About the composition and classification of industrial robots

According to ISO 8373, it is a field-oriented multi-joint hand or multi-degree-of-freedom. An industrial robot is a machine device that automatically performs work and is a machine that achieves various functions by its own power and control capabilities. It can accept human commands or run according to pre-programmed programs. Modern industrial robots can also act according to the principles and guidelines established by technology.

— Wikipedia

01

Industrial robot composition

Industrial robots are mainly composed of the main body, drive system and three basic parts.

Main body - that is, the base and actuator, including the arm, wrist and hand, and some robots also have walking mechanisms. Most industrial robots have 3-6 degrees of freedom, of which the wrist usually has 1-3 degrees of freedom;

Drive system - includes power device and transmission mechanism, with reducer as the core, which is used to make the actuator produce corresponding action;

Control system - issues instructions and controls the drive system and actuators according to the input program.

Industrial robot illustration

02

Industrial robot classification

There is no unified international standard for the classification of industrial robots. They can be divided according to load weight, control method, degree of freedom, structure, application area, etc.

The classification according to structural morphology is as follows:

The following are classified by application:

03

Industrial Robot Industry Chain

The industrial robot industry chain is mainly composed of robot parts manufacturers, robot body manufacturers, agents, system integrators, and end users. The body is the core of the robot industry chain. Usually, the body company designs the body, writes software, purchases and sells it to the system integrator through agents, and the system integrator directly faces the end customers. Some body companies and agents also serve as system integrators.

From a regional perspective, Europe and Japan firmly dominate the world of industrial robots. The industrial robots of Japan and Germany are world-leading, mainly because they have first-mover advantage and technical accumulation. Japan has strong technical barriers in the research and development of key components of industrial robots (reducers, servo motors, etc.). German industrial robots have certain advantages in raw materials, body components and system integration.

From the perspective of enterprises, ABB, FANUC, KUKA and YASKAWA are the four major families of industrial robots. They have become the world's major suppliers of industrial robots, occupying about 50% of the world's market share.

04

Industrial Robots

The working principle of robots is a relatively complex issue. Simply put, the principle of robots is to imitate various body movements, thinking methods and control decision-making capabilities of humans. From the perspective of control, robots can achieve this goal in the following four ways.

"Teaching and reproducing" method: It teaches the robot how to move through two methods: a "teaching box" or human "hand-in-hand". The controller memorizes the teaching process, and then the robot repeats the teaching action over and over again according to the memory, such as a spray robot.

"Controllable" method: The staff prepares the control program according to the robot's work task and motion trajectory in advance, and then inputs the control program into the robot's controller. When the control program is started, the robot will complete the actions specified in the program step by step. If the task changes, just modify or rewrite the control program, which is very flexible and convenient. Most industrial robots work in the first two ways.

"Remote control" mode: People use wired or wireless remote controls to control robots to complete certain tasks in places that are difficult for people to reach or dangerous. Such as riot control robots, military robots, robots working in environments with nuclear radiation and chemical pollution, etc.

"Autonomous control" mode: It is the most advanced and complex control mode of robot control. It requires the robot to have the ability to recognize the environment and make autonomous decisions in a complex unstructured environment, that is, to have certain human behaviors.

Taking a six-axis vertical multi-joint robot as an example (as shown below), through the robot controller and its control system, S-axis rotation, L-axis lower arm tilt, U-axis upper arm tilt, R-axis arm yaw, B-axis wrist pitch and T-axis wrist rotation can be realized, realizing the motion operation and coordination of the six axes.

If a centralized control system is used, the control principle will be as shown in the following figure:

If a distributed control system is used, the control principle will be as shown in the following figure:

05

Some problems faced by industrial robot manufacturers

With the continuous industrial upgrading of the manufacturing industry and the emergence of various new technologies, robot manufacturers must also consider the usage needs of their end users during the production process. For example, when upgrading and renovating some factories and production lines, robot manufacturers also need to adapt to market changes and make corresponding adjustments.

Reviewing Editor: Li Qian