ROBOTICS/ HITECH

UNIT II - ROBOT DRIVE SYSTEMS AND END

EFFECTORS
Pneumatic Drives-Hydraulic Drives-Mechanical
Drives-Electrical Drives-D.C. Servo Motors,
Stepper Motors, A.C. Servo Motors-Salient
Features, Applications and Comparison of all
these Drives, End Effectors-Grippers-Mechanical
Grippers, Pneumatic and Hydraulic- Grippers,
Magnetic Grippers, Vacuum Grippers; Two
Fingered and Three Fingered Grippers; Internal
Grippers and External Grippers; Selection and
Design Considerations.
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ROBOT DRIVE SYSTEMS AND END EFFECTORS

The actions of the individual joints

must be controlled in order for the
manipulator to perform a desired motion.
The robot’s capacity to move its body, Arm,
and Wrist is provided by the drive system
used to power the robot.
The joints are moved by actuators
powered by a particular form of drive
system.
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TYPES OF DRIVE

Common drive systems used in

robotics are
• Electric drive (or) actuators
• Hydraulic actuators
• Pneumatic actuators

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Considerations while choosing the Drive
system for Robots

• Accuracy
• Repeatability
• Degree of freedom
• Mobility
• Gravitational and acceleration force
• Backlash, friction and thermal effects
• Co-ordinate systems.
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ACTUATORS
• A Motor together with the transmission and
other accessories if any is referred to as
actuator.
• Actuators are the device used for converting
hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical energy
into mechanical energy. The mechanical
energy used to get the work done.

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HYDRAULIC ACTUATORS

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HYDRAULIC ACTUATORS

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HYDRAULIC ACTUATORS
• Hydraulic actuators transforms the hydraulic
energy stored in a reservoir into mechanical
energy by means of suitable pumps.
• Hydraulic actuators are also fluid power
devices for industrial robots which utilise
high pressure fluid such as oil to transmit
forces to the point of application desired.
• These devices utilize pressurized fluid to
produce linear motion and force (or) rotary
motion and torque.
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HYDRAULIC ACTUATORS
Types of Hydraulic Actuators
Linear Hydraulic Actuator
• Single acting cylinder
• Double acting cylinder
• Double acting double rod cylinder
Rotary Actuators
• Gear motor
• Vane motor
• Piston motor
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HYDRAULIC ACTUATORS
ADVANTAGES
• It has advantage of generating extremely large
force from very compact actuators.
• It can also provide precise control at low
speeds.
• Robust, Self lubricating.
• High efficiency and high power to size ratio.
• Hydraulic robots are more capable of carrying
greater load, withstanding shock loads.
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HYDRAULIC ACTUATORS
DISADVANTAGES
• The hydraulic system is required for a large
infrastructure is high pressure pump, tank,
distribution lines.
• Leakage can occur causing a loss in
performance.
• High maintenance, Not suitable for clear
environment.
• Noisy operation, Expensive.
• Not energy efficient
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PNEUMATIC ACTUATORS

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PNEUMATIC ACTUATORS

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PNEUMATIC ACTUATORS

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PNEUMATIC ACTUATORS
• Pneumatic actuators utilize pneumatic energy
provided by a compressor and transforms it
into mechanical energy by means of piston.
• Pressurized air is used to transmit and control
power.
• The actuator has three components namely:
1.Cylinder 2.Piston 3.Valve
• The linear actuator converts the potential
energy in the compressed air into mechanical
energy in terms of linear motion. The actuator
consists of a piston and cylinder.
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PNEUMATIC ACTUATORS
ADVANTAGES
• Control is simple.
• When source of compressed air is readily
available, as they often are in engineering
related facilities, pneumatic actuators may be
good choice.
• It is cheapest form of all actuators.
• No mechanical transmission is usually
required.
ROBOTICS/ HITECH
PNEUMATIC ACTUATORS
DISADVANTAGES
• More noise and vibration.
• Since air is compressible, pneumatic cylinders
are not typically used for applications
requiring accurate motion between two well-
defined end points.
• Not suitable for heavy loads.
• If mechanical stops are used, resetting the
system can be slow.
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ELECTRIC ACTUATORS

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ELECTRIC ACTUATORS

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ELECTRIC ACTUATORS
• An actuator obtaining electrical energy from
mechanical system is called electric actuator.
• Electric actuators are generally referred to as
being those where an electric motor drives
the robot links through some mechanical
transmission.
• In the early years of industrial robotics,
hydraulic robots were the most common, but
recent improvements in electric motor design
have meant that most new robots are of all
electric construction.
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ELECTRIC ACTUATORS
• The first commercial electrically driven
industrial robot was introduction in 1974 by
ABB.
• In the electric system, a servo power amplifier
is also needed to provide a complete
actuation system.

