot of machines can be entirely controlled by !rograms
to do different ty!es of 5obs0 such as0 searching0 trans!ortation0 targeting0 assembly and
ins!ection.
%ig. / (a) Robots (b) Robotic arms
In /.*.0 the #merican Robots #ssociation has defined robots as 6a 'ulti*functional operator
+hich can be controlled b% progra's. &t 'oes the 'aterials, co'ponents, tools and other
special apparatus through control progra's to finish a series of +or-7. #lthough many
industrial machines do not !ossess human sha!es0 they satisfy the criteria and can be called robots.
Robots are being used 1idely in industries. It is estimated that a lot of industrial robots 1ill be
in ser2ice in near future. #t !resent0 scientists are designing robots 1ith 2isions so that robots can
accom!lish more com!licated tas&s. The study of robots is called robotics.
2 Design of industrial robots
Industrial robots are made u! of si3 basic constituent elements0 they are8 the dynamic system0
the end-of-arm tool0 the com!uteri"ed digital controller0 the actuators0 the feedbac& de2ices and the
sensor.
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Technological Studies Introduction to Robotics
%ig. 9 Si3 basic elements of robots
(a) Dynamic system
Dynamic system is needed for mo2ement in the 1or&ing area. The most im!ortant of 1hich is
the robotic arm. #ccording to the designs of the robots0 the main a3is 1ill mo2e linearly or
rotationally. The number of a3es re!resents the number of directions that a robot can mo2e
indi2idually. It can be called 6the degree of freedom7. #s sho1n in %ig. 30 if the 2olumes of robots
are the same0 the robot 1ith 3 rotating a3es or the highest degree of freedom has the larger 1or&ing
area. # robot usually has 9 to /: a3es0 most of the robots ha2e $ to ( degrees of freedom.
%ig. 3 Triadic structure and 1or&ing area of industrial robots.
;sually0 there are 3 ty!es of dri2e systems0 they are8 electrical0 hydraulic and !neumatic.
Electrical system uses the dynamo to dri2e the robots. Sim!le electrical source is needed to !ro2ide
energy0 unli&e hydraulic or !neumatic dri2ing system that needs a lot of accessories. The
ad2antages of an electrical system is that it is sim!le0 clean and silent0 but it cannot lift or mo2e
hea2y ob5ect. It is commonly used in middle si"ed or small si"ed robots.
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Technological Studies Introduction to Robotics
# hydraulic dri2ing system uses the dynamo to !um! oil in the storage unit0 then com!resses
the !iston to !roduce a dri2ing force. The storage unit can !roduce an out!ut dri2ing force shortly
1ith high !ressure. So it can !roduce a larger dri2ing force and can be controlled more easily.
+o1e2er0 a hydraulic dri2ing system is e3!ensi2e and com!le3 in structures. ,ea&age of oil is easy
to occur in bet1een the !i!es and the com!onents.
# !neumatic dri2ing system has similar ad2antages to that of the hydraulic dri2ing system.
'neumatic can !roduce a ra!id mo2ement 1ith a smaller !o1er. 4ost automatic chemical factories
use !neumatic a!!aratus as the cost is lo1. +o1e2er0 since air is easier to com!ress0 the accuracy
of the mo2ements of robots and the !reciseness of moment control are lo1er. So0 !neumatic
dri2ing systems usually need some assisting com!onents or s!ecial design to determine their
!ositions.
(b) End-of-arm tools
The arms of the robots can be used to install tools li&e clam!s0 1elding guns0 electromagnets0
suction !ads0 hoo&s or !a1s0 etc.0 in order to o!erate any s!ecific !rocedure. # clam! is a
multifunctional robotic arm tool. There are different designs. The clam! can be used to hold tight0
&ee! and transmit com!onents or tools0 and ma&e them to direct in a suitable !osition (%ig. 4). %or
instance0 a clam! 1ith 3 a3es can !erform com!le3 actions li&e tilting for1ard and bac&1ard0 s1irl
and s1inging from left to right.
(a) (b)
%ig. 4 Robots using different clam!s
(c) Comuteri!ed digital controller
The com!uteri"ed control system in robots controls each !art to o!erate !ro!erly. It can in!ut
and store different !rograms 1here 1or&ing se<uence0 lin&age and relationshi!s can be determined.
In a !rocess system0 the com!uter in the robots may need to control or connect to other machines
li&e the belt0 the !rocess machines0 etc. Different com!uters in the robots may use different
languages0 li&e =#,0 R#'ID0 etc.
