Unit-II

ROBOT DRIVE
SYSTEMS AND END
EFFECTORS
 Introduction Robot Drive Systems

The actions of the individual joints must be

controlled in order for the manipulator to perform a
desired motion. The robot’s capacity to move its
body, arm, and wrist is provided by the drive system
used to power the robot
The joints are moved by actuators powered by a
particular form of drive system
Common drive systems used in
robotics are electric drive, hydraulic
drive, and pneumatic drive
Introduction Robot Drive Systems Cont.,

Types of Actuators

Electric Motors - Servomotors, Stepper motors or

Direct-drive electric motors

Hydraulic actuators

Pneumatic actuators
 Mechanical Drive Systems

The drive system determines the speed of the arm

movement, the strength of the robot, dynamic
performance, up to some extent, the kinds of
application.

The most importantly used two types of drive

systems are electric and hydraulic
 Electric Drive System

The electric drive systems are capable of moving

robots with high power or speed
The actuation of this type of robot can be done by
either DC servo motors or DC stepping motors
It can be well – suited for rotational joints and as
well as linear joints
The electric drive system will be perfect for small
robots and precise applications
 Electric Drive System

It has got greater accuracy and repeatability

The one disadvantage of this system is that it is

slightly costlier

An example for this type of drive system is Maker

110 robot
 Hydraulic Drive System

The hydraulic drive systems are completely meant

for the large – sized robots

It can deliver high power or speed than the electric

drive systems

This drive system can be used for both linear and

rotational joints
 Hydraulic Drive System Cont.,

The rotary motions are provided by the rotary vane

actuators , while the linear motions are produced by
hydraulic pistons.

The leakage of hydraulic oils is considered as the

major disadvantage of this drive

An example for the hydraulic drive system is

Unimate 2000 series robot.
 Pneumatic Drive System

The pneumatic drive systems are especially used for

the small type robots have less than five degrees of
freedom
It has the ability to offer fine accuracy and speed
This drive system can produce rotary movements by
actuating the rotary actuators
The translational movements of sliding joints can
also be provided by operating the piston
 Pneumatic Drive System Cont.,

The price of this system is less when compared to the

hydraulic drive

The drawback of this system is that it will not be a

perfect selection for the faster operations.
 DC Servo Motors & Stepper Motor

As we know that any electrical motor can be utilized

as servo motor if it is controlled by servomechanism

if we control a DC motor by means of

servomechanism, it would be referred as DC servo
motor
There are different types of DC motor, such
shunt wound DC motor, series DC motor, Separately
excited DC motor, permanent magnet DC motor,
Brushless DC motor etc
DC Servo Motors & Stepper Motor Cont.,
 DC Servo Motor

The motors which are utilized as DC servo motors,

generally have separate DC source for field winding
and armature winding
The control can be archived either by controlling the
field current or armature current
Field control has some specific advantages over
armature control and on the other hand armature
control has also some specific advantages over field
control
 DC Servo Motor Cont.,

Which type of control should be applied to the DC

servo motor, is being decided depending upon its
specific applications

Lets See the DC servo motor working principle

for field control and armature control
 DC Servo Motor Working

Field Controlled DC Servo Motor

 DC Servo Motor Working Cont.,

The figure below illustrates the schematic diagram

for a field controlled DC servo motor. In this
arrangement the field of DC motor is excited be the
amplified error signal and armature winding is
energized by a constant current source
The field is controlled below the knee point of
magnetizing saturation curve. At that portion of the
curve the mmf linearly varies with excitation current
 DC Servo Motor Working Cont.,

That means torque developed in the DC motor is

directly proportional to the field current below the
knee point of magnetizing saturation curve From
general torque equation of DC motor it is found that,
torque T ∝ φ Ia
Where, φ is field flux and Ia is armature current. But
in field controlled DC servo motor, the armature is
excited by constant current source , hence Ia is
constant.
 DC Stepper Motor

