20132014

3110100112

Manipulators and end-effectors design

By Li Shuang
Abstract: This paper proposes a possible structure for end-effectors and manipulators
of the robot. The robots aim is to connect twelve dowels fixed on a board using a
string. The design consists of three end-effectors, two of which are the same except
for its position, and the two are used for pasting the string to the dowel, the other endeffector is used for holding the string and leading it to a certain position. Also, the
three end-effectors are fixed to the same manipulator, which is a rotating circular
plate, capable of turning to certain angles. So the end-effectors move synchronously.
The design makes it possible for the robot to connect the dowels on both sides along
its path.
Key Words: END-EFFECTORS MANIPULATOR

1 Introduction
1.1 Background
Canada is famous for its maple dowels, which can be seen from its national flag.
And these dowels are not only pleasant to be looked at, but also produce a kind of
sugar with a unique flavor and plenty of nutrients, which is, maple syrup.
Maple syrup is an important industry in Canada with exports exceeding 141
million USD per year. The maple sap flows out from maple dowels if one puts a straw
into its bark. Traditionally, this work is done manually, using a bucket with a plastic
tap, every year, and of course, it requires a lot of labor. During the 1970s, plastic
tubing systems began to replace the bucket as the main method for collecting maple
sap. However, these systems encountered with the problem of minimizing the total
length of plastic tubing.
This paper is intended to design a robots manipulator and end-effector for the
2014 Robotics Student Design Competition, which aims to develop a robotic system
to simulate installation of a sap pipeline between the maple dowels irregularly
distributed in a forest.
1.2 Manipulator
A manipulator is defined as a device that has a function similar to that of a
human arm and can move a work object in three dimensions. [1] Manipulators consist
of joints and links, and each joint and link may have more than one degree of freedom
(DOF). To clarify the action mechanism, people introduce different symbols to

represent only one DOF, and each link or joint can be indicated by two or more
symbols combined.
Joints can be categorized into two types, the first is prismatic joint (Fig.1), and
the second one is rotational joint (Fig.2).

Fig. 1 prismatic joint[1] Fig. 2 rotational joint[1]

Manipulators with a great number of DOFs are rather flexible. It is especially
useful in fruit collecting robots, since fruits may be hidden behind leaves and they
grow randomly in the tree, so the robot needs obtain different approaches to the target
fruit. A manipulator with many DOFs owns larger redundant space and more posture
diversity, providing it with more choices for reaching the fruit.
1.3 End-effector
The end-effector is sometimes called robotic hand. It varied a lot, owing to the
variety of objects its going to handle.
Each object, especially agricultural product, has its unique properties, including
shape, size, friction, etc. Thus, end-effectors must be designed accordingly. An
example would be the tomato cluster harvesting robot developed by N. Kondo in
2010[2], the paper discussed the physical properties, including main stem diameter,
peduncle length, etc, of the tomatoes carefully, and developed a machine separating
the fruit by cutting its stem.
The majority of agricultural tasks is of the pick and place type[3], which has led
to robotizations coming onto the scene as a solution for growers. The robot discussed
in this paper is designed for connecting dowels using string, so there are mainly two
big problems. The first one is how to hold a string, and the second one is how to put
the string onto the dowel.
There are many robots dealing with strings, such as a sewing robot, which may
be applied in sewing rice bags. These machines have already been used in factories, as
shown in Fig.4.

Fig. 4 Strapping Machine[4]

Fig. 5 Grafting Robot[5]

Also, there are robots putting things together, such as the grafting robot, putting
the stock and scion together and using a special clip as an adhesive, as shown in Fig.
5.

2 Materials
The forests is modeled by a 88 ft board, as shown in Fig.6.

Fig. 6 The 88 ft board (Resource: 2014 ASABE robotics competition rules)

There are 20 holes in the board where trees may be placed, but only twelve of
them will be filled with a tree, represented by 12 wooden 1-in. diameter dowels that
are 1-ft. in length painted red. And the rest of the holes will be filled with 1-in.
wooden discs to prevent the wheels from sticking to, if ever, to the hole.
A 1-in. wide band of Velcro will be
fixed on each dowel, at the height of 3in. from the bottom of the table, and its
used for the connection of the line.
The robots performance will be
judged mainly by two factors, the first one
is the length of the line, and the second one
is the dowels that it connected. Shorter
line and more dowels are desired.

3 End-effector
For the end-effector, the main purpose
is to grab the line and put it onto the wide
band of Velcro on the dowel. The design
presented in this paper consists of two
manipulators, thus two end-effectors.
The structure is shown in Fig. 7.
Fig. 7 The end-effector and manipulator
3.1 Part 1

Part 1 is a circular horizontal rotating plate with a needle-like end-effector, as

shown in Fig. 7.
Part 1 works like a needle, it holds the
string and adjusts the strings position, leading
to part 2.
As shown in Fig.8, there is a hole in part
allowing the string to pass through. Therefore,
the string is fixed on the end-effector and will
not leave it during the whole period of
competition. Moreover, the size of the hole is a
little larger than the strings diameter, reducing
the friction between the string and endeffector.
Fig. 8 Part 1

