Lab Session # 2

To manipulate the degree of freedom of RV-2AJ Mitsubishi robotic Arm

APPARATUS:
Robotic Arm (RV-2AJ) Mitsubishi

PARTS:
 Base motor
 End effector
 Teach pendant
 PLC contractor

DIAGRAM:

Figure 1: RV-2AJ Mitsubishi robotic Arm

 Figure 2

THEORY:
Introduction of RV-2AJ Mitsubishi robotic Arm:
Refurbished Mitsubishi five Axis Robot, Robot consists of robotic arm RV-2AJ, controller CR1-
571, teaching box, manuals, and cables.
Mitsubishi RV-2AJ (2 kg lifting capacity) robot is completely user friendly and It can be
programmed with the teach pendant as well as with a PC. offers speed and high Precision
performance over conventional industrial robots, boasting a maximum speed of 2000mm/sec,
418mm reach and a position repeatability of +/-0.02mm.
Servo Motors equipped with absolute encoders, which eliminates the need to return to the origin
when power is turned on. This also solves the problem of interface by peripheral devices during
origin setting.
A 64-bit RISC CPU is used, with improved functions, performance and expandability. robot
languages, MELFA-BASIC IV and Move Master (MoveMaster Command), are included in the
standard configuration.[1]
Components of RV-2AJ Mitsubishi robotic Arm
Base Motor:
A base motor at the bottom bear the load and provide support to withstand at normal position.
End Effecter:
It is a device or tool that is connected to the end of a robot arm where the hand would be.
PLC programming:
It is used to operate the robotic arm which works on matrices.
Teach pendant:
It is a control box for programming the motions of a robot. Also called a "teach box," the robot is
set to "learning" or "teach" mode, and the pendant is used to control the robot step by step.
Work space/ work envelope:
The work envelop is the range of motion over which a robotic arm can move. In practice, it is the
set of points in space that the end effector can reach.
The size and shape of work envelope depends on the coordinate geometry of the robotic arm and
also on the number of degrees of freedom. Some work envelopes are flat confined almost
entirely to one horizontal plane. Others are cylindrical or spherical. [2]

Figure 3:Work space/ work envelope

Types of Robotic workspace:

There are mainly two types of robotic workspace:
1. Linear workspace
2. Angular workspace
Linear workspace:
The linear workspace of RV-2AJ Mitsubishi robotic arm depends upon the length of end
effectors therefore the maximum workspace of arm is 410mm and minimum is 220mm radius
with respect to base motor.
Angular workspace:
In this arm, angular workspace depends upon base motor of arm and 60° is not access
able by robotic arm, hence angular workspace of robotic arm is 300°.
Robot kinematics:
Robot kinematics applies geometry to the study of the movement of multi-degree of
freedom kinematic chains that form the structure of robotic systems. The emphasis on geometry
means that the links of the robot are modeled as rigid bodies and its joints are assumed to provide
pure rotation or translation.
Forward robotic kinematics:
Forward kinematics refers to process of obtaining position and velocity of end effector,
given the known joint angles and angular velocities. [3]
Inverse robotic kinematics:
In robotics and computer animation, inverse kinematics is the mathematical process of
calculating the variable joint parameters needed to place the end of a kinematic chain, such as a
robot manipulator or animation character's skeleton, in a given position and orientation relative
to the start of the chain. [3]
PLC Programming:
A PLC is primarily used to control machinery. A program written for a PLC consists
basically of instructions to turn on and off outputs based on input conditions and the internal
program. In this respect, it is like how a standard computer application is used.
Once a PLC program is activated, however, it will typically run continuously as a loop for an
indefinite period. Most commonly, a PLC is found inside of a machine in an industrial
environment. A PLC can run an automatic machine for years with little human intervention.
They are designed to withstand most harsh environments.
Different cycles in PLC programming:
• Scan Cycle
• Overhead
• Input cycle
• Logic execution
• Diagnosis and communication
• Output scan
Teach pendant:
It is a control box for programming the motions of a robot. Also called a "teach box," the
robot is set to "learning" or "teach" mode, and the pendant is used to control the robot step by
step.

Working of teach pendent:

Teach pendant mode:
 Turn the key on the Controller to TEACH.
  Turn the key on the Teach Pendant to ENABLE.
Moving the robot:
To move the robot two buttons must be pushed, i.e., the button under the teach pendant
(dead-man’s-handle) and the button “STEP/MOVE”. (Keeping these two buttons pressed down
turns on the servos). A low beeping sound from the PWM can be heard and the LED “SVO ON”
goes green. Stay out of the work space when the servos are on (Safety Rule 1 – above) The robot
can be now moved in joint-space (Ө1 to Ө5) or Cartesian-space (XYZ). For Cartesian-space
operation press the XYZ button once (top row 3rd across). The buttons labelled –X,+X,-Y,+Y,-
Z,+Z can now be used to move the robot. The buttons labelled -A,+A are to rotate the robot’s
end-effector around the end effector Z axis. . The buttons labelled,-B,+B are to rotate the robot’s
end-effector around the end effector …… axis? Pressing the XYZ button at any time displays the
position of the end-effector. To open and close the hand keep the dead-man’s handle pressed,
release the “STEP/MOVE” button and keep the “HAND” button pressed instead. To open the
hand press “+C” to close it “-C”. [4]
Safety:[4]
The following safety rules must ALWAYS be obeyed. Failure to do so may result in exclusion
from the laboratory.

