https://doi.org/10.20965/jrm.2014.

p0005

Development of the SCARA

Review:

Development of the SCARA

Hiroshi Makino
Makino Automation Research Institute
1-24-14-703 Koenji-Minami, Suginami, Tokyo 166-0003, Japan
E-mail: makino@comet.ocn.ne.jp
[Received December 18, 2013; accepted January 17, 2014]

The Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm, or

Table 1. Early RHOF inductees.
SCARA, is an industrial robot typical of those widely
used in assembly processes. It was invented by Pro- Year Name Category
fessor Makino of the University of Yamanashi, Japan,
2003 HAL9000 Entertainment
the author of this report, and developed by him in col-
laboration with his colleagues and industrial partners. 2003 R2-D2 Entertainment
The first prototype of the SCARA robot was built in 2003 Sojourner Research
1978. Fundamental studies were done on the charac- 2003 Unimate Industrial & Service
teristics and usability of this prototype and the second 2004 ASIMO Research
one, built in 1980. In 1981, some industrial partners 2004 Astro Boy Entertainment
began to market their own versions of the SCARA. 2004 C-3PO Entertainment
These models were called SCARA-type robots. This
2004 Robby the Robot Entertainment
report recounts mainly the first stage of the develop-
ment of the SCARA. 2004 Shakey Research
2006 AIBO Education & Consumer
2006 David Entertainment
Keywords: assembly robot, SCARA, selective compli- 2006 Gort Entertainment
ance 2006 Maria Entertainment
2006 SCARA Industrial & Service

1. Induction into the Robot Hall of Fame

The Robot Hall of Fame (RHOF) is an American hall
of fame that recognizes notable robots from various scien-
tific fields and from society in general, as well as achieve-
ments in robotic technology. The organization was es-
tablished in 2003 by the School of Computer Science at
Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In
2006, the SCARA was inducted into the RHOF with four
other robots (Table 1). It was the second induction of
an industrial robot, following Unimate, and the third in-
duction of a Japanese robot, following ASIMO and Astro
Boy.
Professor Makino was invited to the induction cere-
mony as the developer of the SCARA. Fig. 1 shows Pro-
fessor Mason, the chief judge, presenting the developer Fig. 1. Professor Mason presents the developer with a
with the memorial plaque. memorial plaque.

2. Selective Compliance
The name SCARA stands for Selective Compliance
Assembly Robot Arm, where “Selective Compliance”
means that the robot’s compliance differs selectively with
its direction [1].
A typical problem in the assembly process is the “peg-
and-hole problem,” illustrated in Fig. 2. The problem in-
volves how to insert a peg into a hole if there is some
amount of misalignment. It is assumed that there exists
chamfer or corner rounding at the corner of the peg or the
hole. Positional servo may be used, but without servo, the
insertion will sometimes be accomplished with the help
of compliance.

Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics Vol.26 No.1, 2014 5

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Makino, H.
(a) Lateral compliance (b) Tilting compliance
Fig. 2. Effects of selective compliance.
STIFF
COMPLIANT
CHAMFER STIFF
COMPLIANT
(a) A Japanese byobu (b) SCARA
Fig. 3. Byobu-like structure.
Compliance is the inverse of stiffness. Stiffness or
spring constant is the value force ÷ displacement, while
compliance is the value displacement ÷ force. If com-
pliance is large, the apparatus moves considerably for
a given force, and it is regarded as soft or flexible. In
Fig. 2(a), owing to lateral compliance, the peg moves in
the x-direction (to the right); then the misalignment of the
peg and the hole is corrected and the insertion process is
completed. However, the peg also has rotational compli-
ance for the torque or moment applied to the peg. If this
compliance is large, the peg tilts as shown in Fig. 2(b).
Then it jams in the hole, and the insertion does not suc-
ceed. Therefore, it may be said that for the assembly pro-
cess to have a good success ratio, the compliance of the
peg holder should differ with the direction:
• large compliance for horizontal force,
• small compliance for vertical force,
• large rotational compliance about the vertical axis,
• small rotational compliance about the horizontal
axes.
This characteristic is termed “selective compliance.”
To realize this characteristic, the SCARA employs a
byobu-like structure, as illustrated in Fig. 3. A byobu is a
foldable screen, a traditional Japanese room divider made
of wood and paper or cloth. It moves very easily hori-
zontally but is stiff vertically. The first two arms of the
6 Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics Vol.26 No.1, 2014
Fig. 4. The first prototype of the SCARA.
SCARA rotate about the vertical axis, and they work just
like the folding parts of a byobu.
Figure 4 is a photo of the first prototype of the SCARA.
3. Development of the SCARA
3.1. Research Consortium
The assembly drawing of the first prototype SCARA
was drawn by Makino himself over the New Year vaca-
tion of 1978. Looking at the drawing, he estimated that
he would need five million yen (Y = 5,000,000) to build the
machine. At that time, the annual research allowance for
a professor was almost one million yen, so he would have
needed to put his entire allowance into building the ma-
chine for five years. He decided that he needed to find a
sponsor, but no companies would invest in a robot, a prod-
uct unheard of at the time, proposed by a young, unknown
professor.
He therefore decided to develop the assembly robot by
organizing a new research group, the “SCARA research
group.” As cost for a company to join the group was one
million yen, the machine could be built if five companies
joined. After a difficult process, five companies did join,
and the consortium started its work in April 1978.
The SCARA research group met every two or three
months. They discussed the experimental research done
with the prototype robots and the future direction of the
development. The consortium continued for three years.
3.2. Mechanical Construction of the Robot
The SCARA basically has four degrees of freedom
(DOF). The configuration of the robot is shown in Fig. 5.
The first axis (the axis nearest to the base) is a rotational
joint about the vertical axis. It consists of a DC servo
motor, an optical encoder, a tacho-generator (on Proto-
type II), and a harmonic-drive reducer. The axis swings a
plate-like arm, and at the top of this arm the second axis
is mounted. The construction of the second arm is much
the same as that of the first one, and it also rotates about