it
1,

Although the string is fixed loosely on the end-effector most of the time (which
will be explained further in the next paragraph), the end-effector can lead the string to
where its supposed to be, to make sure that part 2 can easily catch it and place it onto
the dowel. In order to achieve that, it is supposed to go further than part 2, which is
shown in Fig. 3. This relative position also gives part 2 some space to twirl in a small
angle, mainly to place the string to the dowel, and this process will be discussed
further in chapter 3.2.
The rotation of part 1 is restricted in a certain range of angle, and the angular
bisector is parallel to the way along which the robot moves, as shown in Fig. 5. This
arrangement is to avoid the potential of putting the string in front of the robot,
preventing the robot to go forward. Therefore, the string can be led to the left, as well
as the right side of the robot, as a result, the robot can paste the string to dowels next
to it in opposite directions, as shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. 9 Relative Position between for the Robot and the Dowel
As shown in Fig. 8, there is a small pressure sensor in the end-effector. This
pressure sensor doesnt work until the robot is about to paste the string to the dowel.
When the robot is walking, the spool rotates automatically and releases the string.
Because the end-effector that holds the string has a hole larger than the strings
diameter, it will not cause much friction. The spool rotates in a speed that the string
which comes out has a length approximately equal to the distance that robot has
passed through. As soon as the robot stops walking or rotating, and is about to paste

the string to the dowel, the spool rotates backwards and the pressure sensor begins to
detect how tightly the string is. An appropriate pressure is set through experiment to
prevent the string from being dragged off the prior dowel, the spool stops once the
pressure reaches the threshold value.
This strategy is mainly designed to provide a buffer zone for the string,
otherwise, if the string is to bear much pressure right after it is pasted to a dowel, it
may probably be pulled off.

3.2 Part 2
Part 2 consists of 2 end-effectors, and they are both fixed to the same
manipulator with part 1, as is shown in Fig. 3.
Part 2 works as presser bars, pasting the string to the dowel.

Fig. 10 Part 2

Fig. 11 Part 2 (inside)

Take one end-effector as an example, it can catch the string easily after the spool
rotates backwards and string becomes tight. At this
stage, the string between the prior dowel and part 1
is tight and parallel to the ground, and the distance
is approximately 4-in. So part 2 is capable of
catching the string since its fixed to the same
height while its rotating.
After part 2 catches the string, it keeps rotating.
Part 2 is longer than Part 1, and its length is
controlled by a spring, as shown in Fig. 11. While
its rotating, it encounters the dowel and is
suppressed, thus providing the pressure for the
string to be pasted to the dowel.

Fig. 12 Alternative

There is a small channel in part 2, as shown in Fig. 10. The channel is mainly
used for increasing the contact area between string and the end-effector. This design
can also be replaced by a flat square slice, as shown in Fig. 12, making it easier to
catch the string owing to its larger area.

Part consists of 2 end-effectors, symmetric to end-effector 1, as shown in Fig. 7.

This design enables the robot to connect dowels located in both sides along its path.
The robot only uses the pasting mechanism which is behind end-effector 1.

4 Manipulator
Part 1 and part 2 shares one manipulator, which is a spinning disk driven by a
motor.
While it rotates, part 1 and part 2 pass through the dowel in an order. Part 1 leads
the string and part 2 pastes it onto the dowel, after that, a dowel is connected and the
robot begins to walk forward. This process is shown in Fig. 13.

Fig. 13 Working Process

Situations exist that the dowel to be connected locates in the other side of the
robot. If that occurs, the disk rotates in an opposite direction, part 1 leads the string to
the target dowel, and part 2 pastes it to the dowel.

5 Existing Problems and Potential Solutions

However, there is a problem that can hardly be come over. If the robot is
programmed to connect a dowel right opposite to the prior one, the string can easily
be pulled off since end-effector 2 is longer than end-effector 1, and it may cause extra
pressure to the string.
Three methods may be available.
The first one is to make the spool spins faster when the problem occurs, thus
gaining more increasing the string length between the two dowels and the string
between them bears no pressure. However, it increases the string length greatly.
The second method is to alter the way and the sequence the robot connects each
dowel to avoid this situation. However, it requires a more complex program when
calculating the path for the robot to go, and may make the entire path programming
meaningless. A robot which travels along a fixed path and connects the dowel one by
one may use the same length as the robot that plans its way to go. Moreover, if a robot

doesnt need to plan its route, it has a much simpler construction, requiring no
camera.
The third way is to add a prismatic joint to part 2, making it able to be pulled
back, thus avoiding contact the string after it has pasted in onto the dowel. But it
makes structure more complex.

6 Conclusions
This paper designs the manipulator and the end-effectors for a robot which aims
to connect dowels fixed on a board using a string. The design makes it possible for the
robot to paste the string to dowels on both sides along the robots path. However, if
the next dowel to be connected locates on the other side of the robot, right opposite to
the prior dowel, the string may be pulled off. Possible solutions include rearranging
the robots path, rotating the spool in a faster speed and adding a prismatic join to the
pasting end-effector.

Reference
[1] Kondo N, Ting K C. Robotics for bioproduction systems[M]. American Society of
Agricultural Engineers (ASAE), 1998.
[2] Kondo N, Yata K, Iida M, et al. Development of an end-effector for a tomato
cluster harvesting robot[J]. Engineering in Agriculture, Environment and Food, 2010,
3(1): 20-24.
[3] Rodrguez F, Moreno J C, Snchez J A, et al. Grasping in Agriculture: State-ofthe-Art and Main Characteristics[M]//Grasping in Robotics. Springer London, 2013:
385-409.
[4] http://cn.made-in-china.com/gongying/dt1688-bqFQyjPVLUWu.html
[5] , , , .
[J]. , 2013, 396(663): 6672013.