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Types of Robotic Arm Geometry

There are four main types of robotic arm geometry: rectangular, cylindrical, spherical, and jointed spherical. Rectangular arms move linearly along three axes and have a rectangular work envelope. Cylindrical arms move linearly in two directions and rotate in one, generating a cylindrical work envelope. Spherical arms rotate in two directions and extend linearly, resulting in a mostly spherical work envelope. Jointed spherical arms most closely mimic the human arm, rotating on at least three axes for a nearly spherical work envelope, but at a higher cost. Each type has different motion characteristics and applications.

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617 views2 pages

Types of Robotic Arm Geometry

There are four main types of robotic arm geometry: rectangular, cylindrical, spherical, and jointed spherical. Rectangular arms move linearly along three axes and have a rectangular work envelope. Cylindrical arms move linearly in two directions and rotate in one, generating a cylindrical work envelope. Spherical arms rotate in two directions and extend linearly, resulting in a mostly spherical work envelope. Jointed spherical arms most closely mimic the human arm, rotating on at least three axes for a nearly spherical work envelope, but at a higher cost. Each type has different motion characteristics and applications.

Uploaded by

AndreaDiVirgilio
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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TYPES OF ROBOTIC ARM GEOMETRY

1. Match the types of robotic arm geometry with their pictures.

RECTANGULAR - CYLINDRICAL - SPHERICAL - JOINTED SPHERICAL

2. Read the following lines and categorize under the different types of robotic arm geometry.

How they move

a. LINEARLY IN TWO DIRECTIONS, X AND Y AND ROTATE IN ONE DIRECTION. ______

b. ROTATE IN TWO DIRECTIONS AND MOVE LINEARLY IN ONE. ______

c. LINEARLY ALONG X, Y AND Z AXES. ______

d. ROTATE ON AT LEAST THREE AXES, LEFT AND RIGHT, HORIZONTAL, AND VERTICAL. ______

Work envelope

a. CYLINDRICAL. ______

b. SPHERICAL AT THEIR OUTER REACH. ______

c. ALMOST ENTIRELY SPHERICAL. ______

d. RECTANGULAR. ______

Commonly used

a. MACHINE TENDING, MATERIAL HANDLING, WELDING, PAINTING, CODING AND ASSEMBLY TASKS. ______

b. PICK-AND-PLACE OR LARGE OVERHEAD MOUNTED ROBOTS. ______

c. TENDING, ASSEMBLY, MATERIAL HANDLING, AND PALLETIZING OPERATIONS. ______

Other information

a. ITS LIMITATIONS MAKE IT HARD TO JUSTIFY IN MOST INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS. ______

b. THEY IMITATE THE MOVEMENT OF THE HUMAN ARM. ______

3. Complete with these words: REACH – SWING – STROKE

a. VERTICAL LINEAR MOTION IS CALLED __________________

b. HORIZONTAL LINEAR MOTION IS CALLED __________________

c. ROTATIONAL MOTION IS CALLED __________________


ROBOTS WITH RECTANGULAR ARM GEOMETRY USE CARTESIAN COORDINATES AND MOVE LINEARLY ALONG EACH OF
THE X, Y AND Z AXES. THIS TYPE OF MOVEMENT IS ALSO CALLED 3P GEOMETRY, WHERE THE P STANDS FOR PRISMATIC
OR LINEAR MOTION. THIS TYPE OF GEOMETRY IS MOST COMMONLY USED WITH PICK-AND-PLACE OR LARGE
OVERHEAD MOUNTED ROBOTS. RECTANGULAR ARM GEOMETRY ROBOTS CAN ONLY MOVE LINEARLY IN EACH
DIRECTION. AN OVERHEAD CRANE ROBOT IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS TYPE OF MOTION. IT CAN MOVE FORWARD
AND BACKWARD, LEFT AND RIGHT, AND UP AND DOWN. ROBOTIC ARMS THAT USE A CARTISIAN COORDINATE
GEOMETRY GENERATE A RECTANGULAR WORK ENVELOPE. RECTANGULAR ROBOTIC ARMS HAVE THE SIMPLEST
GEOMETRY AND CONTROL SYSTEM AND ARE TYPICALLY USED IN MATERIAL HANDLING OPERATIONS.

