GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE, SURAT.

A PROJECT REPORT
ON
DESIGN OF PICK AND PLACE ROBOT
PREPARED BY: - GUIDED BY:-
Patel Boni S (82204) Mr. Mahesh K. Chudasama
Lad Satish P (82208)
Clind M.B (82210)
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GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE, SURAT
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that following candidates of B.E IV, Mechanical
Engineering, Semester-VII, have satisfactorily completed the preliminary
project report on DESIGN OF PICK & PLACE ROBOT during the term
ending in Nov-Dec 2010.
PREPARED BY:
PATEL BONI S (82204)
LAD SATISH P (82208)
CLIND MB (82210)
GUIDED BY HEAD OF DEPARTMENT
_______________ __________________________
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ABSTRACT
Mankind has always strived to give life like qualities to its artifacts in an attempt to find
substitutes for himself to carry out his orders and also to work in a hostile environment. The
popular concept of a robot is of a machine that looks and works like a human being.
The industry is moving from current state of automation to Robotization, to increase
productivity and to deliver uniform quality. The industrial robots of today may not look the
least bit like a human being although all the research is directed to provide more and more
anthropomorphic and humanlike features and super-human capabilities in these.
One type of robot commonly used in industry is a robotic manipulator or simply a robotic
arm. It is an open or closed kinematic chain of rigid links interconnected by movable joints.
In some configurations, links can be considered to correspond to human anatomy as waist,
upper arm and forearm with joint at shoulder and elbow. At end of arm a wrist joint connects
an end effector which may be a tool and its fixture or a gripper or any other device to work.
Here how a pick and place robot can be designed for a workstation where loading and
packing of lead batteries is been presented. All the various problems and obstructions for the
loading process has been deeply analyzed and been taken into consideration while designing
the pick and place robot.
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INDEX
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 6
1.1 History of Robots 6
1.2 Law of Robotics.. 8
1.3 What is & What is not a Robot............................................................................... 8
1.4 Components of Robots 9
CHAPTER 2 CLASSIFICATION OF ROBOTS.... 11
2.1 Types of robots as per Application. 11
2.2 Types of Robots by Locomotion & Kinematics. 12
CHAPTER 3 SELECTION OF TASK. 13
3.1 Tasks 13
3.2 Selection of Tasks 15
3.3 Why Pick & Place Robots....................................................................................... 15
3.4 Defining work station... 15
CHAPTER 4 DESIGN PROCEDURE 16
4.1 Factors to be considered while designing. 16
CHAPTER 5 STEPS OF DESIGNING.. 22
5.1 Selection of Product.. 22
5.2 Designing of Work space.. 22
5.3 Degree of Freedom 24
CHAPTER 6 WORKS TO BE DONE. 25
6.1 Selection of Parts... 25
6.2 Completion of Model. 25
6.3 Programming. 25
6.4 Interfacing with computer. 26
REFERENCE. 27
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LIST OF FIGURES & TABLES
FIGURES
1.1 KEY COMPONENTS OF ROBOTS.
1.2 ACTUATORS.
1.3 SENSORS.
2.1 INDUSTRIAL ROBOT.
2.2 AGRICULTURAL ROBOT.
2.3 TELE-ROBOT.
3.1 PICK & PLACE ROBOT.
3.2 FLEXIBLE PACKAGING.
3.3 CARTOONIG PROCESS.
3.4 ROTARY CARTOONING.
3.5 PALLETIZING & DEPALLETIZING.
3.6 PICK AND PLACE ROBOT.
3.7 SEALING ROBOTS.
3.8 BAG OPENING ROBOTS.
4.1 GRAPHICAL INTERFACE OF MATLAB WORKSPACE.
5.1 WORK SPACE LAYOUT.
5.2 DEGREE OF FREEDOM.
6.1 INTERFACING OF ROBOT WITH COMPUTER,
TABLES
1.1 HISTORY OF ROBOTS.
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Robotics is the branch of engineering science & Technology related to robots, and
their design, manufacture, application, and structural disposition. Robotics is related to
electronics, mechanics, and software. Robotics research today is focused on developing
systems that exhibit modularity, flexibility, redundancy, fault-tolerance, a general and
extensible software environment and seamless connectivity to other machines, some
researchers focus on completely automating a manufacturing process or a task, by providing
sensor based intelligence to the robot arm, while others try to solidify the analytical
foundations on which many of the basic concepts in robotics are built.
In this highly developing society time and man power are critical constrains for
completion of task in large scales. The automation is playing important role to save human
efforts in most of the regular and frequently carried works. One of the major and most
commonly performed works is picking and placing of jobs from source to destination.
