The manipulator has high flexibility and can easily grasp objects
Manipulators can replace people's heavy labor to realize mechanization and automation of production,and can operate in harmful environments to protect personal safety,so they are widely used in machinery manufacturing,metallurgy,electronics,light industry,atomic energy and other departments.
The manipulator is mainly composed of three parts:actuator,driving mechanism and control system.The hand is a part used to grasp the workpiece(or tool).It has a variety of structural forms according to the shape,size,weight,material and operation requirements of the object to be grasped,such as clamping type,supporting type and adsorption type.The movement mechanism enables the hand to complete various rotations(swings),movements or compound movements to achieve the specified actions and change the position and posture of the object to be grasped.The vertical motion modes of the motion mechanism,such as lifting,retracting and rotating,are called the degrees of freedom of the manipulator.In order to grasp objects at any position and orientation in space,6 degrees of freedom are required.The degree of freedom is the key parameter of manipulator design.The more degrees of freedom,the greater the flexibility and versatility of the manipulator,and the more complex its structure.Generally,the manipulator has 2~3 degrees of freedom.The control system controls the motor of each degree of freedom of the manipulator to complete specific actions.At the same time,the feedback information from the sensor is received to form a stable closed-loop control.The core of the control system is usually composed of microcontroller or dsp and other micro control chips.
Mechanical drive is only used for fixed action occasions.Generally,the cam linkage mechanism is used to achieve the specified action.It is characterized by reliable action,high working speed and low cost,but it is not easy to adjust.Others also use hybrid drive,that is,liquid gas or electric liquid hybrid drive.
Manipulators can save workers,increase rates,reduce costs,improve product quality,improve safety,and enhance the image of the factory.
The advantages of multi joint manipulator are:flexible movement,small motion inertia,strong versatility,ability to grasp workpieces close to the base,and ability to work around obstacles between the body and the working machinery.With the need of production,the flexibility,positioning accuracy and working space of multi joint arm are required to be higher and higher.The multi joint arm also breaks through the traditional concept.Its number of joints can range from three to more than ten or even more,and its shape is not limited to human like arms.However,according to different occasions,the excellent performance of the multi joint arm is incomparable to that of a single joint manipulator.