CYLINDRICAL ARM GEOMETRY ROBOTS MOVE LINEARLY IN TWO DIRECTIONS AND ROTATE IN ONE OTHER. SINCE THIS
TYPE OF ROBOTIC ARM MOVES IN TWO SEPARATE PRISMATIC OR LINEAR DIRECTIONS AND ROTATES IN ONE
DIRECTION, IT’S GIVEN THE DESIGNATION OF R2P, WHERE THE R STANDS FOR ROTATIONAL. THIS TYPE OF ROBOTIC
ARM IS MOST OFTEN USED IN MACHINE TENDING, ASSEMBLY, MATERIAL HANDLING AND PALLETIZING OPERATIONS.
ROBOTIC ARMS WITH CYLINDRICAL GEOMETRY MOVE LINEARLY IN TWO DIRECTIONS. VERTICAL LINEAR MOTION IS
CALLED STROKE. HORIZONTAL LINEAR MOTION IS CALLED REACH, AND ROTATIONAL MOTION IS CALLED SWING.
CYLINDRICAL GEOMETRY ROBOTS HAVE A CYLINDRICAL WORK ENVELOPE. THE ADVANTAGES OF THIS TYPE OF WORK
ENVELOPE IS A ROBOTIC ARM REACH THAT IS DEEP AT BOTH THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE STRIKE. ADDITIONALLY,
THE ROBOT STRUCTURE ALLOWS FOR QUICK MOVEMENTS WITH HIGH REPEATABILITY, A SMALLER USE OF FLOOR
SPACE AND A LARGER PAYLOAD CAPACITY DUE TO STRUCTURAL RIGIDITY.

SPHERICAL ARM GEOMETRY ROBOTS CAN ROTATE IN TWO DIRECTIONS AND MOVE LINEARLY IN ONE AND THUS ARE
GIVEN THE DESIGNATION OF TWO RP. THE ROBOT HAS BASE ROTATION, SHOULDER ROTATION AND PRISMATIC OR
LINEAR MOTION AT THE ARM. THIS TYPE OF ROBOTIC ARM IS MOST OFTEN USED IN MACHINE TENDING, MATERIAL
HANDLING, WELDING, PAINTING, CODING AND ASSEMBLY TASKS. ROBOTIC ARMS WITH SPHERICAL GEOMETRY HAVE
ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT IN TWO DIRECTIONS: ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT AT THE BASE AND ROTATIONAL
MOVEMENT AT THE SHOULDER. SPHERICAL ARM GEOMETRY ROBOTS ALSO HAVE LINEAR MOTION IN ONE DIRECTION,
TYPICALLY THE REACH OF THE ARM. SPHERICAL ARM GEOMETRY ROBOTS HAVE A MOSTLY SPHERICAL WORK
ENVELOPE AT THEIR OUTER REACH, BUT ARE LIMITED BY THE LINEAR REACH OF THE ARM AND THE ROTATION OF THE
SHOULDER JOINT. THE SHAPE OF THE ROBOTS INNER WORK ENVELOPE IS ALMOST CONICAL AND DOES NOT BECOME
A SPHERE UNTIL THE ARM EXTENDS. SPHERICAL ARM GEOMETRY ROBOTS TYPICALLY HAVE A VERY LONG REACH AND
HAVE PROVEN THEIR PERFORMANCE IN INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS. HOWEVER, THEIR HIGH-COST, LARGE USE OF
FLOOR SPACE AND LACK OF FLEXIBILITY COMPARED TO JOINTED SPHERICAL ARM ROBOTS MAKE IT HARD TO JUSTIFY
IN MOST INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS.

JOINTED SPHERICAL ARM GEOMETRY ROBOTS HAVE ROTATION IN THREE DIRECTIONS, USE REVOLUTE COORDINATES
AND ARE GIVEN THE DESIGNATION OF 3R. THEY ARE ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR TYPES OF ROBOTIC ARMS AND
MOST ACCURATELY MIMIC THE MOVEMENT OF THE HUMAN ARM. ROBOTIC ARMS WITH JOINTED SPHERICAL OR
ARTICULATED GEOMETRY ROTATE ON AT LEAR THREE AXES: LEFT AND RIGHT MOVEMENTS ARE PROVIDED BY
ROTATION AT THE BASE; HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT IS PROVIDED BY ROTATION AT THE SHOULDER; AND VERTICAL
MOVEMENT IS PROVIDED BY ROTATION AT THE ELBOW. EXCEPT FOR VERY CLOSE TO THE BODY, THE WORK ENVELOPE
OF A JOINTED SPHERICAL ROBOTIC ARM IS ALMOST ENTIRELY SPHERICAL. THE ADVANTAGES OF THIS TYPE OF WORK
ENVELOPE IS A ROBOTIC ARM WITH VERY DEEP REACH, MINIMAL FLOOR SPACE USE AND HIGH POSITIONING MOBILITY
OF THE TOOL END ARM. DUE TO ITS MECHANICAL COMPLEXITY AND THE COMPLEXITY OF ITS CONTROLLER, THIS
ROBOTIC ARM TYPICALLY COMES WITH A HIGHER HARDWARE COST AND REQUIRES SKILLED TECHNICIANS.

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