Present day industry is increasingly turning towards computer-based automation
mainly due to the need for increased productivity and delivery of end products with uniform
quality. The inflexibility and generally high cost of hard-automation systems, which
have been used for automated manufacturing tasks in the past, have led to a broad based
interest in the use of robots capable of performing a variety of manufacturing functions in
a flexible environment and at lower costs. The use of Industrial Robots characterizes some
of contemporary trends in automation of the manufacturing process. However, present day
industrial robots also exhibit a monolithic mechanical structure and closed-system software
architecture. They are concentrated on simple repetitive tasks, which tend not to require high
precision.
The pick and place robot is a microcontroller based mechatronic system that detects
the object, picks that object from source location and places at desired location. For detection
of object, infrared sensors are used which detect presence of object as the transmitter to
receiver path for infrared sensor is interrupted by placed object.
1.1 HISTORY OF ROBOTS
Robot is a word that is both a coinage by an individual person and a borrowing. It has
been in English since 1923 when the Czech writer Karel Capek's play R.U.R. was translated
into English and presented in London and New York. R.U.R., published in 1921, is an
abbreviation of Rossum's Universal Robots, robot itself comes from Czech robota, "servitude,
forced labor," from rab, "slave." The Slavic root behind robota is orb-, from the Indo-
European root orbh, referring to separation from one's group or passing out of one sphere
of ownership into another. Czech robota is also similar to another German derivative of this
root, namely Arbeit, "work. Arbeit may be descended from a word that meant "slave labor,"
and later generalized to just "labor."
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The various developments in the field of Robotics with the progress in scientific technology
have been revealed as follows:
Date Significance Robot Name Inventor
First
century
A.D. and
earlier
Descriptions of more than 100 machines
and automata, including a fire engine, a
wind organ, a coin-operated machine, and
a steam-powered engine, in Pneumatica
and Automata by Heron of Alexandria
Ctesibius, Philo of
Byzantium, Heron
of Alexandria, and
others
1206
Created early humanoid automata,
programmable automaton band
Robot band,
hand-washing
automaton
, automated
moving peacocks
Al-Jazari
1495 Designs for a humanoid robot Mechanical knight Leonardo da Vinci
1738
Mechanical duck that was able to eat, flap
its wings, and excrete
Digesting Duck
Jacques de
Vaucanson
1898
Nikola Tesla demonstrates first radio-
controlled vessel.
Teleautomation Nikola Tesla
1921
First fictional automatons called "robots"
appear in the play R.U.R.
Rossum's
Universal Robots
Karel Capek
1930s
Humanoid robot exhibited at the 1939 and
1940 World's Fairs
Elektra
Westinghouse
Electric Corporation
1948
Simple robots exhibiting biological
behaviors
Elsie and Elmer
William Grey
Walter
1956
First commercial robot, from the
Unimation company founded by George
Devol and Joseph Engelberger, based on
Devol's patents
Unimate George Devol
1961 First installed industrial robot. Unimate George Devol
1963 First palletizing robot Palletizer Fuji Yusoki Kogyo
1973
First industrial robot with six
electromechanically driven axes
Famulus
KUKA Robot
Group
1975
Programmable universal manipulation
arm, a Unimation product
PUMA Victor Scheinman
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TABLE 1.1 HISTORY OF ROBOTS
1.2 LAW OF ROBOTICS
Isaac Asimov conceived the robots as humanoids, devoid of feelings, and used them
in a number of stories. His robots were well-designed, fail-safe machines, whose brains
were programmed by human beings. Anticipating the dangers and havoc such a device
could cause, he postulated rules for their ethical conduct. Robots were required to perform
according to three principles known as Three laws of Robotics which are as valid for real
robots as they were for Asimovs robots and they are:
1. A robot should not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human to be
harmed.
2. A robot must obey orders given by humans except when that conflicts with the First
Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence unless that conflicts with the First or Second
law.
These are very general laws and apply even to other machines and appliances. They are
always taken care of in any robot design.
1.3 WHAT IS AND WHAT IS NOT A ROBOT?
Automation as a technology is concerned with the use of mechanical, electrical,
electronic and computer-based control systems to replace human beings with machines,
not only for physical work but also for the intelligent information processing. Industrial
automation, which started in the eighteenth century as fixed automation has transformed
into flexible and programmable automation in the last 15 or 20 years. Computer numerically
controlled machine tools, transfer and assembly lines are some examples in this category.
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FIG 1.1 KEY COMPONENTS OF A ROBOT.
Common people are easily influenced by science fiction and thus imagine a robot as a
humanoid that can walk, see, hear, speak, and do the desired work. But the scientific
interpretation of science fiction scenario propounds a robot as an automatic machine that is
able to interact with and modify the environment in which it operates. Therefore, it is
essential to define what constitutes a robot. Different definitions from diverse sources are
available for a robot.
