Page - 225 - in Proceedings - OAGM & ARW Joint Workshop 2016 on "Computer Vision and Robotics“

DesignofanIndustrialRobotwithSixDegrees ofFreedomforEducationalPurposes Rene´Schweidler,Mohamed Aburaia andCorinna Engelhardt-Nowitzki DepartmentofAdvanced EngineeringTechnologies University of Applied SciencesTechnikumVienna,Austria {rene.schweidler, aburaia, corinna.engelhardt}@technikum-wien.at Abstract In state of the art production and assembly lines industrial robots with six axes are widely used to manipulateproductiongoodsinallsixdegreesof freedominspace. Hence,mechatronicsandrobotics students have to achieve an in-depth comprehension regarding the configuration and adaptation of industrial robots from different manufacturers for applications such as welding, milling, assembling or the handling of components. However, these industrial robots typically cannot be disassembled to explore their internal structure and functionality due to, e.g., warranty reasons. Thus, educational facilities have to use auxiliary means, such as simulation in respective teaching units. To solve that problem, this paper describes the dimensioning and design of an industrial robot with six degrees of freedom for educational purposes, produced by the use of additive manufacturing techniques. Its main strengths are its low costs despite full functionality, its sound maintainability, and the fact that it can be disassembled multiple times by students in the course of, e.g., mechanics, electronics or software development projects. Besides, the proposed educational robot platform has been designed safe-to-use and aesthetically pleasing. Further mechanical structure optimization, the synthesis of the mathematical and kinematic model and control system configuration have to be done in future projects. 1. Introduction Mechatronics and robotics students have to achieve an in-depth comprehension regarding the con- figuration and adaptation of industrial robots with six axes to manipulate production goods in all six degrees of freedom in space. Therefore, for educational purposes it is especially important to work with robots that may be disassembled in order to explore their internal structure and functionality. This normally rules out the use of commercial robots beyond manufacturer’s designated robot func- tionalities – usually pure end effector choice, parameter configuration and programming. The use of auxiliary means like 3D-simulation programs is possible, but pedagogically disadvantageous, as the learningexperience is impairedby thefictitiousnessofvirtual robotbehavior [Tocha´cˇeket al., 2016]. Additionally, educational institutions will typically be subject to strict financial restrictions. Hence, they rely on either loans (i.e., industrial robots that cannot be disassembled) or low-price facilities, eventually self-constructed. Therefore the objective of this paper is to construct a robot platform that suits theaforementioned educationalpurposesandcontext requirements. The technical challenge of this project was to create a robot with full and accessible functionality at a fraction of the costs of a commercial product by using additive manufacturing techniques. Critical attributes to be met in the course of the design process were the educational robot’s ability to be 225