 NEVER enter the robot work space when servo power is on! i.e., the green LED (light
emitting diode) at the “SVO ON” switch is on.
 Always make sure there is no one in the work cell before starting a program.
 Always give an audible warning before running the program.
 Always keep one hand at the emergency stop and observe the robot during its full
operational cycle Always write “OVRD 20” as the first line in any robot program. This
limits the maximum speed Never load the robot with more than 2 kg. If the arm is
operated at full stretch limit the maximum load to 0.5 kg.
 Never leave the robot unattended when it is powered up.

Figure 4
 Operational rules: [4]
In order to prevent damage to the robot:

 Do not switch off the controller power while the robot has power on the servo.
 Avoid collisions. If you think the robot will cause a collision press the emergency stop
button immediately.
 Do not change the tool-end coordinates.

CONCLUSIONS:
COMMENTS:
REFERENCES:
1. http://www.mitsubishirobots.com/RV2AJ.html
2. http://www.robotpark.com/academy/work-envelope-21149/
3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/forward-kinematics
4. http://www.worldcolleges.info/sites/default/files/enggnotes/robot_programming.pdf
 Lab Session # 3
To identify the operations of a FESTO Robotic Work cell

OBJECTIVE:
 To understand the working of robotic work cell.
 To know about sensors and gauging method of work cell.

Apparatus:

Figure 1

Figure 2
THEORY:
Introduction:
FESTO is a German company who is manufacturing robotic work cell. This robot is an
industrial robot. It performs drilling operation after that it measures the hole’s diameter
and depth with the help of go and not go gauges and differentiate the parts w.r.t color of
part with the help of capacitive and infrared sensors. Its control is pneumatic.
Components of FESTO Robotic Work cell:
Components of FESTO Robotic Work cell are following:

1. Sensors
2. Go Gauge
3. Drill
4. Pneumatic Control
5. Buffer
6. Part Feeder

Sensors:
A sensor is a device that detects and responds to some type of input from the physical environment. The
specific input could be light, heat, motion, moisture, pressure, or any one of a great number of other
environmental phenomena. The output is generally a signal that is converted to human-readable display
at the sensor location or transmitted electronically over a network for reading or further processing. [1]

Types of sensors:
There are two basic types of sensors

1. Active sensor
2. Passive sensor
Active sensors:
Active sensor require an external source of power (excitation voltage) that provides the majority of the
output power of the signal. [2]

Passive sensors:
The output power is almost entirely provided by the measured signal without an excitation voltage in
case of passive sensors. [2]

Use of sensors in robotics:

The sensors are one of the useful technologies, which play a vital role in the robotics field. There are
four important categories where uses of sensors are highly required in robotics such as:

1. Safety monitoring
2. Interlocking in work cell control
 3. Quality control in work part inspection
4. Data collection of objects in the robot work cell

Festo sensors:
Position transmitters:
Position transmitters provide an analogue, displacement-proportional output signal in the sensing range.
The contactless measuring principle ensures wear-resistant sensing, which is a particular advantage in
harsh environments.

Areas of application:
As a consistent further development of the binary proximity sensor, position sensors enable a multitude
of new application areas when combined with pneumatic cylinders:

 Quality inspection
 Ultrasonic welding
 Process control during sheet manufacture or during wear monitoring
 Object sensing during pressing or clamping
 Object sensing when recording positions, when changing products or when quality-
sorting parts

Fig. 4: Quality inspection using Position transmitter

 Fig. 5: Ultrasonic welding using position transmitter

Pressure and vacuum sensors:

Pressure and vacuum sensors expand the application range of systems, provide greater process
reliability and offer the option of remote maintenance and monitoring. They are also easy and quick to
use thanks to the standardized control and display concept shared by all Festo pressure sensors.

Pressure and vacuum switch SDE5:

Pressure and vacuum switch SDE5 is the cost-effective alternative for simple, quick pressure control. It is
as effective for sensing compressed air as it is for regulator, vacuum and object detection via back
pressure.