ELECTRIC ACTUATORS
(1) DC motor (2) AC motor (3) Stepper motor
(4) Servo motor
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ELECTRIC ACTUATORS
ADVANTAGES
• Widespread availability of power supply.
• High power convention efficiency.
• Very light drive system than fluid powered.
• No pollution of working environment.
• Relatively quiet and clean, Easy maintenance.
• Well suited for electronic control.

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ELECTRIC ACTUATORS
DISADVANTAGES
• A larger and heavier motor must be used
which is costly.
• Poor dynamic response.
• Compliance and wear problems are causing
inaccuracies.
• Conventional gear driven create backlash.

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DIFFERENT KINDS OF MOTOR
• ELECTRICAL ACTUATORS COMPRISE THE
FOLLOWING DRIVE SYSTEM

–AC Motor
–DC Motor
–Stepper Motor
–Servo Motor

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AC Motor
• An AC motor is an electric motor driven by
an alternating current (AC). The AC motor
commonly consists of two basic parts, an
outside stator having coils supplied with
alternating current to produce a rotating
magnetic field, and an inside rotor attached to
the output shaft producing a second rotating
magnetic field.

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AC Motor

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DC Motor

• As the name suggests, a motor which uses a

DC(Direct Current) power.
• Can run in both directions, Speed controllable.
• DC motors are high-speed, low torque devices.
• Using gears, the high speed of the motor is
traded off into torque.

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DC Motor

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ROBOTICS/ HITECH
Stepper Motor
• A Stepper motor is a device which transforms
electrical pulses into equal increments of
rotary shaft motion called steps.

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Stepper Motor

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Stepper Motor
Principle
• The shaft or spindle of a stepper motor
rotates indiscrete step increments when
electrical command pulses are applied to it in
the proper sequence.
• The motors rotation has several direct
relationships to these applied input pulses.
The sequence of the applied pulses is directly
related to the direction of motor shafts
rotation.
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Stepper Motor

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Stepper Motor
• Types of Stepper motor
–Variable reluctance
–Permanent magnet
–Hybrid

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Variable reluctance

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Permanent magnet

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Hybrid

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Stepper Motor Working

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ROBOTICS/ HITECH
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Stepper Motor
ADVANTAGES
• The rotation angle of the motor is proportional to the
input pulse.
• The motor has full torque at standstill.
• Precise positioning and repeatability of movement
since good stepper motors have an accuracy of (3-5)%
• Excellent response to starting, stopping and reversing.
• The motor response to digital input pulses provides
open-loop control, making the motor simpler and less
costly to control.
• No contact brushes in the motor, A wide range of
rotational speeds can be achieved.
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Stepper Motor
DISADVANTAGES

• Resonances can occur if not properly controlled.

• Not easy to operate at extremely high speeds.
• Torque decreases with increasing in the stepping
frequency

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SERVOMOTORS

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SERVOMOTORS
• The motors used in automatic control system
are called servomotors.
• The servomotors are used to convert an
electrical signal(Control voltage) applied to
them into an angular displacement of the
shaft.
• Servomotor is used within position control
(or) speed control and feedback control
system.
• An electrostatic motor is based on the
attraction and repulsion of electrical charge.
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SERVOMOTORS
• Depending on the supply used, servomotors
are classified as:
• AC Servomotors
• DC Servomotors

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AC Servomotors
• An AC servomotor is basically a two phase
induction motor except for certain special
design features. It differs from the induction
motor as follows.

– The rotor of the servomotor is built with high

resistance. So that its X/R ratio is small this results
in linear speed characteristics unlike in induction
motors.

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AC Servomotors
– The excitation voltage applied to two stator
windings should have a phase difference of 90°
– Reference winding Constant AC supply
– Control winding Control voltage from servo
amplifier

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AC Servomotors
ROTOR
–Rotor construction can be of two
types.
• Squirrel cage Rotor
• Drag Cap Rotor

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AC Servomotors

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DC Servomotors
• Classification:

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COMPARISON
AC SERVOMOTOR DC SERVOMOTOR
1. Lesser power output than 1. Relatively higher power
DC. output than a AC
servomotor of same size.
2. Characteristic are non- 2. Characteristic are linear.
linear.
3. The response is relatively 3. Fast response due to low
slower than DC electrical and mechanical
servomotors due to higher time constant.
values of time constants.
4. Suitable for low power 4. Suitable for large power
application. application.