Fig. 5. Configuration and dimensions of SCARA Prototype II.
the vertical axis. The tool axis is mounted to the top of the
second arm. The tool moves straight up and down. At the
initial development stage, a pneumatic cylinder was used
for the thrust motion, but later a ball screw mechanism
replaced it.
The fourth axis is the rotation axis of the tool. This is a
combination of a stepping motor mounted under the first
axis and a one-to-one (no reduction) timing belt drive to
the second shaft and then on to the tool axis. If a change in
the orientation of the tool is not required, then the stepping
motor stops and the orientation is held, even if the first and
the second axes rotate. When it is required to, the stepping
motor rotates.
This 4DOF construction can be summarized as planer
positioning (including planer orientation) plus a single
straight tool motion. Planer positioning is usually done
on the horizontal plane, and the tool motion is vertical. In
the assembly process, such motion is very common, and
it is said that almost 80% of the assembly tasks are ac-
complished by such unidirectional movement. Later, Hi-
tachi and Sony developed the “assemblability” method, in
which unidirectional assembly is best estimated.
3.3. Servo Mechanism
Numerically controlled (NC) machine tools were de-
veloped in the 1950’s. They used digital servo technology,
and many machine elements and control systems were de-
veloped for them. Robots, developed for precise and high-
speed arm motions, are the successors to NC machine tool
technologies.
Digital servo technology was also used for the new
robot, SCARA. The SCARA Prototype I (Fig. 4) was built
in October 1978; in it, a DC printed motor and optical
encoder were used as the primary servo elements. The
machine was used to verify basic characteristics, such as
selective compliance, and the results showed satisfactory.
However, its servo motion had some problems, including
vibration. At the suggestion of the servo motor manu-
facturer, Yaskawa Electric Corp., a new type of DC mo-
tor with tacho-generator feedback was utilized in Proto-
Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics Vol.26 No.1, 2014
Development of the SCARA
Fig. 6. NC2 motion curve.
type II (Fig. 5). The machine was built in May 1980, and
it proved to have good motion characteristics.
3.4. Motion Control
Before robot, high-speed dedicated machines were
used for assembly automation. Usually the machines
were of cam-operated mechanism. The profile of the cam
was designed to produce the ideal motion in the follower.
Many motion curves were developed for high-speed and
smooth motion, where “motion curve” means velocity and
acceleration change in relation to time. It does not mean
the profile curve. To get a good motion, it is necessary to
use a good motion curve.
A cam mechanism is good system to produce a smooth
motion. If a fixed and repeatable motion is needed be-
tween two fixed points, then a cam mechanism may be
the best solution.
But in the case of a robot, a hard cam could not be
used because of its fixed stroke and timing. Robots must
be flexible to be able to move between different points as
needed.
Even so, it is possible for robots to use motion curves
developed for cam mechanisms to move as quickly and
smoothly as a cam mechanism. Such motions may be pro-
duced by programming the software of the digital servo
system. This method is called an electric cam or smart
cam control [2].
Luckily, the micro-processor appeared on the scene
at that time. NEC announced its TK-80 8-bit micro-
computer kit, and this kit was used to control the robot,
its motions in particular. A new motion curve, “NC2,”
was developed. In Fig. 6, displacement (S), velocity (V ),
and acceleration (A) of the curve are shown in relation to
time (T ). The deceleration interval was set to double the
acceleration interval, thus vibration was prevented [3].
7
 Makino, H.
Fig. 7. Sankyo’s SKILAM.
Fig. 8. Audio board assembly at Pioneer.
4. Industrial Application
After three years of research, some members of the
SCARA research group began to develop their own ver-
sions of the SCARA robot [4]. Fig. 7 shows Sankyo Seiki
Seisakusho’s commercial model, the SKILAM.
In autumn 1981, the International Robot Show was held
at the Harumi Exhibition Center in Japan.
At the show, a new industrial robot, the SCARA, was
demonstrated by the five manufacturers.
The first industrial application of the SCARA is shown
in Fig. 8. Pioneer Co. used eight Sankyo SKILAMs to
assemble audio boards at its Oomori Plant.
Figure 9 shows the global increase in industrial robots.
The numbers represent the number of robots in existence
at the end of each year. At the end of 1981, there were
fewer than 40,000 industrial robots in the world. This
number had grown to 560,000 by 1992.
8 Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics Vol.26 No.1, 2014
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Fig. 9. Global increase in industrial robots (1981-1992).
In those years, 60% of all industrial robots were in
Japan. And it is not clear but about 25% of Japanese robot
were SCARA.
References:
[1] H. Makino and N. Furuya, “Selective compliance assembly robot
arm,” Proc. 1st Intern. Conf. on Assembly Automation (ICAA),
pp. 77-86, Brighton, Mar. 25-27, 1980.
[2] H. Makino, “Smart cam application to robot control,” Assembly
Automation, Vol.19, No.1, pp. 39-46, 1999.
[3] H. Makino and N. Furuya, “Motion control of a jointed arm robot
utilizing a microcomputer,” Proc. 11th Intern. Symp. on Industrial
Robot (ISIR), pp. 405-412. Tokyo, Oct. 7-9, 1981.
[4] H. Makino and N. Furuya, “SCARA robot and its family,” Proc. 3rd
Int. Conf. on Assembly Automation (ICAA), pp. 433-444, Stuttgart,
May 25-27, 1982.
Name:
Hiroshi Makino
Affiliation:
Makino Automation Research Institute
Address:
1-24-14-703 Koenji-Minami, Suginami, Tokyo 166-0003, Japan
Brief Biographical History:
1956 Graduated from The University of Tokyo
1956- Joined Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic) Co., Ltd.
1966- Associate Professor, University of Yamanashi
1976- Professor, University of Yamanashi
1999- Makino Automation Research Institute
Main Works:
• “Kinematics for Automatic Machines,” Nikkan Kogyo Shinbunsha, 1976
(in Japanese).
Membership in Academic Societies:
• The Japan Society for Precision Engineering (JSPE)
• The Robotics Society of Japan (RSJ)
• Japan Robot Association (JARA)