Stepper Motors are also electromechanical actuators

that convert a pulsed digital input signal into a
discrete (incremental) mechanical movement are
used widely in industrial control applications
 DC Stepper Motor cont.,

Stepper Motors are also electromechanical actuators

that convert a pulsed digital input signal into a
discrete (incremental) mechanical movement are
used widely in industrial control applications
As it name implies, the stepper motor does not
rotate in a continuous fashion like a conventional DC
motor but moves in discrete “Steps” or “Increments”,
with the angle of each rotational movement or step
dependent upon the number of stator poles and rotor
teeth the stepper motor has
 DC Stepper Motor cont.,

Because of their discrete step operation, stepper

motors can easily be rotated a finite fraction of a
rotation at a time, such as 1.8, 3.6, 7.5 degrees etc
So for example, lets assume that a stepper motor
completes one full revolution (360o in exactly 100
steps
Then the step angle for the motor is given as 360
degrees/100 steps = 3.6 degrees per step. This value
is commonly known as the stepper motors Step
Angle
 DC Stepper Motor cont.,

There are three basic types of stepper motor

 Variable Reluctance
 Permanent Magnet
 Hybrid
A Stepper Motor is particularly well suited to
applications that require accurate positioning
and repeatability with a fast response to
starting, stopping, reversing and speed control
Its ability to hold the load steady once the
require position is achieved
 DC Stepper Motor cont.,

Generally, stepper motors have an internal rotor

with a large number of permanent magnet “teeth”
with a number of electromagnet “teeth” mounted on
to the stator. The stators electromagnets are
polarized and depolarized sequentially, causing the
rotor to rotate one “step” at a time.
 DC Stepper Motor cont.,

Modern multi-pole, multi-teeth stepper motors are

capable of accuracies of less than 0.9 degs per step
(400 Pulses per Revolution) and are mainly used for
highly accurate positioning systems like those used
for magnetic-heads in floppy/hard disc drives,
printers/plotters or robotic applications.
The most commonly used stepper motor being the
200 step per revolution stepper motor. It has a 50
teeth rotor, 4-phase stator and a step angle of 1.8
degrees (360 degs/(50×4)).
DC Stepper Motor cont.,
In our simple example of a variable reluctance
stepper motor above, the motor consists of a central
rotor surrounded by four electromagnetic field coils
labeled A, B, C and D.
All the coils with the same letter are connected
together so that energizing, say coils marked A will
cause the magnetic rotor to align itself with that set
of coils.
By applying power to each set of coils in turn the rotor can
be made to rotate or "step" from one position to the next by
an angle determined by its step angle construction, and by
energizing the coils in sequence the rotor will produce a
rotary motion
The stepper motor driver controls both the step angle and
speed of the motor by energizing the field coils in a set
sequence for example, “ADCB, ADCB, ADCB, A…” etc, the
rotor will rotate in one direction (forward) and by reversing
the pulse sequence to “ABCD, ABCD, ABCD, A…” etc., the
rotor will rotate in the opposite direction (reverse)
Then there are 24 (6 teeth x 4 coils) possible positions or
“steps” for the rotor to complete one full revolution.
Therefore, the step angle above is given as: 360o/24 = 15o
more rotor teeth and or stator coils would result in more
control and a finer step angle. Also by connecting the
electrical coils of the motor in different configurations,
Full, Half and micro-step angles are possible
To achieve micro-stepping, the stepper motor must be
driven by a (quasi) sinusoidal current that is expensive to
implement
It is also possible to control the speed of rotation of a
stepper motor by altering the time delay between the
digital pulses applied to the coils (the frequency)
The longer the delay the slower the speed for one
complete revolution. By applying a fixed number of
pulses to the motor, the motor shaft will rotate
through a given angle
The advantage of using time delayed pulse is that
there would be no need for any form of additional
feedback because by counting the number of pulses
given to the motor the final position of the rotor will
be exactly known
This response to a set number of digital input pulses
allows the stepper motor to operate in an “Open
Loop System” making it both easier and cheaper to
control
 AC Servo Motor