Fig. 6: Pressure control using pressure and vacuum switch SDE5

Go Gauge:
Go gauge refers to an inspection tool used to check a workpiece against maximum material condition.
It is an integral part of the quality process that is used in the manufacturing industry to ensure
interchangeability of parts between processes or even between different manufacturers. It does not return
a size or actual measurement in the conventional sense, but instead returns a state, which is either
acceptable (the part is within tolerance and may be used) or unacceptable (the part must be rejected). [4]
Working of go gauge:
Its working principle is quite simple. If the part is placed in go gauge and if it is easily passed
through it then part is conformance to specification otherwise not.
Drill:
A drill is a tool primarily used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a
drill or driver, depending on application, secured by a chuck.

Drill working in Festo:

The task of the drilling module is

 To move workpieces to the correct position and

 To machine the workpiece by adding a drill hole (simulated).
The module drills workpieces (symbolically). The workpieces are detected on the conveyor belt by an
optical diffuse sensor. The drilling machine is moved down by means of a pneumatic slide.

When a workpiece is positioned underneath the drilling machine then the conveyor stops, the linear
slide moves down and symbolically drills a hole. The linear cylinder then travels back up to its initial
position. When the linear slide is at the top, the conveyor belt is re-started and the workpiece leaves the
module. [5]

Pneumatic Control:
Pneumatic control system is a system that uses compressed air to transmit and control energy. Pneumatic
control systems are used in train doors, automatic production lines and mechanical clamps etc.
Adaptive shape gripper DHEF:
The adaptive shape gripper DHEF is a flexible gripper that can handle many different objects without the
need to change grippers. The gripper is best suited to handling small parts, for picking or for working in
close proximity to humans, when precision and cycle times are not so important. [6]
Working of Adaptive shape gripper DHEF in Festo Robotic arm:
The gripper consists of a pneumatic drive and the inverting cap, which is connected to the piston rod at its
tip. The cylinder motion pulls the cap tip inwards, allowing objects to be gripped during the inverting
motion. Two sensors can be mounted in T-slots on the side of the cylinder. They report the piston position
and provide feedback on the gripping process. The gripper also has an ISO interface for mounting on a
robot. [6]
 Fig. 7: Adaptive shape gripper DHEF

Buffer:
Buffer is used in manufacturing to compensate for variation in production process. Changing in supply &
demand would be an example of these variations.

Need of Buffer:
In manufacturing, the concept of buffering is defined as maintaining enough supplies to keep operations
running smoothly. So, its implementation tends to increase production efficiency, reduce overall costs
and keep operations running smoothly. However, when done incorrectly, the opposite can be true.

Part Feeder:
Part feeders are common devices used to feed individual components parts for machining or assembly
operation. Common methods of part feeding are:

1. Bowl Feeding
2. Magazine Feeding
Magazines and linear feeders usually require the parts to be oriented before being loaded and mostly
suitable when part is fragile. While Bowl feeding which is also known as vibration feeder, allow bulk
product to be stored, oriented and fed out as individual component. It also transfer to an integrated
linear feeder to provide a buffer of oriented parts, this is especially useful for high speed applications.

Checkbox (part feeder) of Festo:

The Checkbox is a system for the optical orientation detection and quality inspection of small parts. It
consists of an optical unit, e.g. a conveying unit with integral camera and a control unit. [7]
 Working of Checkbox:
The part to be inspected is fed past the camera on the conveyor belt. The control unit analyses the
contour of the part and distinguishes between good parts and those which are incorrectly oriented or
defective and foreign parts. All Checkbox units feature a Teach-in function which allows them to “learn”
different parts automatically – without the need for programming. [7]

Fig. 8: Festo checkbox

Working Procedure of robotic cell:

1. First, workpiece is fed from part feeder to rotator table.
2. Then drilling is performed at this point.
3. Using go & not go gauge, check the diameter and depth of hole.
4. RV-2AJ picks the part from that place to capacitive proximity sensor which detects
whether the workpiece is metal or non-metal on the behalf of capacitance.
5. From capacitive sensor workpiece is placed in front of infrared sensor where color of
workpiece is detected and IR sensor on for a specific time period and gets off after that
time.
6. At the end workpiece is stored in specific storage area for a particular part.

Conclusion:

Comments:

References:
1. https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/sensor
2. https://web.iit.edu/sites/web/files/departments/academic-affairs/academic-resource-
center/pdfs/SENSORS.pdf
3. https://www.festo.com/net/SupportPortal/Files/53453/Sensoren_en_V05_M.pdf
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go/no_go_gauge#:~:text=A%20go%2Fno%2Dgo%20gauge,and
%20gauging%20to%20test%20them.
5. https://ip.festo-didactic.com/InfoPortal/TS/CompactTrainerI4.0/EN/DrillingModule.html
6. https://www.festo.com/cms/nl-be_be/69457.htm
7. https://www.festo.com/cat/en-gb_gb/data/doc_ENUS/PDF/US/CHB_ENUS.PDF