1.4 COMPONENTS OF ROBOT:-
1. STRUCTURE
The structure of a robot is usually mostly mechanical and can be called a kinematic
chain. The chain is formed of links, actuators, and joints which can allow one or more
degrees of freedom. Most contemporary robots use open serial chains in which each link
connects the one before to the one after it. These robots are called serial robots and often
resemble the human arm. Robots used as manipulators have an end effector mounted on the
last link. This end effector can be anything from a welding device to a mechanical hand used
to manipulate the environment.
2. POWER SOURCE
At present mostly (lead-acid) batteries are used, but potential power sources could be:
Pneumatic (compressed gases)
Hydraulics (compressed liquids)
Flywheel energy storage
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Organic garbage (through anaerobic digestion)

Still untested energy sources (e.g. Nuclear Fusion reactors)

3. ACTUATION
Actuators are like the "muscles" of a robot, the parts
which convert stored energyinto movement. By far the
most popular actuators are electric motors that spin a wheel
or gear, and linear actuators that control industrial robots in
factors. But there are some recent advances in alternative
types of actuators, powered by electricity, chemicals, or
compressed air.
4. TOUCH
Current robotic and prosthetic hands receive far less
tactile information than the human hand. Recent research
has developed a tactile sensor array that mimics the
mechanical properties and touch receptors of human fingertips. The sensor array is
constructed as a rigid core surrounded by conductive fluid contained by an elastomeric skin.
Electrodes are mounted on the surface of the rigid core and are connected to an impedance-
measuring device within the core. When the artificial skin touches an object the fluid path
around the electrodes is deformed, producing impedance changes that map the forces
received from the object.
5. VISION
Computer vision is the science and technology of machines that see. As a scientific
discipline, computer vision is concerned with the theory behind artificial systems that extract
information from images. The image data can take many forms, such as video sequences and
views from cameras.
In most practical computer vision applications, the computers are pre-programmed
to solve a particular task, but methods based on learning are now becoming increasingly
common.
Computer vision systems rely on image sensors which detect electromagnetic radiation
which is typically in the form of either visible light or infra-red light. The sensors are
designed using solid-state physics. The process by which light propagates and reflects
off surfaces is explained using optics. Sophisticated image sensors even require quantum
mechanics to provide a complete understanding of the image formation process.
6. MANIPULATION
Robots which must work in the real world require some way to manipulate objects; pick
up, modify, destroy, or otherwise have an effect. Thus the 'hands' of a robot are often referred
to as end effectors, while the arm is referred to as a manipulator. Most robot arms have
replaceable effectors, each allowing them to perform some small range of tasks. Some have
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FIG 1.2 ACTUATORS
FIG 1.3 SENSORS
a fixed manipulator which cannot be replaced, while a few have one very general purpose
manipulator, for example a humanoid hand.
1 Mechanical Grippers: One of the most common effectors is the gripper. In its simplest
manifestation it consists of just two fingers which can open and close to pick up and let
go of a range of small objects. Fingers can for example be made of a chain with a metal
wire run trough it.
2 Vacuum Grippers: Pick and place robots for electronic components and for large objects
like car windscreens, will often use very simple vacuum grippers. These are very simple
astrictive devices, but can hold very large loads provided the pretension surface is
smooth enough to ensure suction.
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CHAPTER 2
CLASSIFICATION OF ROBOTS
Industrial robots are found in a variety of locations including the automobile and
manufacturing industries. Robots cut and shape fabricated parts, assemble machinery and
inspect manufactured parts. Some types of jobs robots do: load bricks, die cast, drill, fasten,
forge, make glass, grind, heat treat, load/unload machines, machine parts, handle parts,
measure, monitor radiation, run nuts, sort parts, clean parts, profile objects, perform quality
control, rivet, sand blast, change tools and weld.
Outside the manufacturing world robots perform other important jobs. They can be found
in hazardous duty service, CAD/CAM design and prototyping, maintenance jobs, fighting
fires, medical applications, military warfare and on the farm.
2.1 TYPES OF ROBOTS AS PER APPLICATIONS
Nowadays, robots do a lot of different tasks in many fields.
And this number of jobs entrusted to robots is growing steadily.
That's why one of the best ways how to divide robots into types is a
division by their application.
2.1.1 INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS: Robots today are being utilized in
a wide variety of industrial applications. Any job that involves
repetitiveness, accuracy, endurance, speed, and reliability can be
done much better by robots, which is why many industrial jobs that
used to be done by humans are increasingly being done by robots.
