Industrial Robot Development

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Progress Report

General Developmental Bill of Materials Completed

Mechanical Design Illustrated

Denavit-Hartenberg Kinematic Parameters Completed

Electrical Design Illustrated

Hydraulic Design Illustrated

Systems Engineering Diagrams Added

Task List

Continue design optimization and understanding through research and collaboration

Research into design, construction, and mounting of shaft encoder

Research into design, construction, and mounting of gearbox

Research into microcontroller programming

Research into design, construction, and mounting of bracket and shaft coupling for step motor-needle valve pairs

Complete force analysis on different mechanical designs

Complete calculations for required specifications of various industrial robot components (eg. required pressure and flow from pump, required torque from motors)

Complete all CAD files of the industrial robot

Complete build instructions

Complete user's manual

Design Rationale

• Using hydraulic drive over electric drive: electric drive requires complicated electronic circuits, requires a high reduction gearbox (such as harmonic drive, which is complicated to design and fabricate), and is not as scalable as hydraulic drive (for very high loads).

• Needle valves and solenoid valves over proportional servovalves: proportional servovalves experience coil heat buildup that changes the resistance of the solenoid hence diminishes its accuracy of control; proportional servovalves also are more complicated to design and fabricate.

• Stepper motors to allow the electronic control of needle valves: eliminates need to have closed-loop system for needle valve control while maintaining high accuracy through stepping.

• Two plate, four pillar design for foundation: simple to design, fabricate, and assemble, does not require casting with molds while maintaining high degree of stability.

• Angles and bars frame design: simple to design, fabricate, and assemble, does not require casting with molds while maintaining high degree of stability akin to the designs of existing commercial industrial robots.

• Spur gearbox: High efficiency, minimal axial force transmitted onto shaft; simple to design, fabricate, and assemble relative to other gearbox types (such as planetary or harmonic).

• [Type of Encoder]