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Robot Manipulator
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Outlines
 Robot manipulator
 Degree of freedom
 Links and joints
 Types of lower pair connector
 Robot Manipulator Configurations
 Robot Working Envelope
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Outcomes
 At the end of this session you should
be able to
 Describe the robot manipulator.
 Determine the robot degree of free
dom.
 Identify robot links and joint.
 Differentiate lower pair connector.
 Differentiate manipulator configurat
ions.
 Determine robot working envelope.
Robot Manipulator
 The most obvious mechanical configuration of the robot is th
e manipulator arm.
 There are several designs of the arm to facilitate movement
within the work envelope with maximum possible load and s
peed with high precision and repeatability.
 The simplest robot may be a two or three axes arm.
 The axis is meant to understand independent moveme
nt or degree of freedom.
 Robots are built with several degrees of freedo
m that may vary from two to ten.
 Most of the industrial robots have five or si
x degrees of freedom.
Six degrees of freedom robot
 A robot manipulator consists of several separated links maki
ng a chain.
 The manipulator is located relative to the ground on either a
fix base or a movable base.
 The manipulator arm has a free end where an end effector li
ke gripper or tool is attached.
 In a six degrees of freedom robot, the first three links
of the manipulator constitute the arm and they h
elp to place the end effector at a desired locatio
n inside its working envelope.
 The remaining three links make up the wrist of the manipulat
or and are used to define the orientation of the ma
nipulator end points.
Six degrees of freedom movement
Links and joints
 A robot is essentially a movable open chain of successively
coupled bodies with one end fixed to the ground and the fre
e end containing an end effector.
 The bodies of the open chain are usually links which are join
ed together by some lower pair connectors.
 The most common types of lower pair connectors are revolu
te pair, prismatic pair, cylindrical pair, spherical pair
and Hooke’s joint.
 However the most basic joint are the single
degree of freedom revolute pair and single degree of freedo
m prismatic pair and these two pair are extensively
used in combination in robot manipulator.
Types of lower pair connector
 Revolute pair allows relative rota
tion about a unique pair axis and
has single degree of freedom.

 Prismatic pair permits relative sli

ding parallel with a unique pair a
xis and has single degree of free
dom.
Types of lower pair connector
 Cylindrical pair allows independ
ent relative rotation about and r
elative sliding parallel with a uni
que pair axis and has two degr
ees of freedom.

 Spherical pair is a ball and sock

et joint that permits ind
ependent relative rotation about
three non-coplanar inte
racting axes and has three degr
ees of freedom.
Types of lower pair connector
 Hooke’s joint allows independent rotation about t
wo intersecting axes offset by an angle and has
two degrees of freedom.
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Manipulator Configurations
 The parts of a robot's manipulator are
named after similar parts in a
human's chief manipu
lators, the arm and the hand.
 Here is a comparison of the human and r
obot manipulator.
 Robots are often classified by the shape
of the space, or work envelope, that thei
r manipulator can reach and how it reach
es it.
 Common types of industrial robots are:
 Cartesian coordinates,
 Cylindrical coordinates,
 SCARA,
 Polar coordinates, and
 Jointed arm robots.
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Cartesian Coordinates
 A Cartesian coordinates robot positions by m
oving in straight, or linear, motion along three a
xes: back and forth, in and out, and up and do
wn.
 The following figure shows the x, y, and z coor  Here is a Rectangular-
dinates of a rectangular manipulator, the box lik coordinates robot from
e shape work envelope, and how an over head
crane moves similar to a Cartesian coordinates Cincinnati Milacron.
robot.
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Cylindrical Coordinates
 The cylindrical-coordinates robot manipulator ro
tates about the base or shoulder.
 It also moves up and down and in and out.
 Here is a cylindrical-coordinate manipulator that ro
tates about the theta axis.  Here is a cylindrical-co
 The R or reach axis moves in and out, and the z a ordinates robot from Ci
xis moves up and down. ncinnati Milacron.
 The area it can reach is between two cylinders.
 The cranes on top of tall buildings being built mov
e like a cylindrical-coordinate manipulator.
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SCARA Robot  Here is a SCARA r

obot from Epson.
 The SCARA (Selective Compliance Assembly
Robot Arm) robot has the same work area as
a cylindrical-coordinates robot.
 However, the reach axis includes a rotational j
oint in a plane parallel to the floor.
 The SCARA manipulator rotates in two axes in
the horizontal plane and moves linearly up an
d down.
 Its work area is the space between two cylinde
rs, but it can reach around obstacles.
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Polar Coordinates
 The polar-coordinates, or spherical-coordinates,
robot rotates about the base and about an axis in th
e vertical plane to raise and lower it.
 It also reaches in and out.
 Here is a figure that shows the reach and two rotati
onal axes.
 Its work envelope is the
space between tw
o hemispheres.
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 A jointed-arm robot from Ci

Jointed Arm ncinnati Milacron

 If the arm can rotate about all three

axes, the robot is called a revolute-
coordinates, articulate, anthropo
morphic, vertically articulated, or
jointed-arm robot.
 The jointed-arm robot rotates about
the base, vertically around the shou
lder, and vertically around the elbo
w.
 Here is a sketch of the three axes o
f the jointed-arm robot.
 Its work area is the space between
the base column and a sphere of it
maximum reach.
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The END
Thank you