2.1.2 MOBILE ROBOTS: Also known as Automated Guided
Vehicles, or AGVs, these are used for transporting material over
large sized places like hospitals, container ports, and warehouses,
using wires or markers placed in the floor, or lasers, or vision, to
sense the environment they operate in. An advanced form of the
AGV is the SGV, or the Self Guided Vehicle, like PatrolBot Gofer,
Tug, and Speci-Minder, which can be taught to autonomously
navigate within a space. 2.1.3 AGRICULTURE ROBOTS:
Although the idea of robots planting seeds, ploughing fields, and
gathering the harvest may seem straight out of a futuristic science
fiction book, nevertheless there are several robots in the
experimental stages of being used for agricultural purposes, such as
robots that can pick apples.
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FIG 2.1 INDUSTRIAL ROBOT
FIG 2.2 AGRICULTURAL ROBOT
FIG 2.3 TELE ROBOT
2.1.4 TELEROBOTS: These robots are used in places that are hazardous to humans, or are
inaccessible or far away. A human operator located at a distance from a telerobot controls its
action, which was accomplished with the arm of the space shuttle. Telerobots are also useful
in nuclear power plants where they, instead of humans, can handle hazardous material or
undertake operations potentially harmful for humans.
2.1.5 SERVICE ROBOTS: The Japanese are in the forefront in these types of robots.
Essentially, this category comprises of any robot that is used outside an industrial facility,
although they can be sub-divided into two main types of robots: one, robots used for
professional jobs, and the second, robots used for personal use. Amongst the former type are
the above mentioned robots used for military use, and then there are robots that are used for
underwater jobs, or robots used for cleaning hazardous waste, and the like.
2.2 TYPES OF ROBOTS BY LOCOMOTION & KINEMATICS
As you can understand, robot's application alone does not provide enough information
when talking about a specific robot. For example an industrial robot - usually, when talking
about industrial robots we think of stationary robots in a work cell that do a specific task.
2.2.1 Cartesian robot /Gantry robot: Used for pick and place work, application of sealant,
assembly operations, handling machine tools and arc welding. It's a robot whose arm has
three prismatic joints, whose axes are coincident with a Cartesian coordinator.
2.2.2 Cylindrical robot: Used for assembly operations, handling at machine tools, spot
welding, and handling at die-casting machines. It's a robot whose axes form a cylindrical
coordinate system.
2.2.3 Spherical/Polar robot: Used for handling at machine tools, spot welding, die-
casting, fettling machines, gas welding and arc welding. It's a robot whose axes form a polar
coordinate system.
2.2.4 SCARA robot: Used for pick and place work, application of sealant, assembly
operations and handling machine tools. It's a robot which has two parallel rotary joints to
provide compliance in a plane.
2.2.5 Articulated robot: Used for assembly operations, die-casting, fettling machines, gas
welding, arc welding and spray painting. It's a robot whose arm has at least three rotary
joints.
2.2.6 Parallel robot: One use is a mobile platform handling cockpit flight simulators. It's a
robot whose arms have concurrent prismatic or rotary joints.
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CHAPTER 3
SELECTION OF TASK
3.1 TASKS
The various tasks which a pick and place robot can perform are as follows:-
3.1.1 Robot pick-and-place
The use of robots for placing products in cartons and transfer
of cartons and products between different stations in the
packaging lines is very common in all industries. High speed
pick-and-place robots for placing small items like candy and
cookies in packages are often combined with a visual
observation system for identifying products.
3.1.2 Handling of flexible packages
Flexible packaging material is the generic term for soft
packages made of film, foil or paper sheeting. Popular forms
are stand-up pouches, bags, sachets and envelopes. These
packages are often formed, filled and sealed in a vertical or
horizontal form-fill-seal machine. The package is then finally
put into a case by top loading.
3.1.3 Cartooning machines
Cartooning machines erect boxes from flat sheets of corrugated
material. The erected boxes are then filled with products or
individual cartons and are then prepared for the palletizing
process. As with most packaging machines, vacuum cups,
vacuum pumps and other pneumatic components are an
essential part of the cartooning.
3.1.4 Rotary cartoners
Rotary cartoner is one of the most popular types of cartooning
machines. These machines use a series of vacuum bars
equipped with suction cups that move in a continuous rotary
motion. Rotary cartoners utilize a "pick-and-carry" motion to
move cartons.
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FIG 3.1 PICK & PLACE ROBOT
FIG 3.2 FLEXIBLE PACKAGING
FIG 3.3 CARTONING PROCESS
FIG 3.4 ROTARY CARTONING
3.1.5 PALLETIZING AND DEPALLETIZING
Palletizing is the process of placing packages on a pallet
alternatively removing them from a pallet (depalletizing).