4any robots also use an a!!aratus called the trainer 1hich is connected to the controller. The
trainer can control some of the motions of a robot0 for instance0 to direct the 1elding gun in the
robotic arm to each 1elding ti!. Robots also record information and store it in the com!uter0 so that
the information can be used re!eatedly 1hen the robots run. This can sa2e time in !rogramming.
(d) "ctuators
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Technological Studies Introduction to Robotics
#ctuators control each of the a3es and maintain the direction of mo2ing. Since robots need to
handle 1eights from 2arious com!onents0 it has a larger change in motion. Therefore0 the motion of
actuators is 2ery im!ortant. ommands about the direction of mo2ement are sent from the
com!uter of the robots and feedbac&s are chec&ed at the same time to ensure the mo2ing !arts
follo1 the correct !ath. This !rocess re<uires a high-s!eed com!uter to send out commands0 and
reading the machine7s motion at reasonable s!eed.
(e) #eedbac$ system
%eedbac& de2ices of a robot measure the !osition of each a3is0 mo2ing 2elocity and its
acceleration. Each a3is can set any !oint as "ero as the reference !oint0 then relati2e linear
mo2ement can be !erformed. +o1e2er0 the clam! usually uses absolute measurement 2alues. It is
because 1hen the robot begins to o!erate0 the !osition of the clam! must be ensured.
(f) %ensors
Robots use sensors to identify and e2aluate the change in !osition0 difference in !atterns and
the hinders or failure of e3ternal systems. Table / lists some commonly used sensors.
$ense $ensor Things to be detected
+earing 4icro!hones Sound
=ision ,ight de!endent resistors ,ight
Touch Thermometer and contact ti! +eat0 1eight0 !ressure0 sha!es0
dimensions0 !osition
Smell >as or smell detectors Smell
Table / ommonly used sensors.
& 'eration of industrial robots
There is a lot of fle3ibility in o!erations of industrial robots0 IR can handle demands of
different tas&s. This is because IRs are controlled by com!uter !rograms. Therefore0 by changing
the !rogram0 o!erations can be changed accordingly. This is similar to numerically controlled
machine tools. ?oth the com!uter and the numerically controlled machine tools of robots need a lot
of memory0 re!eatable e3ecution !rograms0 !rogram editing a!!aratus0 accessory functions in in!ut
and out!ut0 and ra!id calculating ability.
+o1e2er0 com!uters in IR re<uired some s!ecial functions li&e in!ut !rograms for trainers0
remain hori"ontal mo2ement in s1inging arms (%ig. $)0 and automatic force com!ensation 1hen
holding hea2y ob5ects. The o!eration mode of IR can be classified as8 !oint-to-!oint and
continuous !ath.
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Technological Studies Introduction to Robotics
%ig. $ lam! is maintained in linear mo2ement
(a) (oint to oint
)hen a robot mo2es in 2arious indi2idual and s!ecific !ositions according to the instructions
in the !rogram0 the o!eration mode is called !oint to !oint. This ty!e of robot has a feedbac& and
ser2omechanism in each of its a3is0 but the motion and mo2ing !ath from one !oint to another is
inde!endent of other !oints. )hen using this o!eration mode0 !rograms can be edited by trainer
method or manual in!ut. The control system for !oint to !oint is relati2ely sim!le0 so it is more
suitable to control com!onents in the numerically controlled machineries.
%ig. ( 'oint to !oint o!eration (b) +andling com!onents
(b) Continuous ath
If a robot has to follo1 the !ath of the !rogram totally0 this o!eration mode is called
continuous !ath. This ty!e of robot has a feedbac& and ser2omechanism in each of its a3is. It can
also mo2e to any !oints bet1een the !olar !ositions. Robots 1ith continuous !ath as o!eration
mode can handle more com!licated tas&s0 li&e 1elding of metal in a !articular !ath (%ig. *)0
s!raying !aints on the surface of a car0 etc. )hen using this ty!e of o!eration mode0 it is better to
use the method of trainer to 1rite the !rogram.
%ig. * ontinuous !ath o!eration (b) )elding
) "lications of industrial robots
Industrial robots are being used 1idely in factories0 they can be used for tas&s li&e 1elding0
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Technological Studies Introduction to Robotics
!ainting0 trans!ortation of materials and tools. Table 9 sho1s the distributions of a!!lications of IR
in the year /..:.
