Robot work envelope and configurations
Md. Abu Sayeed Biswas
Lecturer
Dept. of Industrial & Production Engineering
Bangladesh University of Textiles
Robot work envelope
•The working envelope refers to the working volume which can be reached by some point at the
end of the Robot arm, this point is usually the centre of the end effector mounting plate. It
excludes any tools or workpiece which the end effector may hold.
•There are often areas within the working envelope which cannot be reached by the end of the
Robot arm. Such areas are termed dead zones.
Robot Configurations
Some of the commonly used configurations in Robotics are
• Cartesian/Rectangular Gantry(3P) : These Robots are made of 3 Linear joints that orient the end
effector, which are usually followed by additional revolute joints.
Cartesian Robot - Work Envelope
Robot Configurations
Cylindrical (R2P): Cylindrical coordinate Robots have 2 prismatic joints and one revolute joint.
Cylindrical Robot - Work Envelope
Robot Configurations
Spherical joint (2RP): They follow a spherical coordinate system, which has one
prismatic and two revolute joint.
Spherical Robot - Work Envelope
Robot Configurations
Articulated/anthropomorphic(3R) :An articulated robot’s joints are all
revolute, similar to a human’s arm.
Robot Configurations
• Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm (SCARA) (2R1P): They have two revolute
joints that are parallel and allow the Robot to move in a horizontal plane, plus an additional
prismatic joint that moves vertically
SCARA robot application
• Floor area is small compare to work area, so can be put everywhere.
• Screw tightening work.
• Finished product inspection, touch-panel type evaluation machine.
• Material handling purpose.
• Tall work pieces conveying and stacking machine
• Assembly cell.