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COMPARISON
S.No. Details Stepper motor Servo motor
1. Drive Simple, The user can fabricate Since the design is very
circuit complicated, it is not possible
to fabricate own driving circuit.
2. Noise and Significant Very little
Vibration
3. Speed Slow(1000-2000 rpm Faster (3000-5000 rpm
Maximum) Maximum)
4. Out –of Possible (Will not run if too Not possible(Will rotate even if
step heavy a load is applied) a heavier load is applied)
condition
5. Control Open loop (no encoder) Closed loop(uses an encoder)
method
6. Price of Cheap Expensive
motor and
driver
7. Resolution 2-Phase PM -7.5 degree Depends on the encoders
(Single-step 2-Phase HB - 1.8 degree resolution (0.36-0.036 degree)
angle) 5-Phase HB - 0.72 degree
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COMPARISON

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ROBOTICS/ HITECH
MECHANICAL DRIVE
• DRIVE MECHANISM
When various driving methods like hydraulic,
pneumatic, electrical servomotors and stepper
motors are used in robots, it is necessary to get the
motion in linear or rotary motion.
When motor are used, rotary motion is converted to
linear motion through rack and pinion gearing, lead
screws, whom gearing or ball screws.
• GEARS
– A mechanical part which used to transmit or
receive force or motion.
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GEARS
• Types
– SPUR GEAR
– HELICAL GEAR
– STRAIGHT BEVEL GEAR
– SPIRAL BEVEL GEAR
– WORM
– WORM WHEEL
– INTERNAL GEAR

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SPUR GEAR

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HELICAL GEAR

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STRAIGHT BEVEL GEAR &
SPIRAL BEVEL GEAR

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WORM & WORM WHEEL

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HARMONIC DRIVE

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HARMONIC DRIVE

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HARMONIC DRIVE
• Harmonic drive consists of three parts
– Elliptical wave generator
– Flex spline with external teeth
– Rigid circular spline with internal teeth
• When the input shaft is rotated a full 360
degrees clockwise, the flex spline will have
turned about two teeth counter clockwise.
This is because the circular spline, with its
larger circumference, has two more teeth than
the flex spline.
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 END EFFECTOR or
End-of-Arm Tooling
(EOAT)

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 END EFFECTOR
 End effector is a device that is attached to end of the wrist arm to perform
specific task. They are designed and used to act as robot wrists that interact
with the environment.
 The end effector is the ‘hand’ connected to the robots arm. It is often
different from a human hand. It could be a tool such as a gripper, vacuum
pump, blowtorch just about anything that helps it do its job.
 Some robots can change end effectors and be reprogrammed for a different
set of task.
 The end effector is attached to the wrist of the robot arm for the purpose of
loading, unloading, transporting parts or performing and operation on a
work piece
 If the robot has more than one
arm, there can be more than one
end-effector on the same robot,
each suited for a specific task.

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Consideration of End Effector Design
• An end effector of a robot can be designed to
have several fingers, joints and degree of
freedom.
• The General end effectors can be grouped
according to the type of grasping modality as
follows:
– Change in size of part(shape, weight) between
operations.
– Surface of part.
– Inherent size variation in parts.
– How part should be grasped.
– Scratching or distortion of part for fragile materials.
– Grasping force and gripper.
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 GRIPPERS
• Grippers are end effector used to grasp and
manipulate objects during the work cycle.
• The objects are moved from one location to
another in the cell.
• Machine loading and unloading applications fall
into this category.
GRIPPERS CLASSIFICATION
Grippers

Mechanical Magnetic Vacuum

grippers grippers grippers

Pneumatic Electro- Vacuum

magnet pump

Hydraulic Venturi jet

Permanent
magnet
Electric

Electro-
magnetic

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TYPES OF GRIPPERS
1. Mechanical finger grippers
2. Collet grippers
3. Vacuum grippers
4. Fragile – object gripper
5. Electromechanical gripper
6. Support grippers
7. Expandable grippers
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Mechanical Finger Grippers

• Mechanical Finger Grippers

–Single gripper
–Dual gripper
• Multiple gripper

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Mechanical Finger Grippers
• A mechanical gripper is an end effector that
uses mechanical finger actuated by
mechanism to grasp an object.
• Mechanical grippers are used to transfer parts
from one location to another or to assemble
parts.
• Most common, can be angular or parallel.

