Industrial robots are multi-joint manipulators or multi-degree-of-freedom machine devices that are widely used in the industrial field. They have a certain degree of automation and can rely on their own power energy and control capabilities to achieve various industrial processing and manufacturing functions. Industrial robots are widely used in various industrial fields such as electronics, logistics and chemical industry.
01
Industrial robot composition
Industrial robots are mainly composed of three basic parts: the main body, the driving system and the control system.
The main body - that is, the base and actuator, including arms, wrists and hands, and some robots also have walking mechanisms. Most industrial robots have 3 to 6 degrees of freedom of movement, of which the wrist usually has 1 to 3 degrees of freedom of movement;
Drive system - including power device and transmission mechanism, the core is the reducer and servo motor, which are used to make the actuator produce corresponding actions;
Control system - it sends command signals to the drive system and actuators according to the input program, and controls them.
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Industrial robot disassembly diagram
02
Industrial robot classification
Regarding the classification of industrial robots, there is no unified international standard. They can be divided according to load weight, control method, degree of freedom, structure and application fields.
Classification according to structural form is as follows:
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Classification according to application is as follows:
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03
Industrial robot industry chain
The industrial robot industry chain is mainly composed of robot parts manufacturers, robot body manufacturers, agents, system integrators and end users. Ontology is the core of the robot industry chain. Usually, Ontology companies design ontology, write software, purchase and sell to system integrators through agents, and system integrators directly face end customers. Some Ontology companies and agents also serve as system integrators.
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From an enterprise perspective, ABB, FANUC, KUKA and YASKAWA are the four major families of industrial robots. They have become the world's major industrial robot suppliers, accounting for about 50% market share.
04
How industrial robots work
The working principle of robots is a relatively complex issue. Simply put, the principle of robots is to imitate various human body movements, ways of thinking, and control and decision-making abilities. From a control perspective, robots can achieve this goal in the following four ways.
"Teaching and reproduction" method: It teaches the manipulator how to move through "teaching box" or "hand-in-hand". The controller memorizes the teaching process, and then the robot repeats the teaching actions over and over again according to the memory, such as spraying robot.
"Programmable control" method: The staff prepares a control program in advance based on the robot's work tasks and motion trajectories, then inputs the control program to the robot's controller, starts the control program, and the robot completes the actions specified in the program step by step. , if the task changes, just modify or rewrite the control program, which is very flexible and convenient. Most industrial robots work in the first two ways.
"Remote control" method: A human uses a wired or wireless remote control to control the robot to complete a certain task in places that are difficult to reach or dangerous for humans. Such as anti-riot robots, military robots, robots working in environments with nuclear radiation and chemical pollution, etc.
"Autonomous control" method: It is the most advanced and complex control method in robot control. It requires the robot to have the ability to recognize the environment and make autonomous decisions in a complex unstructured environment, that is, it must have certain intelligent behaviors of humans.
Taking a six-axis vertical multi-joint robot as an example (as shown below), through the robot controller and its control system, it can realize S-axis rotation, L-axis lower arm tilting, U-axis upper arm tilting, R-axis arm lateral swing, and B-axis wrist pitching. And T-axis wrist rotation to achieve six-axis action operation and coordination.
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If a centralized control system is used, its control principle will be as shown in the figure below:
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If a distributed control system is used, its control principle will be as shown in the figure below:
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05
Some problems faced by industrial robot manufacturers
With the continuous industrial upgrading of the industrial manufacturing industry and the emergence of various new technologies, robot manufacturers must also consider the needs of their end users during the production process. For example, when upgrading some factories and production lines, robot manufacturers also need to Adapt to market changes and make corresponding adjustments.
