NexDroid-Robot

What Is an Industrial Robot?

Generally speaking, an industrial robot consists of three major parts and six subsystems.

The three major parts are the mechanical part, sensing part, and control part.

The six subsystems can be divided into the mechanical structure system, drive system, perception system, robot-environment interaction system, human-machine interaction system, and control system.

Mechanical Structure System

From the mechanical structure perspective, industrial robots are generally divided into serial robots and parallel robots. The characteristic of a serial robot is that the motion of one axis changes the coordinate origin of another axis, whereas in a parallel robot the motion of one axis does not change the coordinate origin of another axis. Early industrial robots all used serial mechanisms. A parallel mechanism is defined as a closed-loop mechanism in which the moving platform and the fixed platform are connected through at least two independent kinematic chains, the mechanism has two or more degrees of freedom, and is driven in a parallel manner. A parallel mechanism has two components — the wrist and the arm. The arm's range of activity has a great impact on the workspace, while the wrist is the connecting part between the tool and the main body. Compared with serial robots, parallel robots have the advantages of higher stiffness, more stable structure, larger load capacity, higher micro-motion precision, and smaller motion load. In position solving, the forward kinematics of a serial robot is easy, but the inverse is very difficult; whereas for a parallel robot the forward kinematics is difficult, but the inverse is very easy.

Drive System

The drive system is the device that provides power to the mechanical structure system. According to different power sources, drive system transmission methods are divided into four types: hydraulic, pneumatic, electric, and mechanical. Early industrial robots used hydraulic drives. Due to issues such as leakage, noise, and low-speed instability in hydraulic systems, and bulky and expensive power units, hydraulic-driven industrial robots are currently used only for large heavy-duty robots, parallel machining robots, and some special applications. Pneumatic drives have the advantages of fast speed, simple system structure, convenient maintenance, and low price. However, pneumatic devices have low working pressure and are not easy to position precisely, so they are generally only used to drive end effectors of industrial robots. Pneumatic grippers, rotating cylinders, and pneumatic suction cups as end effectors can be used to grasp and assemble medium- and small-load workpieces. Electric drive is currently the most commonly used drive method, characterized by convenient power access, fast response, large driving force, convenient signal detection, transmission and processing, and the ability to adopt various flexible control methods. The driving motor generally uses a stepper motor or servo motor; direct-drive motors are also used now, but they are more expensive and the control is more complex. Reducers matched with the motor generally use harmonic reducers, cycloid-pin reducers, or planetary gear reducers. Because parallel robots have many linear-drive requirements, linear motors have been widely used in the field of parallel robots.

Perception System

The robot perception system converts various internal state information and environmental information of the robot from signals into data and information that the robot itself or other robots can understand and apply. In addition to perceiving mechanical quantities related to its own working state — such as displacement, velocity, and force — visual perception technology is an important aspect of industrial robot perception. The visual servo system uses visual information as feedback signal to control and adjust the robot's position and posture. Machine vision systems are also widely used in quality inspection, workpiece identification, food sorting, packaging, and many other aspects. The perception system consists of internal sensor modules and external sensor modules. The use of intelligent sensors improves the robot's mobility, adaptability, and intelligence level.

Robot-Environment Interaction System

The robot-environment interaction system is a system that realizes interconnection and coordination between the robot and devices in the external environment. A robot is integrated with external devices into a functional unit, such as a machining unit, welding unit, assembly unit, etc. Of course, multiple robots can also be integrated into one unit to perform complex tasks.

Human-Machine Interaction System

The human-machine interaction system is the device through which people contact the robot and participate in its control. Examples include the computer standard terminal, command console, information display panel, danger-signal alarm, etc.

Control System

The task of the control system is to govern the robot's actuators to complete specified motions and functions according to the robot's job instructions and the signals fed back from the sensors. If the robot does not have information feedback characteristics, it is an open-loop control system; if it has information feedback characteristics, it is a closed-loop control system. According to the control principle, it can be divided into program control system, adaptive control system, and artificial intelligence control system. According to the form of controlled motion, it can be divided into point-position control and continuous trajectory control.

Robot Types Supported by NexDroid

The NexDroid control system supports robot types including but not limited to those listed below.

7-axis Serial — CBCBABC

6-axis Serial — CBBABC

6-axis Serial — CBBBAC

6-axis Serial — CBBBCA

6-axis Serial — CCBABC

5-axis Serial — CBBAB

4-axis Serial — CCZC

4-axis Serial — ZCCC

4-axis Serial — CBBC

4-axis Serial — CZXC

4-axis Serial — CBBB

4-axis Serial — XYZC

3-axis Cartesian

3-axis Serial — CCZ

3-axis Serial — XYZ

5-axis Serial — XYZAB

5-axis Serial — XYZAC

2-axis Serial — CC

4-axis Cartesian — XCCZ

6-axis Serial — XYZCAC

5-axis Hybrid Robot

4-axis Serial — XCZC

6-axis Serial — CBBCBA

3-axis Serial — CCA

Delta Parallel Robot

5-axis Serial — XYZBC

3-axis Serial — BBB

4-axis Parallel Robot

Tricept Robot

Single Axis

External Axis Types Supported by NexDroid

Single-Axis Positioner

Two-Axis Positioner

Linear Track

Linear Two-Axis Track

Linear Three-Axis Track

Servo Models Supported by NexDroid

Digital Welding Machines Supported by NexDroid