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Mechanical Finger Grippers

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Mechanical Finger Grippers
Workpiece

Interchangeable
fingers

Gripper

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Mechanical Finger Grippers
• Mechanical grippers, actuated by pneumatic/
hydraulic/ solenoid/ motor are designed
based on strength consideration and is made
as light as possible. Otherwise it will have
heavy loading on other drive equipments.
• The grippers can be sub grouped according to
finger classification, for example, the number
of figures typically two, three, and five finger
types.
• The two finger gripper is the most popular.
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Finger Grippers
• SINGLE GRIPPER
The robot must reach into the production machine
twice, once to upload the finished part from the
machine, and the second time to load the next part
into the machine.
• DUAL GRIPPER
When the machine finishes, the robot reaches into
the machine once to remove the finished part and
load the next part. This reduces the cycle time per
part.

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DUAL GRIPPER

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Mechanical Gripper with Two Finger
• Pivoting
– This is the most popular mechanical gripper for
industrial robots. It can be designed for limited
shapes of an object, especially cylindrical
workpiece.
– The device contains a pair of slider-crank
mechanisms.
– These rotations make the grasping action at the
extended end of the crank elements

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Pivoting

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Mechanical Gripper with Two Finger
• Swinging Gripper Mechanisms
– Swinging gripper that uses the piston-cylinder.
This is the swing-block mechanism.
– The sliding rod 1, actuated by the pneumatic
piston transmits motion by way of the two
symmetrically arranged swing-block linkages 1-2-
3-4 and 1-2-3’-4’ to grasp or release the object by
means of the subsequent swinging motions of
links 4 and 4’ at their pivots F1 and F2.

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Swinging Gripper Mechanisms

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Mechanical Grippers with Three Fingers
• 3-Finger grippers consists of simulate action of
thumb, index finger and third finger.
• The increase of the number of fingers and
degrees of freedom will greatly aid the
versatility of grippers.
• The main reason for using the three- finger
gripper is its capability of grasping the object
in three spots, enabling size keeping the
centre of the object at a specified position.

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Mechanical Grippers with Three Fingers

Three point chuck mechanisms are typically used

for this purpose.
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Finger Grippers

• Four-Finger Grippers: Grasp square and

rectangular parts easily.
• Multiple Fingered Grippers: Enables effective
simultaneous executions of more than two
different jobs.
– A Multiple-gripper system is one that has a single
robot arm but two or more grippers or end-of-arm
tools which can be used interchangeably on the
manufacturing process in the cell.

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EXPANDABLE GRIPPERS
• Expandable grippers are two types:
– Interior grasping
– Exterior grasping
• Evenly distributed pressure surface.

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EXPANDABLE GRIPPERS
Internal Gripper:
• In some applications, the object geometry or the
need to access the exterior of the object will require
that the object is hold from the center. In this case
the opening force of the gripper will be holding the
object.
• The gripping pads are pressed against the inside
walls of the parts.

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EXPANDABLE GRIPPERS
External Gripper:
• This is the most popular method of holding objects,
it is the most simplistic. When the gripper jaws close,
the closing force of the gripper holds that object.
• The gripping pads are pressed against the outer side
of the parts. The pads are made of polyurethane
bonded to steel.

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THE VACUUM GRIPPER
• The vacuum gripper has two components:
• The Vacuum gripper cups
• The Vacuum system

• The vacuum cups consist of a flexible-rubber

cup and a hard-rubber cup.
• Cups are made of elastic material and round in
shape
• The cup creates negative pressure, which in
turn, create the vacuum and the necessary
lifting power.
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THE VACUUM GRIPPER
• The vacuum is created between cup and the
object.
• Number of grippers(Cups) determines the size
and weight of object to be grasped.
• Vacuum gripper is used for handling of fragile
parts, the objects are too thin to be handled with
this gripper.
• The lifting capacity of suction pump depends
upon the effective area of the cup and negative
air pressure(Vacuum) between the cups and the
object.
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THE VACUUM GRIPPER

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THE VACUUM GRIPPER

Gripping force = (Pa – P) A

Pa = Atmospheric pressure
P= Vacuum pressure (absolute)
A= Area of cup producing vacuum

