The paper describes an innovative fixture created within the AUTORECON project of the European Commission's 7th Framework Program. The fixture is designed to respond to the automotive industry's needs of high modularity and full flexibility, by allowing the secure multishape grasping of a very wide range of (often large and heavy) metal workpieces typical for car-assembly operations. The fixture is used as an end-effector of an industrial robot, which in turn acts in cooperation with other machines, such as other robots performing machining or other processes on the part. The fixturing device is both a highly reconfigurable structure and a robotic mechanism: moving as a programmable robot to reconfigure and acting as a supporting structure once a hold on the part has been established. This dual functioning has been made possible by the development of a key component, a stepless lockable revolute joint, described herein. In order to get a readily modifiable system, all parts of the fixture are designed as modules. Prototypes of the main parts and the whole fixture have been fabricated and experiments validating the design are reported.
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August 2016
Design Innovation Paper
Design and Testing of a Highly Reconfigurable Fixture With Lockable Robotic Arms
Shengnan Lu,
Shengnan Lu
Robotics Institute,
Beihang University,
Beijing 100191, China;
Beihang University,
Beijing 100191, China;
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Rezia Molfino
Rezia Molfino
Search for other works by this author on:
Shengnan Lu
Robotics Institute,
Beihang University,
Beijing 100191, China;
Beihang University,
Beijing 100191, China;
Zeshan Ahmad
Matteo Zoppi
Xilun Ding
Dimiter Zlatanov
Rezia Molfino
Contributed by the Design Innovation and Devices of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL DESIGN. Manuscript received June 13, 2015; final manuscript received February 23, 2016; published online June 16, 2016. Assoc. Editor: David Myszka.
J. Mech. Des. Aug 2016, 138(8): 085001 (8 pages)
Published Online: June 16, 2016
Article history
Received:
June 13, 2015
Revised:
February 23, 2016
Citation
Lu, S., Ahmad, Z., Zoppi, M., Ding, X., Zlatanov, D., and Molfino, R. (June 16, 2016). "Design and Testing of a Highly Reconfigurable Fixture With Lockable Robotic Arms." ASME. J. Mech. Des. August 2016; 138(8): 085001. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4033037
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