Application .ercentage
)elding 9(@
+andling materials 99@
,oad-and-unload of cutting machineries /*@
#ssembling com!onents /$@
ast treatment //@
'ainting and surface treatment -@
Athers /@
Table 9 Distributions of a!!lications of IR in /..:
(a) Welding
There are 2arious ty!es of 1elding0 including s!ot 1elding0 electrical 1elding and 1ind
1elding0 etc. IR is often used to o!erate s!ot 1elding. S!ot 1elding is suitable for 5oining t1o
!ieces of steel !lates. Its 1or&ing !rinci!le is that the t1o !ieces of steel !lates are first 5oined by
t1o electrodes0 a large current is !roduced 1hen !ressure is added. #s the electrical energy of the
current melts the metal on the 5oints0 they are then 5oined together ra!idly. >enerally0 there are
more than se2eral thousands of 1elding 5oints in a car. If the !rocess is done manually0 the <uality
may be unstable. Therefore0 robots are more suitable for this &ind of re!etiti2e 1or& (%ig. -).
%ig. - Robotic arm in 1elding machines %ig. . Robots handling materials
(b) *andling materials
Robots can be used to handle materials0 for instance0 !ut and !ic& out materials from the
machineries and trans!ortation of materials (%ig. .) etc. Robots can also ta&e materials out from the
!roduction line0 mo2e machinery 2ehicles in a factory automatically and stac& u! the goods
(materials0 semi-finished goods0 com!onents0 etc).
Ta&e !ress bra&e machining !rocedure as an e3am!le0 the metal foils are !ressed into different
sha!es0 li&e the outer case of the car0 the case for circuits0 etc. Since these !rocedures are 2ery
dangerous0 it is necessary to use robots to re!lace 1or&ers. Robots are res!onsible for !ic&ing u!
the metal foil and !ut it on the suitable !osition in the !ress bra&e machine. The finished !roducts
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Technological Studies Introduction to Robotics
1ill be selected and stac&ed together and deli2ered to the ne3t ste! of the !roduct line.
(c) +oad and unload of cutting tools
If a 1or&er is res!onsible for the loading and unloading of cutting tools0 the machines and the
connected !arts has to sto! to ensure the safety for the 1or&er. If a robot 1or&s 1ith the
machineries instead0 only the clam! ti! has to sto! o!erating. Ather !rocedures can continue to
o!erate. If the load and unload commands are !reset in the !rogram of the robots0 the robots can
ta&e out the cutting tools <uic&ly0 re!lace the cutting tools on the clam! ti! and !ut the old ones
bac& to the cutting tools storage. This !rocess only ta&es about a fe1 seconds (%ig. /:). #fter
re!lacing the cutting tools0 the machineries can start again. Therefore0 the use of robots has
shortened the time of changing cutting tools.
%ig. /: Robotic arm in load-and-unload %ig. // Robot for assembling com!onents
cutting tools !rocedure
(d) "ssembling comonents
?esides handling materials0 robots are used to assemble com!onents (%ig. //). %or instance0
robots can use the suction !ad to assemble the 1indo1 on the car. ;sing robots to assemble the
machines has a lot of ad2antages. %or e3am!le0 robots can maintain stable !roduction. They
ensure the hygiene and can 1or& under dangerous circumstances.
(e) Cast treatment
4oulding is the !rocess of in5ecting the melting metal into a mould. )hen the metal cools
do1n0 the desired !roduct is !roduced. Since the materials for moulding and the !roduct are 2ery
hot0 the 1or&ers may get hurt. Therefore0 robots are used to !our the melted metal0 handle the
finished !roducts and carry out initial treatment of the surface. Robots can 1or& 94 hours a day0 so
the !roduction cost is lo1er though the machineries are 2ery e3!ensi2e.
(f) (ainting
S!ray !ainting is the use of gas to s!ray the !aint as dots and scatter them e2enly on the
surface of the finished !roducts. +o1e2er0 fre<uent inhalation of !aint affects the health of the
1or&ers. Therefore0 it is better to use robots to do the routine s!raying tas& (%ig. /9). %or instance0
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Technological Studies Introduction to Robotics
a robot !aints cars in the !roduction line 1ith a s!ray gun. ;sing robots 1ith continuous !ath
o!eration mode0 robots can s!ray the !aint <uic&ly and e2enly on the car0 so it can im!ro2e the
<uality of the cars.
%ig. /9 S!raying the !aint on the casing of the car by the use of robotic arm
, -he ad.antages of robots
Robots are 1idely used because they ha2e se2eral ad2antages8
/. Robots can carry out sim!le and re!etiti2e 1or& for human beings.
9. Robots do not ta&e rest and so can 1or& continuously for a longer !eriod. The !roducti2ity is
raised.
3. They can be used in assembly 1or& 1ith high !recision and density. The <uality of !roducts is
enhanced.
4. Robots can re!lace 1or&ers 1ithout laboring cost0 and robots can achie2e stable !roduction
rate as robots 1ill not be late to 1or&0 resign0 ta&e day off or stri&e.
