Embedded Files
The challenge I was given for robotics was broken up into different parts, the first challenge was to make the Co-bot we were using move to draw a dot to dot picture. How I did this was by using the teach pendant that came with the robot, the teach pendant is how you control the robot without using the handle jog function; it's mainly used for programming the robot. But before using it to draw a picture I had to learn how to use it, the first program I made on it was an easy one, I made it move side to side and backward.
Video of first programNext was programming the robot to draw a dot to dot picture, I went on google and found a really simple one of a cat, I got it printed and taped it down to the table. I used the teach pendant to program the dot to dot, I moved the robot to the position of the different dots and added that point to the program, I did this with all 14 points. Once I finished my program I did a dry run with a really dry sharpie on the paper to make sure all my points were correct.
Final cat drawing
Test cat drawingThis is the gripper I had to work with.
Once done with this the final part of the challenge was revealed, I had to design a gripper fixture to hold a gripper in the robot. The gripper is a tool you screw into the robot to pick things up. To start this project I got the robot design in fusion to get my measurements and design with the robot in fusion, I thought it would be easier to simulate the fixture when finished before 3D printing it. The fixture I thought of designing has a wide circular base that gets smaller as it gets towards the grippers to ensure it fits snugly. After designing the basic fixture I added screw holes to fasten it to the co-bot and the grippers to hold them in place, it tool a while to find the right screws because when I was using master cam in fusion I kept grabbing the wrong screws that looked right but didn't fit. I finally found a 10mm screw that fit perfectly, I inserted it into the design and it was perfect. Once that was done I started 3D printing it but I ran into another problem, the print got offset in the printer and didn't print correctly. I let it finish printing to see if anything else would go wrong, after it was done printing I broke the top part off to line it up correctly, I tried to put the gripper inside and it fit, the screws fit too. I went back into fusion to inspect the CAD program to see if anything happened in there but that wasn't it, the 3D printer I used wasn't the best and it offset my print in the middle of it, that's why it got messed up.
Since I couldn't use this one on the robot I went back into fusion and just made sure it was practical enough and easy enough to use, after making little adjustments to tolerances I started printing it on a different printer. The second print came out just how I wanted it to, it fit the gripper perfectly and it went on the co-bot just how I needed it to, it held the gripper tight when I moved the co-bot around.
Bottom screw inSpinAirhole screw inThis is how I used the loft tool.
Now that the fixture for the grippers is done, I needed to design an attachment to put on the grippers to grab an object of my choosing. For my object I picked my first try as my lathe project because its small, lightweight and could pose as a challenge. I started a new design tab on fusion and got to work, I started by measuring the gripper to see the length and width of them to makes sure my attachment could fit nicely on them, once I had those measurements I designed a box the exact size of the gripper and one a little bigger outside of it to make a slot to slide onto the gripper. After that I started working on a curve to make the scoop shape I was aiming for, I used the arc tool to make a curve and made a couple smaller boxes on top of it, I ended up using the loft tool for the first time to connect them. I clicked on the loft tool, selected my first box I designed and selected the top box as well, then I used the arc as a center point for these to connect and it worked. I ended up deciding to make walls around the scoop to try to ensure my part wouldn't fall out, I created a sketch, drew arcs from bottom to top, copied the lines, moved them out .5 away from the design, attached them and extruded them. I 3D printed one of them and it turned out okay, there was a hole in the scoop part due to how I had it oriented when printing but everything else went great. I threw that one away since it wasn't completed and printed two more to make my complete set, they didn't have any holes in them but they didn't print all the way through and they had fuzzy's all over them. They also didn't fit on the grippers so I went back to fusion to design another idea.
Boarder for scoops.
My next idea was to measure the diameter of the point I machined earlier in the unit because that's what I was going to be picking up. I decided to go with this approach because it'd give the grippers a better chance of them being able to pick up the Point.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse