Robohub.org
 

Convertible manipulator/sheer

by
02 March 2009



share this:

A manipulator with four or six ‘fingers’ positioned symmetrically around a central axis might also serve as a sheer, able to snip along two or three planes. The cutting edges would be the edges of basal segments to which the fingers were mounted. Four-fingered manipulators would be mechanically simpler and more robust. Six-fingered manipulators would have sharper edges and therefore make more efficient sheers. In either case, to act as a sheer the fingers would have to reach past the object (stem) to be cut, so it could be grasped by their basal segments.

 

An alternative to the above would be a four fingered manipulator with basal segments angled at less than 90 degrees, possibly as little as 45 degrees, with space between them, and the ability to rotate into that space. In the case of 45 degree angled basal segments, each finger should be able to rotate 22.5 degrees in either direction from its rest position. This would result in both a manipulator with two sets of opposed digits, 45 degrees apart on either side, arranged along either of two axes, as well as a more effective sheer. [2012Oct13: This allows switching the plane of the gripper formed by the fingers 90 degrees through finger rotation alone, no wrist rotation needed.]

 

The basal segments to which I’ve been referring would appear, from anywhere along the central axis, like simple blocks of metal presenting a distinct edge. However, from the outside, with those edges hidden, they would look more like the links in multi-jointed digits that they would also be.

 

[2012Oct13: To be quite honest, I’ve never been able to imagine exactly how the basal sheer would work in practice, how the parts would connect and be activated. This aspect now seems far less useful than the ability to regroup fingers to form grippers, switching between perpendicular planes, by rotating each finger 45 degrees. For pruning, you’d want a gripper next to a sheer, with the whole assembly being rotatable, so you could hold onto the branch you were removing while cutting it loose, and then pull it free.]

 

Reposted from Cultibotics.



tags: , , , , ,


John Payne





Related posts :



Robo-Insight #5

In this fifth edition, we are excited to feature robot progress in human-robot interaction, agile movement, enhanced training methods, soft robotics, brain surgery, medical navigation, and ecological research. 
25 September 2023, by

Soft robotic tool provides new ‘eyes’ in endovascular surgery

The magnetic device can help visualise and navigate complex and narrow spaces.

‘Brainless’ robot can navigate complex obstacles

Researchers who created a soft robot that could navigate simple mazes without human or computer direction have now built on that work, creating a “brainless” soft robot that can navigate more complex and dynamic environments.
21 September 2023, by

Battery-free origami microfliers from UW researchers offer a new bio-inspired future of flying machines

Researchers at the University of Washington present battery-free microfliers that can change shape in mid-air to vary their dispersal distance.

Virtual-reality tech is fast becoming more real

Touch sensations are improving to help sectors like healthcare and manufacturing, while other advances are being driven by the gaming industry.
16 September 2023, by

High-tech microscope with ML software for detecting malaria in returning travellers

Method not as accurate as human experts, but shows promise.
14 September 2023, by and





©2021 - ROBOTS Association


 












©2021 - ROBOTS Association