Teardown: HEBI Robotics

Smart Brushless Actuator w/ Series Elastic Element

Product Description
● Research and automation applications
● Multiple models for different scales
● Appears to be marketed to researchers and small businesses
● Manufacturer copy:

“HEBI Robotics enables you to create custom robots quickly. Each module is a series elastic actuator that
offers control of torque, position & velocity, and is packed with sensors making it a self-contained unit that
includes everything you need as a foundation for your robot.” -HEBI Robotics
Manufacturer Datasheet:
Manufacturer promotional images:
Teardown
Let’s analyze as we go. 8x Button Head Cap Screws

Screws thread to tapped holes on opposite side

Two cap screws support the

actual motor inside the housing
 Note: The encoder magnet
assemblies are not shown in these

Teardown photos. The manufacturer was not

able to provide these components.
8x Dowel Pins

Top plate assembly

Enclosure ring

Bottom plate

● Dowel pins (yellow); why?

Teardown
Machined notches
Top plate

Machined core affixes to output rotor with 8x

screws; rotates independent of gear

Machined bosses to match notches in output

rotor. Self-adhesive tape on bosses: why?
Large output rotor bearing
Teardown

Notch and boss interface; same idea as

All output torque must be
previous slide
transmitted through this
plate… what does it do?
 Teardown Metal plates

Natural rubber
between plates

● What does this element do?

● How was this part made?
Why have an elastic element?
● Passive compliance - safety
Why have an elastic element?
● Passive compliance - safety
● Measure forces with position sensors: F = (θ1 - θ2)*k
Why have an elastic element?
● Passive compliance - safety
● Measure forces with position sensors: F = (θ1 - θ2)*k
● Increase the time constant of the system
○ Makes it easier to control applied force without a super-fast control loop
Why have an elastic element?
● Passive compliance - safety
● Measure forces with position sensors: F = (θ1 - θ2)*k
● Increase the time constant of the system
○ Makes it easier to control applied force without a super-fast control loop

● Disadvantages?
Teardown
● A quick manufacturability note Notched plate is affixed to output ring using screws

Why do this?
Teardown Housing ring - how
was this made? Why
all those ridges?

Bottom plate with

PCB and geartrain

More dowel pin holes

 ● Geartrain contains four reductions
Teardown
● Note increased tooth pitch closer to the
output; why not use one tooth pitch all
over?

● These are really big gears (high tooth

count) - why?
Teardown
Anything that might
be wrong with the
gearing here?
Teardown

Gears are cut brass with pressed-on steel.

Why make compound gears in this way?

Any other observations about gear

manufacturing?

What is the impact of gear quality on product

quality?
Electronics Current sense resistor
Interface connectors -
Motor MOSFET gate driver Motor why two Ethernet ports?

Microcontroller
Power connector

Three plastic balls sit Big capacitor… what for?

Switching-mode
just proud of PCB voltage regulator
surface circuit for electronics?
Electronics MOSFETs (three more on
front of board) - where are the
flyback diodes?

Inertial measurement unit

(what’s with the foam?)

Ethernet switch

Absolute encoder chips

mounted under nylon balls
Components Used
● Controller: STM32F427VIT6
○ ARM Cortex-M4
○ Probably intended for industrial UI
○ Lots of good real-time control features too
● Motor amplifier: TI DRV8303 w/ Infineon MOSFETs
○ MOSFETs good up to 80 V
○ No special thermal mitigation; all gate driver and MOSFET heat is
going into the PCB.
● Positional sensing: MPU-6500 Inertial Measurement Unit
○ Accelerometer is mounted on a second PCB and sandwiched in
vibration-damping foam.
○ Hebi has to calibrate accelerometer position after the device has
been assembled.
● Encoders: AMS AS5048A Hall Effect absolute position sensors, 14-bit
resolution.
○ These absolute position sensors measure the angular position of a
magnet sitting just above the chip, using hall-effect sensor arrays.
○ Nylon balls are supports for encoder magnets.
Questions for the designers
● …?
Let’s draw a system diagram of this product