Palletizing machines use vacuum pumps, suction cups and
other pneumatic components. These machines typically pick
up multiple boxes at a time and place them on a stack (or
remove them from a stack).
3.1.6 AUTOMATED PICK & PLACE ROBOTS
The use of specialized machines for high speed pick-and-place
of small items with suction cups is very common in the
electronics and consumer industries. This application is
typically characterized by short cycle times, high acceleration
forces and large variations on the parts to be handled.
3.1.7 SEAL MACHINES
During the pouch/bag forming phase vacuum is often applied
to transport belts that help provide a grip on both sides of the
pouch/bag material. The vacuum belt moves the pouch
material from a web roll into position to receive the product
from the filler. Holes in the belt allow vacuum to hold the
pouch while the belt is rotating and the pouch is been removed.
3.1.8 BAG OPENING
Vacuum and suction cups are used to pick and open paper and
plastic bags. Suction cups with stiffer bellows and a soft
sealing lip are preferred in these quite often high-speed
applications.
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FIG 3.5 PALLETIZING &
DEPALLETIZING
FIG 3.6 PICK & PLACE
FIG 3.7 SEALING ROBOTS
FIG 3.8 BAG OPENING
ROBOTS
3.2 SELECTION OF TASK
From the various tasks which can be done using the pick and place robots we have
particularly meshed the two process of picking & placing along with pallezting
process.
We have decided to pick an Automobile Battery (Dimensions 45x45x65mm. Weight
250 grams) from the conveyor.
Then placing it at the packing center, also picking a packed battery from the packing
station and moving towards the Box-packing center.
Placing of Battery at Box-packing center and again movement to the conveyor to pick
an unpacked battery.
So both the picking & placing along with the packing procedure can be accompanied
using this pick and place robot.
3.3 WHY PICK & PLACE ROBOTS
We have selected the pick and place robots for this particular process due to the following
reasons:-
Using of Human labour for the loading and unloading of the Batteries and also for packing
purpose will consume more time.
Even though Number of laborers is required more, the loading and unloading time
should include allowances if laborers are considered.
Moreover the work can be done easily using a single pick and place robot, which is used
for both loading and unloading and pallezting purpose.
3.4 DEFINING WORK STATION
The work station for this operation of pick & place and pallezting is been designed in such a
way that:-
The unpacked battery coming from the belt conveyor is been sensed by a sensor and the
moment of the conveyor is been controlled by the sensor.
As one by one the battery comes, the Robot picks one battery and moves towards the
packing station, keeps the battery on the conveyor there.
Then picks the Packed Battery from there and moves towards the Box-packing center
and places the Battery for Box-packaging.
Further Robot movement continuous towards the return journey takes a Battery from
conveyor and again the above procedure is been carried out.
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CHAPTER 4
DESIGN PROCEDURE
4.1 FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED
The various factors to be considered while designing of pick and place robots are been
discussed as follows. The factors are all important while designing procedure of the robot.
4.1.1 CONTROLS
The mechanical structure of a robot must be controlled to perform tasks. The control
of a robot involves three distinct phases - perception, processing, and action. Sensors give
information about the environment or the robot itself (e.g. the position of its joints or its
end effector). This information is then processed to calculate the appropriate signals to the
actuators (motors) which move the mechanical.
The processing phase can range in complexity. At a reactive level, it may translate
raw sensor information directly into actuator commands. Sensor fusion may first be used to
estimate parameters of interest (e.g. the position of the robot's gripper) from noisy sensor
data. An immediate task (such as moving the gripper in a certain direction) is inferred from
these estimates. Techniques from control theory convert the task into commands that drive
the actuators.
At longer time scales or with more sophisticated tasks, the robot may need to build
and reason with a "cognitive" model. Cognitive models try to represent the robot, the world,
and how they interact. Pattern recognition and computer vision can be used to track objects.
Mapping techniques can be used to build maps of the world. Finally, motion planning and
other artificial intelligence techniques may be used to figure out how to act. For example, a
planner may figure out how to achieve a task without hitting obstacles, falling over, etc.
4.1.2 AUTONOMY LEVELS
Control systems may also have varying levels of autonomy.
1. Direct interaction is used for hap tic or tale-operated devices, and the human has
nearly complete control over the robot's motion.
2. Operator-assist modes have the operator commanding medium-to-high-level tasks,
with the robot automatically figuring out how to achieve them.
3. An autonomous robot may go for extended periods of time without human interaction.
Higher levels of autonomy do not necessarily require more complex cognitive
capabilities. For example, robots in assembly plants are completely autonomous, but
operate in a fixed pattern.
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Another classification takes into account the interaction between human control and the
machine motions.
