Calculating Lifting Capacity of Industrial Robot for Flexible Lathe System at the Design Stage

摘要

The research was focused on the problem of increasing the efficiency of using an industrial robot within a flexible manufacturing system (FMS). It is postulated that change in the range of workpieces to be processed by that FMS negatively influences the efficiency in question. A special approach was proposed, which would allow one to select the robot at the design stage taking the capabilities of both the robot and FMS into account. A standard formula for calculating the lifting capacity of the robot was considered and altered to factor in the hollow space within a workpiece and its maximal calculated dimensions. Statistical data gathered from several general engineering companies and analyzed during the research helped to obtain the functions of diameters and lengths distribution for specific lathes and determine the fraction of workpieces in the whole manufacturing range whose dimensions do not exceed maximal calculated workpiece dimensions. Knowing the functions and the fraction, the maximal calculated workpiece dimensions and lifting capacity could be determined for any lathe. A software system developed on the basis of the method is briefly described, which suggests the lifting capacity and, thus, helps to select an appropriate robot by the catalogue or formulate a requirements specification for such a robot to be designed.