Servos are controlled by sending an electrical pulse

of variable width, or pulse width modulation (PWM),
through the control wire
There is a minimum pulse, a maximum pulse and a
repetition rate. A servo motor can usually only turn
90° in either direction for a total of 180° movement
The motor's neutral position is defined as the
position where the servo has the same amount of
potential rotation in the both the clockwise or
counter-clockwise direction
 AC Servo Motor

The PWM sent to the motor determines position of

the shaft, and based on the duration of the pulse
sent via the control wire the rotor will turn to
the desired position
The servo motor expects to see a pulse every 20
milliseconds (ms) and the length of the pulse will
determine how far the motor turns
For example, a 1.5ms pulse will make the motor turn
to the 90° position. Shorter than 1.5ms moves it to 0°
and any longer than 1.5ms will turn the servo to 180°
AC Servo Motor
AC Servo Motor
 AC Servo Motor

When these servos are commanded to move, they

will move to the position and hold that position
If an external force pushes against the servo while
the servo is holding a position, the servo will resist
from moving out of that position
The maximum amount of force the servo can exert is
called the torque rating of the servo.
Servos will not hold their position forever though;
the position pulse must be repeated to instruct the
servo to stay in position
 Grippers

In robotics, an end effector is the device at the end of

a robotic arm, designed to interact with the
environment
The exact nature of this device depends on the
application of the robot. In the strict definition, which
originates from serial robotic manipulators, the end
effector means the last link (or end) of the robot
At this endpoint the tools are attached. In a wider
sense, an end effector can be seen as the part of a
robot that interacts with the work environment
 Grippers

This does not refer to the wheels of a mobile robot or

the feet of a humanoid robot which are also not end
effectors—they are part of the robot's mobility
 Grippers

End effectors may consist of a gripper or a tool

Four general categories of robot grippers
 Impactive – jaws or claws which physically grasp by direct
impact upon the object
 Ingressive – pins, needles or hackles which physically
penetrate the surface of the object (used in textile, carbon and
glass fiber handling).
 Astrictive – suction forces applied to the objects surface
(whether by vacuum, magneto- or electro adhesion).
 Contigutive – requiring direct contact for adhesion to take
place (such as glue, surface tension or freezing)
 Grippers

They are based on different physical effects used to

guarantee a stable grasping between a gripper and
the object to be grasped
Industrial grippers can be mechanical, the most
diffused in industry, but also based on suction or on
the magnetic force
Vacuum cups and electromagnets dominate the
automotive field and in particular metal sheet
handling
 Grippers

A gripper is a motion device that mimics the

movements of people, in the case of the gripper, it is
the fingers. A gripper is a device that holds an object
so it can be manipulated. It has the ability to hold
and release an object while some action is being
performed. The fingers are not part of the gripper,
they are specialized custom tooling used to grip the
object and are referred to as "jaws." Two main types
of action are performed by grippers:
 Grippers

External: This is the most popular method of

holding objects, it is the most simplistic and it
requires the shortest stroke length. When the gripper
jaws close, the closing force of the gripper holds that
object
Internal: In some applications, the object geometry
or the need to access the exterior of the object will
require that the object is held from the center. In this
case the opening force of the gripper will be holding
the object
 Magnetic Grippers

Magnetic grippers are most commonly used in a

robot as an end effector for grasping the ferrous
materials.
It is another type of handling the work parts other
than the mechanical grippers and vacuum grippers.

