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A novel tool to optimize the performance of SCARA robots used in pick and place operations

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Abstract

SCARA robots have been manufactured in different sizes and link ratios to satisfy a range of applications such as pick-and-place operations. Studies about kinematic design have reported several approaches to quantify the performance of these robots. However, some of these are configuration-dependant, and some others are dedicated to solving specific applications. The novel tool reported here provides an image of the workspace in which the manipulator generates quasi-optimal trajectories for a given ratio of the link lengths. This single value is named optimal kinematic performance index. It provides the best link lengths ratio and a map of pick-and-place points that would perform the task with a minimum angular displacement of the links. Examples related to the optimization of the trajectory, design of the link lengths or to the selection of a commercial model, are presented. A survey of commercial SCARA robots is conducted to classify them according to their OKPI.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support of the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (National Council of Science and Technology, CONACYT), of Mexico, through SNI (National Network of Researchers) fellowships and scholarships.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ADEFID, Circuito de la Trinidad 146, Residencial San Ángel, León, GTO, Mexico

    Max Antonio González-Palacios & Mariana González-Dávila

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Guanajuato, Carretera Salamanca-Valle de Santiago km 3.5+1.8, Salamanca, 36885, GTO, Mexico

    Mario A. Garcia-Murillo & Mariana González-Dávila

Authors
  1. Max Antonio González-Palacios
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  2. Mario A. Garcia-Murillo
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  3. Mariana González-Dávila
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mario A. Garcia-Murillo.

Additional information

Max Antonio González-Palacios received Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in 1986 from Universidad Ibero-americana-León, Master’s degree in Engineering from Universidad de Guanajuato, and a Ph.D. in 1991 from McGill University, Montreal, where he completed a postdoctorate in 1993. He was a Full Professor of the Engineering Division Campus Irapuato-Salamanca of Universidad de Guanajuato, 2006–2018. In industry, from 1997 to 2000, he directed the R&D Department of Placage Unique, Inc., Quebec. Since 2000, he is the Director of Integration of Industrial Process (IPI), where he has developed several applied research projects and since 2005, he leads the development of the ADEFID platform.

Mario A. García-Murillo received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad Autónoma Chapingo in 2008. In 2010, he obtained his M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Instituto Tecnológico de Celaya in Mexico. He earned his Ph.D. from IPN CICATA Querétaro in 2015. Dr. García-Murillo is currently a Full-time Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Universidad de Guanajuato and a member of the SNI of México. His current research interests include kinematics and dynamics of manipulators.

Mariana González Dávila received her Bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics Engineering in 2014 from Universidad Iberoamericana-León, Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad de Guanajuato in 2019. She is currently working on the development of ADEFID’s platform.

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González-Palacios, M.A., Garcia-Murillo, M.A. & González-Dávila, M. A novel tool to optimize the performance of SCARA robots used in pick and place operations. J Mech Sci Technol 35, 4715–4726 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-021-0937-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-021-0937-x

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