Vacuum grippers can be used very effectively for non-

magnetic materials. But basically the surface should
be flat, So that vacuum will be retained.
ROBOTICS/ HITECH
TWO DIFFERENT DEVICES ARE USED IN THE
SUCTION CUPS FOR CREATING THE VACUUM.
They are:
• Venturi
• Vacuum pump
 Venturi device is operated with the help of shop air
pressure, while the vacuum pump is driven either by
means of vane or piston device.
 The vacuum pump has the ability to create the high
vacuum. As the venturi is a simple device, it is more
reliable and inexpensive.
 Both these devices are very well capable of
providing high vacuum if there is a sufficient supply of
air pressure.
MAGNETIC GRIPPERS
• Magnetic grippers are most commonly used in a
robot as an end effector for grasping the ferrous
materials.
Types of magnetic grippers:
• The magnetic grippers can be classified into two
common types, namely:
• Electromagnets
• Permanent magnets
 ELECTRO MAGNETS
• Electromagnetic grippers include a controller unit and
a DC power for handling the materials.
• This type of grippers is easy to control, and very
effective in releasing the part at the end of the
operation than the permanent magnets.
• If the work part gripped is to be released, the polarity
level is minimized by the controller unit before the
electromagnet is turned off.
• This process will certainly help in removing the
magnetism on the work parts.
• As a result, a best way of releasing the materials is
possible in this gripper.
ELECTRO MAGNETS
ELECTRO MAGNETS

STEEL PLATE

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PERMANENT MAGNETS
• The permanent magnets do not require any sort of
external power as like the electromagnets for
handling the materials.
• After this gripper grasps a work part, an additional
device called as stripper push–off pin will be required
to separate the work part from the magnet.
• This device is incorporated at the sides of the gripper.
• The advantage of this permanent magnet gripper is
that it can be used in hazardous applications like
explosion-proof apparatus because of no electrical
circuit.
• Moreover, there is no possibility of spark production
as well.
PERMANENT MAGNETS

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PNEUMATIC GRIPPER
• A pneumatic gripper is a specific type of pneumatic actuator that
typically involves either parallel or angular motion of surfaces.
• When combined with other pneumatic, electric, or hydraulic
components, the gripper can be used as part of a "pick and place"
system that will allow a component to be picked up and placed
Some where else as part of a manufacturing system.
• Some grippers act directly on the object they are gripping based
on the force of the air pressure supplied to the gripper, while
others will use a mechanism such as a gear or toggle to leverage
the amount of force applied to the object being gripped.
• Grippers can also vary in terms of the opening size, the amount of
force that can be applied, and the shape of the gripping
surfaces—frequently called "tooling jaws or fingers".
HYDRAULIC GRIPPERS
• Hydraulic grippers are most often used in conjunction with a
piece of equipment that only has a hydraulic power source for
actuators.
• Most hydraulic grippers are designed for a hydraulic system
where the cylinder diameter is made with less surface area,
meaning that a hydraulic gripper would have the same force at
60 bar as a pneumatic gripper of the same size at 6 bar.
SELECTION OF GRIPPER
• Gripping Force
• Weight
• Supply of Services
• Environmental capabilities
• Sensor capabilities
• Size of component

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Factors in the selection and design of grippers
Factor
Part to be handled
Actuation method
Power and signal transmission
Gripper Force (Mechanical gripper)
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Consideration
-Weight and size Shape
-Changes in shape during processing
-Tolerances on the part size
-Surface condition, protection of delicate
surface.
-Mechanical grasping
-Vacuum cup
-Magnet
-Others (Adhesives).
-Mechanical, Pneumatic, Hydraulic and
Electrical.
-Weight of the object
-Method of holding (Physical construction)
-Coefficient of friction between fingers and
object.
-Speed and acceleration during motion
cycle.
Factors in the selection and design of grippers
Factor
Positioning problems
Service conditions
Operating environment
Temperature protect
Fabrication materials
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Consideration
-Length of fingers
-Inherent accuracy and repeatability of
robot
-Tolerances on the part size
-Number of actuations during lifetime of
gripper
-Replace ability of wear components
Maintenance and serviceability
-Heat and Temperature.
-Humidity, moisture, dirt, chemicals.
-Heat shields
-Long fingers
-Forced cooling
-Use of heat-resistant materials
-Stength, Rigidity, Durability
Fatique strength
Cost and ease of fabrication