1. Teleportation: - A human controls each movement; each machine actuator change is
specified by the operator.
2. Supervisory: - A human specifies general moves or position changes and the
machine decides specific movements of its actuators.
3. Task-level autonomy: - The operator specifies only the task and the robot manages
itself to complete it.
4. Full autonomy: - The machine will create and complete all its tasks without human
interaction.
4.1.3 BASIC METHODS OF PROGRAMMING ROBOTS
There are three basic methods for programming Industrial robots but currently over
90% are programmed using the teach method.
4.1.3A Teach Method
The logic for the program can be generated either using a menu based system or
simply using a text editor but the main characteristic of this method is the means by which
the Robot is taught the positional data. A teach pendant with Controls to drive the robot in
a number of different co-ordinate systems is used to manually drive the robot to the desired
locations. These locations are then stored with names that can be used within the robot
program. The co-ordinate systems available on a standard jointed arm robot are:-
Joint Co-ordinates
The robot joints are driven independently in either direction.
Global Co-ordinates
The tool centre point of the robot can be driven along the X, Y or Z axes of the
Robots global axis system. Rotations of the tool around these axes can also be
performed
Tool Co-ordinates
Similar to the global co-ordinate system but the axes of this one are attached to the
tool centre point of the robot and therefore move with it. This system is especially
useful when the tool is near to the work piece.
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Work piece Co-ordinates
With many robots it is possible to set up a co-ordinate system at any point within the
working area. These can be especially useful where small adjustments to the program
are required as it is easier to make them along a major axis of the co-ordinate system
than along a general line. The effect of this is similar to moving the position and
orientation of the global co-ordinate system.
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4.1.3B LEAD THROUGH
This system of programming was initially popular but has now almost disappeared.
It is still however used by many paint spraying robots. The robot is programmed by being
physically moved through the task by an operator. This is exceedingly difficult where large
robots are being used and sometimes a smaller version of the robot is used for this purpose.
Any hesitations or inaccuracies that are introduced into the program cannot be edited out
easily without reprogramming the whole task. The robot controller simply records the joint
positions at a fixed time interval and then plays this back.
4.1.3C OFF-LINE PROGRAMMING
Similar to the way in which CAD systems are being used to generate NC programs
for milling machines it is also possible to program robots from CAD data. The CAD models
of the components are used along with models of the robots being used and the fixturing
required. The program structure is built up in much the same way as for teach programming
but intelligent tools are available which allow the CAD data to be used to generate sequences
of location and process information. At present there are only a few companies using this
Technology as it is still in its infancy but its use is increasing each year. The benefits of this
form of programming are:-
Reduced down time for programming.
Programming tools make programming easier.
Enables concurrent engineering and reduces product lead time.
4.1.4 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
4.1.4A KAREL
Karel is an educational programming language, created by Richard E. Pattis in his
book Karel the Robot: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Programming. This language
was first used in courses at Stanford University. The language is named after Karel Capek,
Principles
A program in Karel is used to control a simple robot that lives in an environment
consisting of a grid of streets and avenues. Karel understands five basic instructions:
1. move (Karel moves by one square in the direction he is facing),
2. turn left (Karel turns 90 left),
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3. put beeper (Karel puts a beeper on the square he is standing at),
4. pick beeper (Karel lifts a beeper off the square he is standing at),
5. Turnoff (Karel switches himself off, the program ends).
4.1.4B VISUAL LANGUAGE
The software system for the Lego Mindstorms NXT robots is worthy of mention. It
is based on and written by Labview. The approach is to start with the program rather than
the data. The program is constructed by dragging icons into the program area and adding
or inserting into the sequence. For each icon you then specify the parameters (data). For
example for the motor drive icon you specify which motors and by how much they move.
When the program is written it is downloaded into the Lego NXT 'brick' (microcontroller) for
test.
4.1.4C SCRIPTING LANGUAGE
A scripting language is a high-level programming language that is used to control
the software application, and is interpreted in real-time, or "translated on the fly", instead of
being compiled in advance. A scripting language may be a general-purpose programming
language or it may be limited to specific functions used to augment the running of an
application or system program. Some scripting languages, such as RoboLogix, have data
objects residing in registers, and the program flow represents the list of instructions,
or instruction set, that is used to program the robot.
Programming languages are generally designed for building data
structures and algorithms from scratch, while scripting languages are intended more for
connecting, or gluing, components and instructions together. Consequently, the scripting
language instruction set is usually a streamlined list of program commands that are used to
simplify the programming process and provide rapid application development.
