Abstract

Recently, robot structures handling liquid crystal display (LCD) glass panels are increased in size
as the size of LCD is increased. In order to handle large LCD panels, the robot structures should
have high stiffness to reduce the deflection of robot end effector under the eights of LCD. !he
LCD "anufacturing industries have a trend to e"ploy double ar" type robots rather than single
ar" type robots to increase productivity. Currently, to alu"inu" rist bloc#s that have
different configurations not to interfere ith each other are "ounted on the robot ar"s. !he
alu"inu" rist bloc# beco"es one of the largest deflection sources as the size of the robot
structures increases. $ince the size of the rist bloc# can not be increased indefinitely to increase
the stiffness due to the li"itation of driving "otor poer, the best ay to increase the stiffness of
the rist bloc# is to e"ploy carbon fiber epo%y co"posite "aterial for structural "aterial of the
rist bloc# because the carbon fiber epo%y co"posite "aterial has "uch higher specific stiffness
and da"ping than alu"inu". In this or#, the to rist bloc#s for the double ar" type robot for
handling large LCD glass panels ere designed and "anufactured using foa" core sandich
structure. &inite ele"ent analysis as used along ith an opti"ization routine to design the
co"posite rist bloc#s. 'o% type sandich structures ere e"ployed to reduce shear effect
arising fro" the lo "odulus of polyurethane foa" core. !he eight reduction of the co"posite
rist bloc#s as "ore than ()* co"pared to those of co"parable alu"inu" rist bloc#s and
found that the co"posite rist bloc#s had "uch i"proved perfor"ances co"pared to those of
the alu"inu" rist bloc#s fro" the static and dyna"ic tests.