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Design and fabrication of pick and place robotic arm

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 2nd National Conference on Recent Trends in Mechanical Engineering, GIST, Nellore.

Design and fabrication of pick and place

robotic arm
Dr.T. Sunil kumar, K.sarath, Sd.Famil, A.V.S.Bhagyesh and Sk.Althaf

Dept of Mechanical Engineering, Geethanjali Institute of Science and Technology,

Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Abstract
This paper discusses the design and fabrication of a pick and place robotic arm. The
robotic arm is intended for educational purposes. In this project we are designing the
robotic arm for improved accuracy by using servos to power the joints in the robotic
arm. We are designing the robotic arm using CATIA software. In this project we are
going to fabricate robotic arm which performs the pick and place operation. The project
covers the procedure for selection of the servos used to power each joint of the arm in
details. We are selecting Aluminum to fabricate the components of the robotic arm. The
torque exerting at each of the joints is going to calculate in this project and a servo with
the required torque rating is being selected for each joint. Selecting a suitable servo
controller and control software for the Robotic arm is developing using Microsoft’s C++
programming language.
Key Words: Robotic arm, servo motors, gripper joint, aluminum frames

Introduction
The first usage of the word ‘robot’ was in a 1921 Czech science fiction play – ‘Rossum’s
Universal Robots’ – by Karel Capek. The robots were artificial people or androids and
the word was derived from the word ‘Robata’, a Czech word for slave. A question of
perpetual interest is to define a robot. Since the beginning of the study of robotics, there
has been some controversy in the definition of a robot. So long as the evolution of
robotics continues, the definition of the robot will change from time to time, depending
on the technological advances in its sensory capability and level of intelligence.
However, the most widely accepted definition of a robot was given by the Robotic
Institute of America (RIA) in 1979.
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Robotic manipulators resembling the human arm is known as robotic arms. They are
constructed by a structure consisting of structurally robust links coupled by either
rotational joints or translating joints. A robotic arm is thus a type of mechanically
coupled or joined arm, run by programmable commands, with similar functions to a
human arm. It may be the sum total of the mechanism links or may be part of a more
complex sized robot. A typical robotic arm has the following components:
• Links and joints
• Actuators
• Controller
• End-effector
A link is considered as a rigid body that defines the relationship between two
corresponding joint axes of a manipulator. Manipulators consist of rigid links, which are
connected by joints that allow relative motion of corresponding links. The links move
to position with the end-effector. Actuators perform the same role the muscles perform
in the human arm – they convert stored energy into movement energy. Actuators are
used force to move a robot’s manipulator joints. The three common types of actuators
currently using in contemporary robots are pneumatic, hydraulic, and electrical
actuators.
Electric motor-driven actuators perform smoother movements, can be controlled very
accurately, and are very reliable. However, these actuators cannot deliver as much power
as hydraulic actuators of comparable mass. Nevertheless, for modest power actuator
functions, electrical actuators are often preferred. The various types of electric motors
used as actuators for robotic applications are direct current (DC) motors, stepper motors
and servo motors. The controller is the main part that processes information and carries
out instructions in a robot. It is the robot’s ‘brain’ and controls the robot’s movements.
It is usually a computer of some type which is used to keep information about the robot
and the working process and execute programs which operate the robot. It contains
programs, data algorithms, logic analysis and various other processing activities which
enable the robot to perform its intended function.
End-effector is a device at the end of a robotic arm, designed to interact with the open
world. The exact nature of performance of this device depends on the application of the
robot. Typical functions of the end-effector consist grasping, pushing and pulling,
twisting, using tools, performing insertions, welding and various types of assembly
activities. Thus, the major types of robot end-effectors are:
Grippers: Grippers are the most commonly used type of end-effectors. They can use
different gripping methods (such as vacuum or use of fingers).
Material removal tools: These include cutting, drilling and deburring tools installed
as robot tools.

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 2nd National Conference on Recent Trends in Mechanical Engineering, GIST, Nellore.

Welding torches: Welding is a widely using operation in robotic application. Welding

torches have become very efficient end-effectors that can be controlled in a sophisticated
way for optimized welding.
Tool changers: Tool changers are used when many different end effectors need to be
used in sequence by one robot. They are used to standardize the interface between the
robot flange and the base of the tool. They can be manual or automatic

Application of Robotic Arm

The aim of the present work is to design and fabricating a robotic arm that can be used
for demonstrating and educational purposes. It will be used to pick and place things
which are having special properties or handle with care objects.

Methodology
This work covers material selection, design, programming and fabrication of a basic
robotic arm system. It also covers the implementation of the kinematics of the arm but
does not consider the details of the derivation of the kinematic equations
• select a suitable material for the fabrication of a 2-DoF robotic arm;
• Obtain suitable design parameters for the robotic arm;
• Create a 3-d model of a robotic arm based on the design parameters;
• Fabricate the robotic arm
• Calculate the torque required
• Calculate the power required.
The availability of a robotic arm that can be used for demonstrating and educational
purposes in the Department of Mechanical Engineering will go a broad way in
stimulating the interest of students in robotics. It will provide a tool to use for learning
and experimenting with robotics. Students with a flair for programming can reprogram
the robot to adapt it to different tasks. In this chapter covers the detailed design and
method of construction of the robotic arm and its controller.