4.1.4. D PARALLEL LANGUAGE
Another interesting approach is worthy of mention. All robotic applications need
parallelism and event-based programming. Parallelism is where the robot does two or more
things at the same time. This requires appropriate hardware and software. Most programming
languages rely on threads or complex abstraction classes to handle parallelism and the
complexity that comes with it, like concurrent access to shared resources. URBI provides a
higher level of abstraction by integrating parallelism and events in the core of the language
semantics.
4.1.4. E MATLABS
The name MATLAB stands for MATrix LABoratory. MATLAB was written
originally to provide easy access to matrix software developed by the LINPACK (linear
system package) and EISPACK (Eigen system package) projects.
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MATLAB is a high-performance language for technical computing. It integrates
computation, visualization, and programming environment. Furthermore, MATLAB is a
modern programming language environment: it has sophisticated data structures, contains
built-in editing and debugging tools, and supports object-oriented programming. These
factors make MATLAB an excellent tool for teaching and research.
MATLAB has many advantages compared to conventional computer languages (e.g.
C, FORTRAN) for solving technical problems. MATLAB is an interactive system whose
basic data element is an array that does not require dimensioning.
It has powerful built-in routines that enable a very wide variety of computations. It
also have easy to use graphics commands that make the visualization of results immediately
available. Specific applications are collected in packages referred to as toolbox. There are
toolboxes for signal processing, symbolic computation, control theory, simulation,
optimization, and several other fields of applied science and engineering.
4.1.4F C LANGUAGE
As a programming language, C is rather like Pascal or Fortran. Values are stored
in variables. Programs are structured by defining and calling functions. Program flow is
controlled using loops, if statements and function calls. Input and output can be directed
to the terminal or to files. Related data can be stored together in arrays or structures. Of
the three languages, C allows the most precise control of input and output. C is also rather
more terse than Fortran or Pascal. This can result in short efficient programs, where the
programmer has made wise use of C's range of powerful operators.
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FIG 4.1 GRAPHICAL INTERFACE TO MATLAB WORKSPACE.
4.1.4G C++ LANGUAGE
C++ is also the language from which both Java and C# are derived. Simply stated, to
be a professional programmer implies competency in C++. It is the gateway to all of modern
programming. The purpose of this module is to introduce C++, including its history, its
design philosophy, and several of its most important features. By far, the hardest thing about
learning a programming language is the fact that no element exists in isolation. Instead, the
components of the language work together. This interrelatedness makes it difficult to discuss
one aspect of C++ without involving others. To help overcome this problem, this module
provides a brief overview of several C++ features, including the general form of a C++
program, some basic control statements, and operators. It does not go into too many details,
but rather concentrates on the general concepts common to any C++ program.
4.1.4H VISUAL BASIC .NET
Visual Basic 2008 is a development tool that you can use to build software
applications that perform useful work and look great within a variety of settings. Using
Visual Basic 2008, you can create applications for the Windows operating system, the
Web, hand-held devices, and a host of other environments and settings. The most important
advantage of Visual Basic is that it has been designed to increase productivity in your daily
development work especially if you need to use information in databases or create solutions
for the Internet but an important additional benefit t is that once you become comfortable
with the development environment in Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, you can use the same
tools to write programs for Microsoft Visual C++ 2008, Microsoft Visual C# 2008, Microsoft
Visual Web Developer 2008, and other third-party tools and compilers.
4.1.5 SAFETY REQUIREMENTS
The various safety requirements which were considered while designing the robot are
decided as follows:
1. The Robot should not be programmed such that it should damage the Battery while
holding it in its gripper.
2. Correct holding position should be set as if it not set then while movement of the
Robot it may drop the Lead Batteries which can arise a Hazardous situation in the
industry.
3. The Robot should be interfaced properly with the sensors been placed near the Belt
conveyor so as to know when the belt conveyor is to be stopped or to be started to
move the batteries ahead.
4. Load carrying capacity should be maintained as it should be always more than the
default load which is to be shifted.
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CHAPTER 5
STEPS OF DESIGN
5.1 SELECTION OF PRODUCT
From the number of products available we selected the Battery of automobiles for
been used in our project. We had number of options for the selection of product, as per
our requirement the Battery was matching the conditions. The other products which we
considered were as follows:-
BEARING:- Due to radial cross section of the bearing, it would be little bit difficult
for the Robot Gripper to hold the bearing in it and transport from one place to another
holding it. So we rejected this product.
BAGS OF IRON ORE: - The fines bagging system was pre-decided but due to the
weight limit we switched over the other products.
CELL PHONE PACKING: - As due to the light and sensitive parts of the Cell
phones we also skipped it as there are chances of causing damage to the Cell phones
while holding in the grippers of the Robots.