Types of magnetic grippers

 Electromagnets
 Permanent magnets
 Magnetic Grippers

Electromagnets
Electromagnetic grippers include a controller unit and a
DC power for handling the materials. This type of grippers
is easy to control, and very effective in releasing the part at
the end of the operation than the permanent magnets.
If the work part gripped is to be released, the polarity level
is minimized by the controller unit before the
electromagnet is turned off. This process will certainly help
in removing the magnetism on the work parts. As a result,
a best way of releasing the materials is possible in this
gripper.
 Magnetic Grippers

Permanent magnets:
 The permanent magnets do not require any sort of
external power as like the electromagnets for handling the
materials. After this gripper grasps a work part, an
additional device called as stripper push – off pin will be
required to separate the work part from the magnet. This
device is incorporated at the sides of the gripper.
The advantage of this permanent magnet gripper is that it
can be used in hazardous applications like explosion-proof
apparatus because of no electrical circuit. Moreover, there
is no possibility of spark production as well.
 Magnetic Grippers

Benefits:
  

 This gripper only requires one surface to grasp the materials.

 The grasping of materials is done very quickly.
 It does not require separate designs for handling different size of
the material
 It is capable of grasping materials with holes, which is unfeasible in
the vacuum grippers
Drawbacks:
  

 The gripped work part has the chance of slipping out when it is
moving quickly.
 Sometimes oil in the surface can reduce the strength of the gripper.
 The machining chips may stick to the gripper during unloading
Mechanical Gripper
 Mechanical Gripper

A mechanical gripper is used as an end effector in a

robot for grasping the objects with its mechanically
operated fingers.
In industries, two fingers are enough for holding
purposes. More than three fingers can also be used
based on the application. As most of the fingers are
of replace able type, it can be easily removed and
replaced
 Mechanical Gripper

A robot requires either hydraulic, electric, or

pneumatic drive system to create the input power.
The power produced is sent to the gripper for
making the fingers react. It also allows the fingers to
perform open and close actions. Most importantly, a
sufficient force must be given to hold the object.
 Mechanical Gripper

In a mechanical gripper, the holding of an object

can be done by two different methods such as:
 Using the finger pads as like the shape of the work part.
 Using soft material finger pads.

In the first method, the contact surfaces of the

fingers are designed according to the work part for
achieving the estimated shape. It will help the
fingers to hold the work part for some extent
 Mechanical Gripper

In the second method, the fingers must be capable of

supplying sufficient force to hold the work part. To avoid
scratches on the work part, soft type pads are fabricated
on the fingers. As a result, the contact surface of the
finger and co – efficient of friction are improved
This method is very simple and as well as less expensive.
It may cause slippage if the force applied against the
work part is in the parallel direction. The slippage can be
avoided by designing the gripper based on the force
exerted
 Mechanical Gripper

Equation I = µ nf Fg = w ………………… 1

µ => co – efficient of friction between the work part

and fingers
nf => no. of fingers contacting
Fg => Force of the gripper
w => weight of the grasped object
 Mechanical Gripper

Equation 2 µ nf Fg = w g …..… 2

g => g factor
 Mechanical Gripper

The values of g factor for several operations are

given below:
 g = 1 – acceleration supplied in the opposite direction.
 g = 2 – acceleration supplied in the horizontal direction.

 g = 3 – acceleration and gravity supplied in the same

direction
A pneumatic gripper is a specific type of
pneumatic actuator that typically involves either
parallel or angular motion of surfaces, A.K.A.
“tooling jaws or fingers” that will grip an object.
When combined with other pneumatic, electric, or
hydraulic components, the gripper can be used as
part of a "pick and place" system that will allow a
component to be picked up and placed somewhere
else as part of a manufacturing system.
 Mechanical Gripper

Some grippers act directly on the object they are

gripping based on the force of the air pressure
supplied to the gripper, while others will use a
mechanism such as a gear or toggle to leverage the
amount of force applied to the object being gripped.
Grippers can also vary in terms of the opening size,
the amount of force that can be applied, and the
shape of the gripping surfaces— frequently called
"tooling jaws or fingers"
 Mechanical Gripper

Common industrial pneumatic components

include:
• pneumatic direct operated solenoid valve
• pneumatic pilot operated solenoid valve
• pneumatic external piloted solenoid valve
• pneumatic manual valve
• pneumatic valve with air pilot actuator
• pneumatic filter
• pneumatic pressure regulator
• pneumatic lubricator
 Hydraulic Grippers

