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1. The report should be made in A4 size. The total number of pages should not exceed 100. 2. A margin of 1" all around (Top, bottom, right and left) may be provided. 3. The report should be typed in "Times New Roman" font in 12 point size and 1.5 line spacing on both sides of the page. 4. The figures and tables pertaining to the manuscript should be embedded at the appropriate locations where they are referred to for the first time. 5. The figures and tables should be numbered serially and a list of tables and figures to be provided as a separate table. 6. The references should be numbered serially (numbered at the first instance they appear in the document) and listed in the same order in the end as per the format provided. 7. The project report should be hard bound and cover page will be in white colour with black fonts and laminated.

Design of Joint Actuation Mechanism for a Multilink Serial Manipulator

PROJECT REPORT Submitted by Anurag Chaturvedi

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF Sri K.V.Kasiviswanathan AD, GRIP Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research

Submitted to the BARC Training School at IGCAR Campus, IGCAR in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the Training Program of

ONE YEAR ORIENTATION COURSE FOR SCIENCE/ENGINEERING STUDENTS (OCES 2007)

INDIRA GANDHI CENTRE FOR ATOMIC RESEARCH KALPAKKAM - 603102

INDIRA GANDHI CENTRE FOR ATOMIC RESEARCH KALPAKKAM 603102 BARC TRAINING SCHOOL AT IGCAR CAMPUS, IGCAR

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that this project work titled Design of the joint actuation mechanism for a Multi-link Serial Manipulator is a bonafide work done by Anurag Chaturvedi in fulfillment for the training program ONE YEAR ORIENTATION COURSE FOR ENGINEERING GRADUATES AND SCIENCE POST GRADUATES conducted by BARC Training School, IGCAR.

PROJECT GUIDE Designation Section/Division

HEAD, OCES-TS BARC Training School at IGCAR Campus, IGCAR.

AD, RMG IGCAR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my wholehearted thanks to my project in charge Sri K. V. Kasiviswanathan, AD, GRIP, for sharing his knowledge and experience with me and guiding me through the project. I register my special thanks to my guides Mr V. Rakesh, and Mr C. Rajagopalan, of RHS/GRIP, for their consistent guidance and directions in bringing the project work to culmination. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mr. M. Murali, and Mr. R. Ravikumar, of RHS/GRIP, for sharing their expertise and taking time from their regular duties and helping with the project work.

Anurag Chaturvedi

Abstract
This project entitled Design of the Joint Actuation Mechanism for a Multi-link Serial Manipulator has been carried out under the guidance of Sri K.V.Kasiviswanathan, AD, GRIP. The project deals with the mechanical design aspects of a joint actuation mechanism of a multi link manipulator. Such robots are also called snake robots, serial robots or elephant trunk robots. In such robots the links are attached end-to-end and act like human arms but more efficiently. These types of robots find application working inside highly cluttered environments where access is difficult. One of the biggest advantages of redundant snake-like robots is their ability to wrap around obstacles consequently avoiding them. This work consists of a serial manipulator of five links connected end to end. Each link possesses two degrees of freedom relative to previous one. The degrees of freedom include one pitching and one yawing motion. The drive mechanism for the joint actuation was conceptualized with a wire rope . The wire ropes are driven by a screw and nut assembly which in turn is driven by a stepper motor. Stepper motors are selected because they give rotation in discrete steps as output. For better efficiency ball screws are used instead of ordinary screws. This increases the efficiency and reduces the holding torque requirement of the motors. Consequently smaller motors may be used. Due to the mechanical coupling of the drive mechanisms for both degrees of freedom error results in one of them as a result of movement of another. An expression was derived for length of wire rope between pulleys to quantify this error. The end effector deflection and natural frequency of vibration of the arm were determined and verified to be within acceptable limits.

Table of Contents
Topic
1. List of Tables 2. List of Figures 3. List of symbols 4. Chapter 1: Introduction 5. Chapter 2: Survey of different methods used for actuation of robotic arms 6. Chapter 3: Description and constructional features 7. Chapter 4: Derivation of an expression for the slacking of rope 8. Chapter 5: Design of the links of the arm. 9. Chapter 6: Deflection and natural frequency of the arm. 10. Chapter 7: Future scope 11. References

Page No.
5 6 7 8 10 14 15 17 46 51 52

List of Tables

Table

Page No.