BOTTLE PACKING: - The radial shape of the bottles was not able to grip inside
the grippers of the robots. Though pick and place robots are used in bottle packing
industries but they are been designed very precisely and are costly so as the grippers
are to be such that it can hold the bottles and move towards the decided target.
5.2 DESIGNING OF WORKSPACE
The designing of work space have been done by keeping following points in mind:-
1. It should utilize Minimum time for doing the job.
2. No obstructions should be there in between the workspace envelope.
3. Idle time should be reduced as much as possible.
4. Efficient and safe transportation of the Batteries should be under gone.
The design of work space includes a Belt conveyor which brings the charged batteries
from the plant and it is been transferred to the Packing centre Using the Robotic arm. There
is moment of 90 degrees; the robot picks a packed Battery from the packed centre after
placing the unpacked Battery. Then the robots proceed towards the Box packing centre
where it unloads the Battery and further moves towards the Belt conveyor to repeat the same
procedure.
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5.3 DEGREE OF FREEDOM
The number of DOF that a manipulator
possesses is the number of independent position variables that would have to be
specified in order to locate all parts of the mechanism; it refers to the number of different
ways in which a robot arm can move in the particular direction.
In the case of typical industrial robots,
because a manipulator is usually an open
kinematic chain, and because each joint
position is usually defined with a single
variable, the number of joints equals the
n umber of degrees of freedom.
We can use the arm to get the idea of
degrees of freedom. Keeping the arm straight,
moving it from shoulder, we can move in three
ways. Up-and-down movement is called pitch.
Movement to the right and left is called yaw.
By rotating the whole arm as screwdriver is
called roll. The shoulder has three degrees of
freedom. They are pitch, yaw and roll.
Moving the arm from the elbow only,
holding the shoulder in same position
constantly. The elbow joint has the equivalent of pitch in shoulder joint, thus the elbow has
one degree of freedom. Now moving the wrist straight and motion less, we can bend the wrist
and up and down, side to side and it can also twist a little. The lower arm has the same three
degrees of freedom. Thus the robot has totally seven degrees of freedom. Three degrees of
freedom are sufficient to bring the end of a robot arm to any point within its workspace, or
work envelope in three dimensions.
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FIG 5.2 DEGREE OF FREEDOM.
CHAPTER 6
WORKS TO BE DONE
6.1 SELECTION OF PARTS
Various components of appropriate specifications should be selected so as to
complete the fabrication and assembly of the Robot. If the selection is not done properly
then the proper working of the robot cannot be obtained. It includes the parts like
selection of actuators, motors, sensors etc. Thus the selection procedure of various
components is also an important issue for the project work.
6.2 COMPLETION OF MODEL
Future work is to fabricate and manufacture the complete body structure of the robot,
then the assembly of all the manufactured parts are to be done so that the required load is
lifted and been transported to the targeted place.
6.3 PROGRAMMING
Programming of the Pick and place Robot is to be done using a suitable Programming
Language. The Robot is to been interfaced with the computer by the programmed software,
which will guide the robot to do its job for which it is been programmed. There are numbers
of various programming languages available now a days in the market, so the appropriate
programming language is to be selected for the programming purpose and the programming
is to be done.
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FIG 6.1 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF INTERFACING OF ROBOT WITH COMPUTER.
6.4 INTERFACING WITH THE COMPUTER
In the industrial design field of human-machine interaction, the user interface is where
interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human
and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and
feedback from the machine which aids the operator in making operational decisions.
A user interface is the system by which people (users) interact with a machine. The user
interface includes hardware (physical) and software (logical) components. User interfaces
exist for various systems, and provide a means of:
Input, allowing the users to manipulate a system,
Output, allowing the system to indicate the effects of the users' manipulation
After completion of the model of the pick and place robot and selection of
programming language both should be interfaced. The interfacing of robot and computer
using the software is the most important thing in the project. It should be interfaced using
trial and error method, and then final movement should be set using the softwares. The
movement of robot should be precisely managed causing no harm to the operator, and also
the batteries which are to be moved from one station to another.
References
RK Mittal and IJ Nagarath Robotics and Control BITS Pilani, 2003
Ratheesh Rajan Foundation Studies for an Alternate Approach to Motion Planning of
Dynamic Systems M.S.E., the University of Texas at Austin, 2001
Richard E. Pattis. Karel the Robot: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Programming.
John Wiley & Sons, 1981. ISBN 0-471-59725-2.
The MathWorks Inc. MATLAB 7.0 (R14SP2). The MathWorks Inc., 2005.
Nam Sun Wang, Department of Chemical & Bimolecular Engineering, University of
Maryland
www.robotis.com
www.asmedl.org/robotics
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotics
http://www.robologix.com
www.seattlerobotics.org/encoder/aug97/basics.html
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