Choice of Material
The following material properties were put into consideration during the material
selection process: strength, lightness, availability and Ease of cutting. The material
should possess sufficient strength so as to ensure that each link of the arm is able to bear
the load imposed on it by motors, other attached links and the payload. Lightness of the
material minimizes the torque requirement of the robotic actuators, thereby minimizing
cost. The material also had to be readily available and easy to cut because the fabrication
of some parts of a robotic arm involved the cutting of intricate shapes.
Aluminum thick 5mm plates are satisfying all the above criteria and was thus selected
for the project. It can be easily cut with readily available hand tools such as a cutting
and hand drilling machines. In addition to this, it offers outstanding strength and
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 2nd National Conference on Recent Trends in Mechanical Engineering, GIST, Nellore.

stiffness (Aluminum B209M) which made it suitable for the project.It is also cheap and
readily available. With density of 2.7 g/cm 3, its lightness is a key advantage for any
demonstrative or educational robotics project, because it minimizing the torque
requirement of the robot actuators.

Robotic Arm Structure

As earlier stated in the introductory chapter of this report, the robotic arm has degrees
of freedom with the inclusion of the gripper. A CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) model
of a robotic arm structure was designed and rendered using Autodesk’s AutoCAD® and
CATIA software. The CAD model is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.
Figure 2 represents the circuit channel of the project used in the robotic arm

Figure 2. Block diagram of Receiver Part

Figure 3. Block diagram of Transmitter Part

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 2nd National Conference on Recent Trends in Mechanical Engineering, GIST, Nellore.

Kinematic Analysis
Kinematics is the branch of mechanics that studies the system of bodies without giving
consideration to its mass or motion of a body or the forces acting on it. The kinematics
of the robotic arm can be studied by two categories:
• Forward kinematics
• Inverse kinematics

Forward Kinematics
The goal of the kinematic analysis of a robotic arm is to develop equations that can be
used to determine the position of the end-effector given any set of joint values. The
equations developed relate the end-effector position to the joint variables of the robotic
arm. Forward kinematics refers to the use of the kinematic equations of the robotic arm
to compute the position of the end-effector from specified values for the joint
parameters.

Inverse Kinematics
A method of determining the pose of the end-effector of the robotic arm, given the joint
coordinates has been discussed. “A problem of real practical need is the inverse
problem: given the desired position of the end-effector, what are the required joint
coordinates? For example, if we know the Cartesian pose of an object, what joint
coordinates does the robot need in order to reach it.

Determination of Torque Requirement of Joints

To effect motion of the links of a robotic arm, an actuator is fixed at each joint of the
arm. The actuator applies torque at the joint to overcome the resistance of the link to
motion. Resistance of any link to motion is due to gravity and inertia effects.The effect
of gravity on any link of the robot is to pull and accelerate it towards the center of the
earth due to its own weight, thus exerting a resistive torque on it. Therefore, a portion
of the torque generated by the actuator is needed to overcome this resistive torque (due
to gravity). It was necessary to calculate the value of the gravity- induced resistive torque
acting on each link of the arm so that an actuator with sufficient torque rating could be
selected for each joint.
The resistive torque exerted on a joint due to gravity acting on the robot depends very
strongly on the robot’s pose. Intuitively the torque on the shoulder joint is much greater
when the arm is stretched out horizontally. Thus, in order to calculate the torque required
at each joint, the worst possibility case (arm completely stretched out) was chosen. The
arm is subjected to the highest torque when the arm is stretched horizontally.
We know that, torque is a turning or twisting force.
It is calculated using relation T=FxL … (1)
But, F=MxG
Where, m= mass
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 2nd National Conference on Recent Trends in Mechanical Engineering, GIST, Nellore.

g=acceleration due to gravity (g=9.81 m/sec 2)

From the relation (1); if length increases torque increases, if length is zero torque is also
zero. The distance between point A and F is L1” when it is kept horizontal the torque is
maximum. If we consider the weight of the link then torque is,
𝟏
T= (mg)*L + (L) (W)
𝟐

Determination of Torque for arm having two joints

Figure 4.

Where, A1 = weight of gripper + load + actuator

A2 = weight of the actuator (2)
W1 = self-weight of the link (1) at the center
W2 = Self weight of line (2) at the center of link
L1 = distance between A1 andjoint2
L2 = distance between A2 and j2
L3 = distance between w1 and j2
L4 = distance between w2 and j2
Torque at joint (1)
Torque (static) = Force * perpendicular distance
𝟏
Ts = A1 (L5) + W1x L5------- (1)
𝟐
But for the arm to move from rest position an acceleration is required
T(dynamic) = I * α
(𝑚𝑟)2 𝝎
= x ( ) ----- (2)
2 𝑻
Where, I = moment of inertia
(𝑚𝑟)2
=
2
(𝝎(desired))
α = angular acceleration =
(T (desired))
(𝑚𝑟)2
𝝎=
2
Total Torque at joint 1,
T1 = T1(s) + T1 (d) ----- (3)
2𝜋𝑁𝑇
Power, P = (watts)
60
Torque at joint (2)
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 2nd National Conference on Recent Trends in Mechanical Engineering, GIST, Nellore.

