Modelling a robotic end-effector for a research project
Besides my dayjob and my private jewelry/cutlery company I participate in a few research projects.
One of them is about friction modeling. to that end we needed a platform that could be mounted on a robot arm and moved in order to let objects slide on the surface.
I got the job of designing it.
I started out by downloading the cad-file for the end-effector of the robot. This was needed to be able to fit the platform to the arm. Such files come in the .iges or .step format, which are implicit surfaces modelled with curves.
To be able to get it into my blender, i needed to get it transformed into stl or obj. Freecad is great for this i import the step file, select it and just press export. choose obj and voila.
from here i take it into blender using its import functionality. Then I can fit a cuff around the robot end-effector and start modelling the platform itself.
I use booleans alot in this type of modelling. so e.g. the screwholes in the end-effector are extruded,cut from the original model, scaled sligthly, holes are closed, and then the resulting cylinders are used to boolean some holes in the cuff.
the platform is basically a tray in which we can place a small plate of a given material, such that it sits slightly recessed. Then we can place a small object on top of the plate and let it slide around without risking it going over the side.
I modeled a hole in the bottom of the tray to make it possible to push the plate out from the underside, using a pencil or similar. I am sure it will come in handy.
All that is missing now is to export it to stl and send the files to my collaborators. I am not supposed to print this one myself since shipping would be time consuming and expensive, and they have assured me that they have 3dprinters at their location.
I cant wait to see the printed model, mounted on the robot.
I might just make my own print just to make sure it looks okay in the real world
Im EvilHippie, a compulsive creative and jack o' trades. If you want to know more about me, check out my introduction post here
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Is it used for physical tests or with something like Multiphysics Modeling Software?
Both. We are going to use the physical tests to validate the simulated ones. There are no guarantees that it will give anything useful , but a lot of really smart people believe it is feasible, and in any case it will probably give us some useful input to the simulation software.
Nice job on that !
thanks
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