Drive Systems

Industrial robots have similar drive systems to CNC machines. Robots are sometimes used to
move parts into and out of CNC machines and CNC are used to machine the part to shape. The
control is similar because a computer is used to calculate the position of the parts of the machine
and then send a signal to move or control another part.

Increases in computer processing capacity result in faster movements. The speed of movement
is limited by the cutting speed of the material or the velocity the part can withstand without
disintegrating.

Just as the human body needs muscles to provide movement in the various parts of the body, a
robot arm must have a power source to give motion to each degree of freedom.

Robots may use one of the following energy sources exclusively, or in any combination. The
actuators they power can be either revolute or prismatic in nature, (rotary or linear) and the
actuators can be coupled directly or indirectly to the joint, in order to give motion to the links
of the robot arm.

The three energy sources used to power a robot's actuators are:

• Electrical
• Hydraulic
• Pneumatic

Electrical Drives

The most common way to drive robots using electrical energy is via electric motors of the
revolute type. Servo controlled direct current electric motors were used fairly exclusively for
industrial robots until recently. Direct current stepper motors are also available but are rarely
used for an industrial robot. They are used on small educational robots. Servo controlled
alternating current motors are used by some robot manufacturers, who claim that certain
advantages are gained when AC motors are used compared to their DC counterparts. Whether
these claims are in fact valid or not, would require a careful analysis on the part of the person
responsible for purchasing the robot. Such a comparison may be difficult as it is unlikely that
all the other factors of the robot systems being considered are similar; (i.e. the kinematic
structure, robot controller's features and software available).

The advantages and disadvantages of electric drives are as follows:

• Advantages of Electric Drives
o precise and efficient control can be obtained
o the design is simple and are easy to maintain
o electrical energy is a relatively cheap source when compared to other sources
available
o noise levels during operation are low.
 • Disadvantages of Electric Drives
o unable to maintain a constant moment at varying speeds of revolution
o may be damaged by loads heavy enough to stop the motor, unless some form of
overload monitoring is available
o has a low power to weight ratio
o in the past electric drives were limited to use primarily on the smaller types of
robots (small relating to the payload) - however, these limits are steadily
increasing due to improvements in electric motor research.

Hydraulic Drives

When using hydraulic energy the actuators that provide the various robot arm motions are
either hydraulic motors for revolute motion, or hydraulic cylinders for prismatic motion. To
obtain accurate positioning of the robot arm, servo control valves are used. The valves are
activated and monitored by the robot controller.

The advantages and disadvantages of hydraulic drives are as follows:

• Advantages of Hydraulic Drives

o have a high power to weight ratio and therefore cope better with heavy payloads
than other drive systems
o maintain a high constant moment over a wide range of speeds - the moment
remains high even when starting from (zero velocity)
o the precision of positioning is less than that of electric drives, but better than
pneumatic drives
o can maintain a high moment over a long period of time when stopped, (or
stalled) without causing damage to the actuators.

• Disadvantages of Hydraulic Drives

o an expensive energy source is required
o high noise levels created by the energy source although can be overcome at
extra cost for sound proofing and possibly cooling.
o higher down-time due to maintenance requirements
o requires expensive precision valves.
Pneumatic Drives

The actuators used in pneumatic drives are similar in structure to those in hydraulic drives; that
is pneumatic motors for revolute motion, or pneumatic cylinders for prismatic motion. Due to
the compressible nature of the fluid used for pneumatic drives, (Compressed air) accurate
positioning is more readily achieved by physical contact with fixed stops or magnetic reed
switches than by trying to adapt expensive servo valves.

The number of robots that are powered entirely by pneumatic actuators is rather small, due to
an inability to achieve precision control over a continuous area. Also their application is
restricted to moving light payloads only. However, pneumatic actuators are used quite
extensively to provide motion to an end effector on many electrically and hydraulically driven
robots.

The advantages and disadvantages of pneumatic drives are as follows:

• Advantages of Pneumatic Drives

o have a high operating velocity
o costs are relatively small
o easy to maintain
o can maintain a constant moment over a wide range of velocities (though much
less than hydraulic types).
o can maintain a high moment over long periods of time without damage to
actuators when stopped.

• Disadvantages of Pneumatic Drives

o cannot achieve high positional accuracy
o high noise levels created by the energy source
o arm subject to vibrations when motor or cylinder is stopped.

Direct And Indirect Drives

Direct drives are those where the actuators are mounted directly onto the joints they are meant
to move. Indirect drives are those that are transmitted from the actuator through a transmission
device (such as a gearbox or harmonic drive) and may include elements such as pushrods,
chains and sprockets, or gears to provide the motion to the arm.

• Advantages of Direct Drives

o very precise joint movement is possible there is no mechanical freedom or
backlash as in indirect drives
o no loss of input power to overcome the frictional resistances of the transmission
system.
 Advantages of Indirect Drives
o the weight of the arm is reduced by mounting the motors at the base, which
lowers the centre of gravity, making the robot more stable
o more accurate positioning can be achieved, as the motion produced at the output
shaft of the transmission is only a proportion of that provided by the output shaft
of the actuator
o using indirect drives, the end effector will remain at a constant attitude when
shoulder and elbow movements are made, especially on vertically articulated
robots - this feature may save programming time.

With the advances being made in the development of electric motors, one robot manufacturer
will soon release a robot using motors that develop high torque at low speeds for a direct drive
application.