Design of a Universal Robot End-effector for Straight-line Pick-up Motion

This paper describes a capstone design project in developing an end-effector for robotic arm that is capable of grasping objects of varying sizes. The design parameters are as follows. The center point of end-effector should remain as close as possible to the same location, i.e. a straight-line path, over the range of gripper motion. The selected size and shape of the grasped object are cylinders ranging from 50 mm to 300 mm in diameter. The desired clamping force is 625 N per jaw when the gripper is at its maximum open position. The force required to drive this mechanism is provided by electricity and a maximum lift mass is 70 Kg. This project gives students an appreciation for powerful the computer-aided engineering method can be in performing mechanism design and analysis. Additionally, the students gain throughout understanding of topics in mechanism design, stress analysis and manufacturing application as well as have the opportunity to involve a real industrial project.