[COMPANY NAME]

[Company address]

EXOSKELETON FRAME
WITH OMNI-WHEEL
SKATES
Production Techniques-II

Jeet Desai 2013A4TS127P

Shashwat Chopra 2013A4PS334P
Shriram Ashirgade 2013A4PS257P
Arpan Jaiswal 2013A4PS035P
Akshay Chandran 2013A4PS337P
Siddhant Agarwal 2013A4PS271P
YashTalwekar 2013A4PS143P
Amish Nevatia 2013A4PS296P

Acknowledgment
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Dr. Tufan Chandra Bera
who provided us the opportunity to undertake this project as a part of the
course Production techniques II. We express our sincere gratitude to H
Manikandan Sir, whose suggestions and encouragement helped us to
complete our project.
Furthermore, I would also like to acknowledge with much appreciation the
crucial role of the workshop staff for their continuous guidance in machining
and in using other tools and equipment.

Abstract
This report presents the details of the process of making an exoskeleton
frame with omni-directional wheel skates. The exoskeleton is designed to be
used for carrying heavy loads and the omni-directional wheel skates enables
it to move freely. The structure is made up of aluminium sheets and
aluminum E channels and uses office chair wheels to give free motion to the
structure. This structure could find a large variety of applications in places
like construction fields. The Exoskeleton enhances the human ability to carry
load through a properly designed structure which directly transfers the
weight to the ground.

Contents
Title
Page No.
1. Construction4
2. Difficulties in implementation...8
3. Functionalities9
4. Application and Further improvements..10
5. Conclusion.11

CONSTRUCTION
The exoskeleton part was made of aluminum because of its strength and low
density. The project was divided into two parts, i.e. horizontal and vertical
frames (cut from aluminum sheets) and aluminum sections (used to connect
the frames). Following was the sequence of implementing the exoskeleton.
A human body has three joints along the vertical on each side of the body
from the waist to toe. These are two ball joints and one hinge joint. For
simplicity, two hinge joints (hip joint and knee joint) were made in the
exoskeleton considering the relatively low functionality of the ankle joint.
1. Making the CAD model
Firstly, CAD model of Jeets body (from waist till toes) was made in
Solidworks 2015 as shown in figure1.1. The measurements of the body
were taken using a flexible wire which were used as reference for
making the contours of the body.

Fig 1.1
After making the CAD model of body, the CAD model for the aluminum
frame was made ensuring safe distance (5mm) from body as shown in
figure 1.2. The entire process of making the CAD took 15 days. The
CAD was later converted to PDFs whose printouts were used as
reference to cut the aluminum frame.

Fig 1.2
2. Cutting frames
The purpose of the frame was structural integrity and not load bearing
(except for the pin joints). Aluminum sheet of 3mm thickness was
chosen. It was cut using the printouts on DO-ALL cutting machine for
manufacturing the frames.
3. Section selection
E-Section was found to be the most suitable section for the connecting
the frames as it has high section modulus about both of their principal
axes and relatively less weight. The section was analyzed on
Solidworks Simulation. As shown in figure 1.3, the E-Section could
withstand a bending moment of 50 N-m. If 2 sections were used at a
time, 100 N-m would be the design bending moment with a factor of
safety of 2. That was equivalent to applying 500N or approximately 50
kgs of load on the frame near the waist.
Other sections do not have such high section modulus about both of
their principal axes. Vertical strips instead of sections can be deformed
easily due to low section modulus. Such E-Sections are readily
available and are used in window panes.

Fig 1.3
4. Welding
The frame and the channel were welded using Arc-welding. Aluminum
electrodes were used. Due to high flow ability of aluminum in Arcwelding, the welding was prone to hole formation and thickness
changes. It was difficult to weld the frame and the section at the exact
location.
5. Pin-joints
The pin-joint of the knees has to be precisely located so as to ensure
that the frame moves according the leg motion. Locating it is very
difficult and has to be done iteratively. The hip joint is a ball joint.
Implementing a ball-joint was difficult and not pretty useful. Hence, a
pin joint was again used. The frames are placed on the leg. The leg is
moved, and the pins are iterated for a location. Once the location is
fixed, they are welded on the frames.
6. Attachment of Skates
2 office-chair wheels are attached on each leg frame. The part on
which the feet sits is in the form of 2 aluminum plates. 1 st plate that is
just below the foot is bent in the shape of the feet. The 2 nd is horizontal
so that the alignment of the front and rear wheels is the same. The 2
plates are connected by 2 holes, through which bolts are passed and
connected to each of the office-chair wheels.
The implemented model is shown in figure 1.4.

Fig 1.4

Difficulties in implementation
Initially, the skates were to be made from cork-balls. The omni-directional
character was supposed to be implemented by cutting one ball into 2 halves
and fitting rods into the two hemispheres. Machining cork balls is very
difficult as it may crack. The balls are elastic to such an extent that they
deform and do not retain their circularity when a human stands on it.
We could not use metallic balls as they are very hard and inelastic. The balls
used in traditional skates are made polymers which were not available in
Pilani. Moreover, it is hard to machine a polymer in the form of a ball.
Therefore, we opted for wheels of an office chair. Two wheels fixed under the
plate for one leg are sufficient for balancing. No channels were used to
restrict the rotation of the wheel about its vertical axis.
Initially in order to use those skates, we need to practice using it. Unlike
traditional skates, using wheels of office chair allow us to change the
direction very easily.

Functionality
The exoskeleton frame can be used in 2 ways with skates, without skates.

Usage with skates:

Loading is done on the frame around the waist. The loads can hooked onto
the holes made in the frame. The most ideal place on the waist side frame
for loading is that on top of the pin joints. That is because the E-Sections can
take up to 50kgs when the loading is done in between the 2 pin-joints but it
can take up to 100kgs since the E-sections would be in compressive loads
rather bending loads.

Usage without skates:

Loading is done similarly. But in this case, the loads should be strictly kept at
the center of the waist-side frame. Since the legs are lifted significantly, the
some of the sections are always under bending load.
When we rotate, our Centre of Gravity ceases to be in the vertical plane. Our
legs are very sensitive to fluctuations in torque and sub-consciously our leg
moves such that the torque is balanced. Hence, we will never fall of due to
weight.

10

Applications and Further Development

This is useful for workers who carry heavy loads, for instance, those at
a construction site, factories, storage houses, etc. (can be used with/
without skates)
Military men can use it for carrying arms and ammunition (usage
without skates).

Following can be implemented as a part of improvement:

Facilitating brakes in the skates. A rubber pad can be attached to the

wheels and a control can be devised such that the toe motion can lead
to braking.
Adjustability of the frames so that men of any dimensions can use it.
The E-sections have to be given holes at equal distance and the frame
(with tabs), instead of welding them onto the channels, be connected
to the sections by bolt-nut.
The excessive rotation of the office-chair wheels can be avoided either
by using extension springs or by restricting channels welded along the
sides of the wheel at a distance from the wheels.

11

Conclusion
The project was successfully completed within the specified period. The
exoskeleton made can be used for carrying loads with ease and can be
controlled after few hours of practice. The model has much scope for utility
in various field. Also the use of some different type of wheels and making
model adaptable to different body sizes shows a scope of improvement in
future.
Whilst working on the project, the team members have gained a lot of
knowledge about the various machining processes and also about the variety
of equipment that need to be used for a given objective. A blend of
theoretical and practical aspects of machining techniques is needed for
manufacturing any component or implementing new designs and the team
has gained an exposure to this phase through this project.