Current status of the product development
Martin Raak | 14. December 2009
The revised, new version of the articulated robot joint is now available as a prototype. The following product improvements have been achieved:
- lower cable friction due to less narrow cable guide for the rotational motion (newly laid Bowden cables with optimized friction couple => see figures)
- New design of the transition from articulated joint to rod, creating transfer of torques in the region of up to approx. 15-20 Nm (or 5-10 Nm in continuous operation). There will also be three versions of articulated rod from the end of December 2009: aluminium (affordable), CFK (extremely light, but expensive) and GFK as an intermediate solution.
- Integration of magnetic sensors to measure and transfer the current angle positions in the articulated joint. Work is still being done on this point. Space for the sensor system is provided, the technical design of the sensor mechanism should be completed in spring 2010 and integrated in the samples.
After extensive trials we assume that at least the following torques can be transferred with the articulated joint in continuous operation:
- Transferable torque for the pivot movement: 10 Nm
drive force (cable tensile strength) for this: max. 400N - Transferable torque for the rotational movement: 5 Nm
drive force (cable tensile strength) for this: max. 400N
Weights:
- Weight 1 robolink incl. cables: 380 g
- Weight of aluminium rod: 270 g/m
- Weight of carbon fiber rod: 150 g/m
The articulated joint has the basic dimensions shown below:
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