Grippers are devices used with pick-and-place

robotic systems to pick up or place an object on an
assembly line, conveyor system, or other automated
system. Fingered tooling—or jaws—is attached to the
grippers to grip or hold the object
 Hydraulic Grippers

They come in a variety of styles and powered

designs. Three common types are parallel, three-
finger, and angled designs.
The most common are parallel designs, with two
fingers that close on a work piece to grip it or open it
out by creating pressure on the inside.
Three-finger designs hold the work piece in the
center, and have three fingers offset by 120°. Finally,
angled designs feature jaws that work at a variety of
different angle openings (for example, 30°, 40°, etc.)
 Hydraulic Grippers

Most hydraulic grippers are designed for a hydraulic

system where the cylinder diameter is made with less
surface area, meaning that a hydraulic gripper would
have the same force at 60 bar as a pneumatic gripper
of the same size at 6 bar
 Hydraulic Grippers

In general, hydraulic and pneumatic grippers have

the same basic actuation principle. They include
direct acting piston designs as well as piston wedge
designs
 Hydraulic Grippers

The direct acting piston design is used when a

hydraulic force acts directly on a piston that is
directly connected to the jaw or finger that is
touching or gripping the part.
The piston wedge design features a hydraulic force
acting on a piston while the piston itself is acting on
a wedge
The wedge translates this force to the jaws or fingers,
providing the grip force to grip the part.
 Hydraulic Grippers

The wedge can give a mechanical advantage as it can

increase grip force while keeping the piston diameter
and pressure to the piston the same. This allows
more grip force in a smaller package compared to the
directing piston
Unlike electromechanical grippers, which have
motors on each actuator, one single motor powers
the hydraulic fluid that supplies energy to multiple
devices throughout a plant.
 Hydraulic Grippers

When selecting a hydraulic gripper, it is important

to consider the following:
 Part weight and size to be lifted
 Part material
 Clearance issues around the part that could interfere with the
gripping part
 The environment the gripper will be used in (corrosive, food or
beverage, etc.)
 The motion path of the robot or linear device that is moving the
gripper
 The power supply that will be available and the pressure ratings
available
Vacuum grippers
 Vacuum grippers

Vacuum grippers are used in the robots for grasping

the non – ferrous objects.
It uses vacuum cups as the gripping device, which is
also commonly known as suction cups.
This type of grippers will provide good handling if
the objects are smooth, flat, and clean.
It has only one surface for gripping the objects. Most
importantly, it is not best suitable for handling the
objects with holes
 Vacuum grippers

Vacuum cups: Generally, the vacuum cups (suction

cups) will be in the round shape. These cups will be
developed by means of rubber or other elastic
materials. Sometimes, it is also made of soft
plastics. Moreover, the vacuum cups are prepared of
hard materials for handling the soft material objects
 Vacuum grippers

Two different devices are used in the suction cups for

creating the vacuum. They are:
 Venturi
 Vacuum pump
Venturi device is operated with the help of shop air
pressure, while the vacuum pump is driven either by means
of vane or piston device.
The vacuum pump has the ability to create the high
vacuum. As the venturi is a simple device, it is more
reliable and inexpensive. Both these devices are very well
capable of providing high vacuum if there is a sufficient
supply of air pressure.
 Vacuum grippers

Types of vacuum grippers

The ball joint type vacuum gripper is capable of
changing into various contact angles automatically.
Moreover, the bending moments in the vacuum cups
are also decreased. It is used for carrying irregular
materials, heavy objects, etc
A vacuum gripper with level compensator can be
very helpful in balancing the objects with different
levels. It also has the capability to absorb the shocks
 Vacuum grippers

Applications of vacuum grippers

 Vacuum grippers are highly useful in the heavy industries,

automobiles, compact disc manufacturing, and more for
material handling purposes.
 It is also used in the tray & box manufacturing, labeling,
sealing, bottling, and so on for packaging purposes.
 Two and Three-fingered gripper

It's also costly to order custom-made handlers for

special parts. To solve these problems, engineers at
Barrett Technology Inc., Cambridge, Mass.
(barrett.com), developed the Barrett Hand, a three-
fingered gripper that can securely hold a wide variety
of shapes and parts
The device has three articulated fingers. The center
finger is fixed, and the other two rotate up to 180˚
around the outside of the hand's palm.
This gives the hand a wide variety of grips and
configurations. Each finger has two sections which
act in concert to grab objects.
When the first section touches an object, the second
section continues retracting until it is also in contact.
With all the fingers in play, and including the palm,
the hand can have a seven-point grip on the object.
This lets it deal with objects of unknown or
inconsistent shapes. The hand can lift about 1.2 kg.
The hand's eight joints are controlled by four
brushless-dc motors, all in the wrist section. A
torque switch lets four motors control eight axes of
motion.
The gripper's communications, five microprocessors,
sensors, and signal processor are packed inside the
palm body. A small umbilical cable connects the
hand to an array of robotic arms from different
manufacturers.
Two-fingered gripper
The mechanism driving the fingers of this Gripper is
optimized to obtain two distinct contact regions. The
first one, called the “encompassing grip region”, is
located at the base of the fingers, while the second
one, called the “pinch grip region”, is located at their
end/tip
The boundary between these two adjacent regions is
called the “equilibrium point”.
When the contact of the finger with the object to be
grasped occurs in the encompassing grip region, the
finger automatically adapts to the shape of the object
and curls around it
On the other hand, when the contact is made in the
pinch grip region, the finger maintains its parallel
motion and the object is pinched.
Since the finger keeps its parallel motion when a
contact is made above the equilibrium point during a
pinch grip, the same is true for a contact made below
the equilibrium point during an inside grip
Coupling between the fingers
In addition to the mechanism used inside each of its
fingers, the Gripper also relies on a special coupling
architecture between the fingers. In fact, it is
mechanically designed to ensure that the two fingers
move in conjunction with each other in order to center
the object grasped in the middle of the Gripper. This
self-centering avoids the need to use expensive sensor
sand is above all safer
In the same vein to make this Robot Gripper as
reliable as possible, a self-locking feature has been
incorporated into it between the actuator and the
fingers. By doing so, we are sure that the Gripper will
never release the object and let it fall if the power is
shut down. It is also economically interesting, as the
actuator doesn’t need to apply torque continually
when an object is grasped, thus in addition to the
power saved, the lifespan of the Gripper is thereby
maximized
Selection and design considerations in robot gripper

A robot can perform good grasping of objects only

when it obtains a proper gripper selection and design
 The gripper must have the ability to reach the surface of a work
part.
 The change in work part size must be accounted for providing
accurate positioning.
 During machining operations, there will be a change in the work
part size. As a result, the gripper must be designed to hold a work
part even when the size is varied.
Selection and design considerations in robot gripper

A robot can perform good grasping of objects only

when it obtains a proper gripper selection and design
 The gripper must not create any sort of distort and scratch in the
fragile work parts.
 The gripper must hold the larger area of a work part if it has
various dimensions, which will certainly increase stability and
control in positioning.
 The gripper can be designed with resilient pads to provide more grasping
contacts in the work part. The replaceable fingers can also be employed
for holding different work part sizes by its interchangeability facility
Moreover, it is difficult to find out the magnitude of
gripping force that a gripper must apply to pick up a
work part. The following significant factors must be
considered to determine the necessary gripping force
 Consideration must be taken to the weight of a work part.
 It must be capable of grasping the work parts constantly at its
center of mass.
 The speed of robot arm movement and the connection between
the direction of movement and gripper position on the work
part should be considered.
Moreover, it is difficult to find out the magnitude of
gripping force that a gripper must apply to pick up a
work part. The following significant factors must be
considered to determine the necessary gripping force
 It must determine either friction or physical constriction helps
to grip the work part.
 It must consider the co-efficient of friction between the gripper
and work part.