$. The !rogram can be modified easily so robots can increase the fle3ibility in manufacturing.
(. They can 1or& in unfa2ourable circumstances0 e.g. remo2ing the high-tem!erature artifact
from a casting machine0 1elding tas&0 s!raying tas&0 trans!ortation of chemicals0 etc.0 such
1or& 1ill affect the health of the 1or&ers.
*. The manufacturing s!eed can be increased and the cost be reduced 1hen robots are used.
-. ;sing robots may minimi"e the 1asting of materials.
.. ;sing robots can im!ro2e the <uality of a !roduct by its ability to assemble !recise
com!onents.
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Technological Studies Introduction to Robotics
/ -he restrictions of robots
Des!ite the ad2antages in using robots0 there are a lot of restrictions as 1ell8
/. There are limitations in the senses of robots. Therefore0 it is difficult for them to accom!lish
tas&s 1ith a lot of obser2ations0 li&e identifying different materials.
9. Robots cannot do tas&s 1hich are too !recise or delicate0 for instance0 grinding of small gold
5e1elry and ma&ing !ottery0 etc.
3. The abilities of a robot can be fully e3!ressed under a good mechanical technician and
o!erator.
4. The cost for setting u! a robot for industrial use is 2ery high. 4edium scale and small-scale
factories may not be able to afford.
$. It is 2ery time consuming to com!ile the o!eration !rograms for robots. Each degree of
freedom should be tested re!eatedly and the !osition should be set. Therefore a robot is more
suitable to be used in large scale !roduction line. It is not suitable for !roduction in small
<uantity.
(. The s!ace for factories using robots must be large enough for them to 1or& to a2oid accidents.
0 %afety recautions in robots
To ensure safety0 the follo1ing safety !recautions should be noted 1hen using robots8
/. ;se !rotecti2e co2er to !re2ent 1or&ers from being in contact 1ith the robots in o!eration or
1or&ing area.
9. Robots should be e<ui!!ed 1ith safety !recautions li&e alarms0 flashes and shields0 etc.
3. ;nderstand the tensile strength of the robot and a2oid o2erloading.
4. Ta&e measures to a2oid bug or failure of the soft1are0 for instance0 robots e<ui!!ed 1ith
se2eral !rocessorsB auto disconnection 1hen com!uter cannot be connected 1ith the robots for
a long timeB t1o com!uters 1or&ing simultaneously to chec& the data0 etc.
$. #l1ays test and maintain to a2oid the malfunction of robots. %or instance0 addition of sensors
to test and trac& information of 2oltage0 !ressure0 tem!erature0 2elocity and acceleration0 etc.
?ac&u! hard1are should be added to !re2ent malfunction0 for instance0 1hen carrying load0
more o!erating machines should be used0 so as to a2oid accidents 1hen one of them fails to
function !ro!erly and dro!s the hea2y load.
(. ;se multi-safety design to ensure the robots can sto! 1hen malfunction0 such as an emergency
bra&e and automatic halt during !rolonged use.
*. Training should be gi2en to o!erators to ensure they ha2e ade<uate &no1ledge to handle
sudden changes or accidents caused by the robots.
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Technological Studies Introduction to Robotics
Interacti.e Information
Website /ontent in brief 0anguage
/. htt!8CC111.lego.comCdactaCtobolabCdef
ault.com
Introduces com!onents of
,E>A robots
English
9. htt!8CC111.science&its.comCrobots/.ht
ml
Introduces com!onents of
robots for beginners
English
3. htt!8CC111.l5&amm.comCrobots.htm ontains article about
robots
English
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Technological Studies Introduction to Robotics
E1ercise
/. )hat are the three basic dri2ing modes in the dynamic system of industrial robotsD
9. )hat &ind of tools can be installed at the end of a robotic armD
3. )hat is the use of the actuator in a robotD
4. )hat are the uses of the touch sensors in robotsD
$. )hat are the si3 basic elements of industrial robotsD
(. )rite do1n the definition of a robot by the #merican Robots #ssociation.
*. )hat is the degree of freedom of a robotic armD
-. ,ist those merits and limitations associated 1ith the use of !neumatic system in dri2ing robots.
.. )hat are the t1o main o!erational modes of industrial robotsD ?riefly describe t1o o!erational
modes.
/:.
(i) )hat are the 1elding !rocedures that a 1elding robot can doD
(ii) E3!lain and describe the 1or&ing !rinci!les of a s!ot 1elding robot.
(iii) In 1hat industrial field is a s!ot 1elding robot 1idely usedD om!are the merits of s!ot
1elding by robot and manual 1elding.
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