Three-fingered robot hand for assembly works

Abstract

Robots with human-like skill can fit in between robot that performs heavy and repetitive task and human with specialized skills. Potentially, utilizing robots with such capability can further increase production rate and reduce labour cost. Therefore, this study proposes a development of seven Degree of Freedoms (DOFs) three-fingered robot hand for assembly works. To achieve this, a suitable robot finger design must be produced and followed by the fabrication of one finger as prototype. The second aim of this study is to validate the mechanical design through experiment to check for motion of each link. The designed finger consists of a base and two finger links with two fully actuated joints. DC micro motor is used as actuator and the transmission is provided by a set of bevel gears. SolidWorks is used to produce the 3D drawing of the robot finger and the finished design was fabricated using rapid prototyping machine. Design validation is done through an experiment using Motion Manager Software that interfaces with the DC micro motor via RS232 communication cable. Results from the experiment show that the fabricated finger has successfully moved according to the directed positions. This proves that the proposed design has worked functionally and ready for the development of the complete three-fingered robot hand.