1. Table 1: Details of components in link 5 2. Table 2: Details of components in link 4 3. Table 3: Details of components in link 3 4. Table 4: Details of components in link 2 5. Table 5: Details of components in link 1 6. Table 6: Summary of design results of all five links

23 26 30 37 44 49

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure
1. Obstacle avoidance by multi link manipulator 2. Conceptual depiction of spinal robot 3. Angular swivel joints 4. Constructional details of the joint 5. Geometrical constructions to find length of rope wrapping over pulley 6. Anticipated Moment acting on link 1 7. Moments acting on link 5 8. Moments acting on link 4 9. Moments acting on link 3 10. Moments acting on link 2 11. Reduction Gears for link 2 12. Moment acting on link 1 13. Reduction Gears for Link 1 14. Self weight and external loads acting on the arm

Page No.
8 12 13 14 15 18 20 23 27 31 33 38 40 46

LIST OF SYMBOLS

Symbol
F FP Dp d k Al steel Eg Ep WT WD Ww WT JR JB JM P M w

Description
Axial tension in wire rope Preload on nut Screw efficiency Angular velocity of link relative to previous one Angular acceleration of link relative to previous one Diameter of pulley Diameter of wire rope Friction coefficient for screw Density of Aluminium Density of steel Modulus of elasticity of the gear Modulus of elasticity of the pinion Tangential tooth load Dynamic tooth load Wear tooth load Tangential tooth load Rotor inertia of motor Rotor inertia of screw Equivalent net moment of inertia on motor shaft Payload at the end effector position Moment at the end effector position weight per unit length of the arm

Chapter 1 Introduction to Multi Link Manipulators

The objective of this project is to design a joint actuation mechanism for a multi link serial manipulator also called snake manipulator or elephant trunk manipulator for use in cluttered environments with high radioactivity levels. A number of tasks performed in the nuclear industry include inspection and handling inside a highly radioactive environment. For example non destructive testing like ultrasonic testing or radiographic weld inspection of pipes, detection of leaks, detection of a source of radioactivity etc are performed at inaccessible locations. Also certain handling tasks may include the use of an end effector to exert force or lift a weight. These tasks cannot be performed by human beings due to the hazards of radiation exposure. Hence robots are employed for this task.

Figure 1: Obstacle avoidance by multi link manipulator

1.1 Requirements: The manipulator being designed will consist of five consecutive links connected end to end. Each link will possess two degrees of freedom with respect to the previous one. The possible movements include one pitching and one yawing movement relative to the previous link. The total reach of the arm required is 3750mm. The five links are of varying lengths. The first link is 1000mm, second 875mm, third 750mm, fourth 625mm and fifth link is 500mm in length. The link length reduces from base link towards gripper due to the fact that links nearer to the base are involved in coarse positioning to roughly position the end effector rapidly while the links nearer the end are involved in fine positioning and more accuracy rather than reach is required of them. Another reason is because the arm has to work in a constricted environment and will encounter more constrictions near the end rather than the base. The arm will be of hollow circular cross section. Different sections of arm will have different diameters with cross section decreasing towards the end. The Arm will be made from Aluminium alloy in order to make it lightweight. Considering the end effector positioning accuracy the maximum permissible deflection of the end effector in the fully extended condition of the arm is 10mm. This value is decided based on experience with manipulators. Deflection as possible is desired to be as low as possible but at the same time increasing the stiffness of the arm makes it more bulky and leads to increased cost. Therefore a compromise has to be reached. 1.2 Advantage of using wire rope drive for joint actuation: The advantage of this mechanism is that it is flexible while still transmitting power. Unlike a gear train which is rigid a wire rope is quite flexible. Similar mechanisms

designed using gear trains tend to be bulky due to the number of gears required for providing the desired gear ratio. This results in increase in length of the links.

Chapter 2: Different Methods Used for Actuation of Robotic Arms

Various methods are used for achieving movement in robotic manipulators. Mainly electric, hydraulic, and pneumatic actuators are used. Electric drives have the advantage of being able to draw power directly from a wall source but they have a lower power to weight ration compared to hydraulic and pneumatic actuators. Hydraulic actuators are powerful and compact and can be positioned and controlled accurately but leakage is a serious concern in their case. Another major concern is radiation damage undergone by the oil when used in radioactive environments. Pneumatic actuators use air which is compressible. Therefore they are not very accurate. To position an effector accurately the pressure of the air must be determined and the flow of the air must be controlled. Air is compressible and there may not be uniform pressure of air throughout the actuator. Also pressure fluctuates as a result of temperature changes. These factors make pneumatic actuators undesirable where high precision is required. Actuators based on smart materials, that is substances that changes shape when subjected to a specific type of energy input, include magnetostrictive, electrostrictive, shape memory alloys, piezoelectric, electro active polymers etc. 2.1 Magnetostrictive actuators: Magnetostriction is a phenomenon where the application of magnetic field in a material produces dimensional changes. A common example of this effect is the humming of transformers. Magnetostrictive materials like Terfenol-D can be used as actuators exerting high forces. Magnetostriction is the process by which a ferromagnetic material transforms from one shape to another in the presence of a magnetic field. This solid-state

phenomenon is a result of the rotation of small magnetic domains, causing internal strains in the material. These strains result in a positive expansion of the material in the direction of the magnetic field. As the field is increased, more domains rotate and become aligned until magnetic saturation is achieved. If the field is reversed, the direction of the domains is also reversed but the strains still result in a position expansion in the field direction. Since the magnetostrictive forces are molecular in origin; the mechanical response is very fasta matter of microseconds. One design of magnetostrictive actuator involves squeezing a rod of Terfenol-D into a metal tube whose bore size is just slightly smaller than the rod's diameter, wrapping a series of electromagnetic induction coils around the tube (or stator), and using the coils to generate a moving magnetic field that courses wavelike down the successive windings along the stator tube. As the traveling magnetic field causes each succeeding cross section of Terfenol-D to elongate, then contract when the field is removed, the rod will actually "crawl" down the stator tube like a worm. Repeated propagating waves of magnetic flux will translate the rod down the tube's length, producing a useful stroke and force output. The amount of motion generated by the material is proportional to the magnetic field provided by the coil system, which is a function of the electrical current. This type of motive device, which features a single moving part, is called an elastic-wave or peristaltic linear motor. During manufacture, Terfenol-D is melted, cast, and directionally solidified to provide the crystalline microstructure required to produce large strains. 2.2 Shape Memory Alloys: Shape memory alloys like Nitinol return to their original shape when they undergo a fixed temperature cycle. The problem with this type of actuators is that after heating they do not return to their previous state along the original path when cooled. As a result a lot of hysteresis builds up. Also they are unreliable when used in areas that may witness temperature variations. This may result in dimensional inaccuracies.

2.3 Piezoelectric actuators: Piezoelectricity is the phenomenon exhibited by certain crystals where the application of electricity across its faces produces a strain in the crystal. This effect is taken advantage of in making high accuracy actuators. Piezoelectric ceramics such as lead zirconate titanate respond to electricity [11] 2.4 Electro Active polymers: Electro active Polymers or EAPs are polymers whose shape is modified when a voltage is applied to them. As actuators, they are characterized by the fact that they can undergo a large amount of deformation while sustaining large forces. Due to the similarities with biological tissues in terms of achievable stress and force, they are often called artificial muscles. EAP can have several configurations, but are generally divided in two principal classes: (i) Dielectric EAPs: In these, actuation is caused by electrostatic forces between two

electrodes which squeeze the polymer. This kind of EAP is characterized by a large actuation voltage (several thousand volts), but very low electrical power consumption. Dielectric EAPs require no power to keep the actuator at a given position. Examples are electrostrictive polymers and dielectric elastomers. (ii) Ionic EAPs: In these actuation is caused by the displacement of ions inside the polymer. Only a few volts are needed for actuation, but the ionic flow implies a higher electrical power needed for actuation, and energy are needed to keep the actuator at a given position. Examples of ionic EAPS are conductive polymers, ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs), and responsive gels.Yet another example is a Bucky gel actuator, which is a polymer-supported layer of polyelectrolyte material consisting of an ionic liquid sandwiched between two electrode layers consisting of a gel of ionic liquid containing single-wall carbon nanotubes [10].

2.5 Prestressed wires (as in Spine robots): A spine robot has a construction as shown in Figure 2. The arm of the spine robot is constructed from a number of cross plates and discs. Pre-stressed lines run through the cross plates. These wires are the robot's muscles and the arm has the necessary rigidity because of the tension of the wires. The orientation of the robots arm is controlled by controlling the difference in tension in opposite wires. The cross plates have contact

along hemispherical faces. Therefore they can bend and provide rigidity to the arm at the same time. Figure 2: Conceptual depiction of spinal robot [1].

This snake-arm robot has a structure similar to the human spine: it is comprised of a large number of vertebrae. The arm is tendon driven with wires terminating at various points along its length. A motor is used to control the length of each wire independently. The control software calculates the necessary lengths of all the wires to produce the desired shape [1].

REFERENCES (To be listed serially and numbered serially at the first place being referred to) 1. 2. 3. 4. : :