Engineers from the St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO University) used 3D printed parts in the design of a six-axis robot featuring increased affordability.
According to the press service of the university, the project involved graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in the Robotics educational program. The work on the robot began last spring, with the first tests completed in June.
“The six-axis manipulators presented on the market cost from a million rubles. In case of commercialization of the project, we plan that the robotic arm will cost no more than 300,000 rubles. If you start large-scale production, the cost will begin to decrease. There is also a foreign analog of a small-sized robotic arm, but it is made without the use of polymer materials, mainly from aluminum. Therefore, such a robot is regarded as a large industrial manipulator. Also, since 3D printers have recently become so widespread, there are so many enthusiasts trying to make robots using printed parts. Yet, such designs lack accuracy and reliability. At the beginning of the project, we analyzed all such solutions and identified their main mistakes,” says project manager Islam Bzhikhatlov.
According to the designer, each section of the robot consists of approximately 80% of 3D printed parts. This mainly concerns components of complex shape: simple parts are made of polymer sheet, and shafts, bearings, fasteners are made of metal. This combination made it possible to obtain parts that are inexpensive to make, ensuring the required characteristics. Most of the robot's wiring is housed in the body.
“Our technical solution differs from other robotic manipulators in that the main structural material we use is polymers, and most of the parts are made using 3D printing and laser cutting. This is a fairly cheap method. Robots with metal parts are fairly expensive, although they pay off in serial production. This is one of the reasons why few people produce them in Russia. We managed to make them quite cheap to manufacture, while maintaining reliability with decent positioning accuracy and repeatability,” explains Islam.
It should be noted, however, that some collaborative robots are distinguished by quite a reasonable price. For example, the Jaka Zu 5 costs less than $20,000, which should be considered inexpensive given its functionality and performance.
So far, the designers have a prototype on hand with basic functions for testing the mechanical component. After finalizing the control system and testing in various modes, the development is planned to be promoted on the commercial market.
