Describe the work envelope and operation of Cartesian, Cylindrical, Spherical, and Articulated robots. Make sure to include any pros or cons you can think of and to fully describe the operation and work envelop of each type of system.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Cartesian robots are those that have a cubic or rectangular work envelope. Many of the gantry-type robots fall into this category and tend to move in a linear or straight-line fashion. These robots often have two or three major axes to move in X, Y, and Z with X being front or back, Y side to side, and Z up or down. These robots are popular for loading and unloading parts as well as moving materials over large distances with the system mounted over the equipment they serve, which saves floor space.Cylindrical geometry robots, as the name implies, have a cylindrical work envelope. The common construction for this type of robot is to have axis 1 rotary and axes 2 and 3 linear, with the usual two or three rotary orientation axes. These systems are good for reaching deep into machines, save on floor space, and tend to have the rigid structure needed for large payloads. The only downside is the loss of Y-axis travel.Spherical geometry, also known as polar, is a sphere around the robot and gives the user a wide range of options for robot positioning, but you do not get all the range of the sphere, due to physical restraints of the robot's construction and the surface it is mounted. We get this geometry by taking the cylindrical robot and replacing the linear Z motion of axis 2 with a rotational axis instead. The primary difference between the Cylindrical and the Spherical is that the Spherical units have a long reach with a lower size. This geometry was more of an evolutionary step and thus not often seen in use today.Articulated geometry robots have a spherical-type envelope that is constrained by the construction of the robot. The articulated robot leaves the linear motions behind for rotational motion at the various axes and is also known as jointed arm, revolute, and even anthropomorphic because the motions look very organic and lifelike in many cases. Of the geometries, this one is the most common due to the flexibility of the design and the fact that it can replicate a wide range of human motions. It has a chunked-up portion of the spherical envelope due to the robot design and limitations of the system. These systems require the most complex controllers in the industrial world, making them top the scale in system cost.