Torque at static= A1 L1 + w1 L3 + A2 L2 + W2
𝟏 𝟏
= AL1 + W1 ( L5 + L2) + A2L2 + ( ) W2 L …(4)
𝟐 𝟐
𝝎
T2 = (𝑚𝑟)2 ( )
𝑇
Total torque at joint (2)
T2 = T2 (s) + T2 (d) ----- (5)

Fabrication of Robotic Arm

Figure 5. Line diagram of robotic arm designed in CATIA

Figure 6 Fabricated parts of the robotic arm designed

Figure 7. Connections of the robotic arm

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 2nd National Conference on Recent Trends in Mechanical Engineering, GIST, Nellore.

The above shown picture represents the circuit channel of the project and Arduino Uno
based boards used to command the robotic arm.

Results and Discussion

The torque and power have been calculated with different loads with least load 0.1 Kg.
to maximum load of 0.8 Kg.
At Joint 1
Using the above equations (1), (2), (3) for the static torque, dynamic torque and power
have been calculated for load 0.2 Kg., 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 Kg. at joint (1) and the values are
tabulated below in table (1), a graph (1) is also represents the torque values. Using the
power equation, power required for different loads has been calculated and tabulated in
table (2) and graph is drawn between torque and power in graph (2) for different loads

Table 1. Total torque at joint 1

Figure 8: Torque and load relations at joint 1

Table 2. Power requirement at different loads

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 2nd National Conference on Recent Trends in Mechanical Engineering, GIST, Nellore.

Figure 9. Torque and power relations

It shows that the maximum torque required at joint (1) to lift 0.8 Kg. load is 1.825N.m
The motor selected here is 2N.m. so, it can lift the weight power is 8.6. Here power
supplied is 9 watts.
At Joint 2
Using the above equations (3), (4), for the static torque, dynamic torque and power have
been calculated for load 0.2 Kg., 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 Kg. at joint (2) and the values are
tabulated below in table (3), a graph (3) is also represents the torque values. Using the
power equation, power required for different loads has been calculated and tabulated in
table (4) and graph is drawn between torque and power in graph (4) for different loads
Table 3. Total torque at joint 2

Figure 10. Torque and load relations at joint 2

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 2nd National Conference on Recent Trends in Mechanical Engineering, GIST, Nellore.

Table 4: Power requirement at different loads

Figure 11. Torque and power relations

From the above calculations and tables and graphs it is clear that the torque required at
joint (2) is 5.7N.m. We must choose the motor having torque more than 5.7N.m. The
motor selected in this project at joint (2) is 7 Nm. torque. It is the selected 7 Nm. because
at the base the torque required will be more so, here a motor of 7 Nm. is selected at joint
(2). Power required is 17-71 watts and the supplied power is 20 watts.

Conclusion
Designing and fabricating of the robotic arm has been successfully completed. The line
diagram of robotic arm is drawn in CATIA. The design for the manipulator has been
recognized. The torque exerting at each of the joints is calculated for different loads.
The power is estimated based on the torque. The servo is selected for each joint based
on torque requirement. Selecting a suitable servo controller and control software for the
Robotic arm is developing using Microsoft’s C++ programming language. The
experiments are conducted on the pick and place robot and the results obtained were
very satisfactory. Motors with higher torque ratings can used to power the joints so as
to ensure that the robotic arm remains in position even when electric current is not
supplied to the motors. Object detection and collision avoidance can implement by
adding proximity sensors to the robotic arm.

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 2nd National Conference on Recent Trends in Mechanical Engineering, GIST, Nellore.

References
1. Adebola, S. O. (2012). ‘Design of an improvised robot arm system’. BSc. Thesis,
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Craig, J. J. (2005). Introduction to Robotics-
Mechanics and Control (3rd ed.). (M. J. Horton, Ed.) Upper Saddle River, USA:
Pearson Prentice Hall.
2. Denavit, J., & Hartenberg, R. S. (1955). Kinematic notation for lower-pair
mechanisms based on matrices. Journal of applied mechanics, 23, 215-221.
3. FANUC. (2013). FANUC’s History. FANUC: http://www.fanuc.co.jp/en/profile/
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4. Honda Robotics. (2013). Honda Robotics: http:// asimo.honda.com/Inside-ASIMO/
Accessed July 13, 2013.
5. Images SI Inc. (2013). Servobotics Robotic Arm Model RA-02. Images Scientific
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6. Imagesco.com. (2013). SMC-05 Servo Motor Motion Controller. Images Scientific
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2013.
7. Patil, C., Sachan, S., Singh, R. K., Ranjan, K., & Kumar, V. (2009). Self and Mutual
learning in Robotic Arm, based on Cognitive systems. West Bengal: Indian Institute
of Technology Kharagpur

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