Pick and Place Multi-axis Robotic ARM with Arduino

Recently, industries have been using multi-axis machines with sophisticated sensors to achieve accurate and precise work output, leading to the growth of the industry. In automation, companies program industrial robots for a single task using sensory information. Depending on their applications, designers can create robotic arms accordingly. In today’s industrial environment, it is not hard to find a robotic arm, or more precisely, a mechanical assistant for human workers, in almost any factory. Many mechatronics engineering students consider PICK AND PLACE MULTI-AXIS Robotic ARM as one of their favorite projects.

In most factories, specialized robots, designed for specific tasks and incapable of being reconfigured for other tasks due to their mechanical setup, can be found. The PICK AND PLACE MULTI-AXIS Robotic ARM deals with multi-axis machines to achieve the same pick and place task effortlessly. The machine possesses intelligence and a color sensor, enabling it to determine the color of an object. This, in turn, allows the arm to autonomously move to the ideal position for grasping the object using the color sensor.

Pick and Place Multi-Axis Robotic Arm Project Overview

PICK AND PLACE MULTI-AXIS Robotic ARM involves a color sensor that senses the object’s color and sends the signal to Arduino. The Arduino sends a signal to six servo motors of the robotic arm to grip the object and place it in the specified location. Based on the color detected, the robotic arm moves to the specified location, releases the object, and returns to the original position.

The main objective of the Pick and Place Multi-Axis Robotic Arm is to basically sort different colored objects. However, there are also subtasks that need to be accomplished for the proper functioning of the whole system. These tasks are mentioned below.

• To sort different colored objects using a color sensor.
• Program the Arduino 2560 using Arduino software.
• Design a robotic hand along with a claw using AutoCAD.
• Create the control circuitry of the conveyor and display the color of the object on a 16*2 alphanumeric LCD.
• Create a prototype model of the entire object.

Basically, the Pick and Place Multi-Axis Robotic Arm can be classified into two parts.

• Software
• Hardware

Both parts are necessary to accomplish the PICK AND PLACE MULTI-AXIS Robotic ARM. The scope of this project will focus on object sorting using a color sensor. The scope will include the following:

• Using Arduino Mega 2560 and software to automate the entire system and perform proper testing.
• Designing and building a conveyor belt system.

Video of PICK AND PLACE MULTI-AXIS Robotic ARM

PICK AND PLACE MULTI-AXIS ROBOTIC ARM WORKING

C language is one of the languages used to program Arduino. Interfacing sensors with an Arduino board is very easy to understand. We have used a 5-axis robotic arm structure for a pick-and-place application. Our structure consists of 5 servo motors connected to the PWM pins of the Arduino.

The sensor detects the object on the conveyor belt and the arm picks it up for placement in the respective box. The conveyor sorts the objects coming on it into boxes of three different colors (red, green, and blue). We use a DC motor to run the conveyor. To control the conveyor belt, we have a relay circuit with a motor. The connectivity of all the components remains the same as mentioned above.

Sonar Sensor

The controller generates a pulse when the object placed on the conveyor cuts it, and the sonar sensor detects a fixed distance of 8 cm. The pulse activates the BJT transistor by being supplied to its base, causing it to switch on and activate the relay. When the relay is switched on, it changes the state of the valve from normally closed to normally open. This action results in the DC motor being switched off for 2 seconds. After the pulse generated by the controller becomes low, the BJT turns off, and the relay follows suit for 1.2 seconds.

Object Detection

This allows the object to reach in front of the color sensor. Finally, the color sensor senses the color of the object based on the algorithm fed into the controller, which defines a fixed range for each color.

• Now, if the difference between the blue and red values is greater than 0 but less than 9, it will pick green and place it in the green box located at a predefined location.
• If the difference between the blue and red values is greater than 18 but less than 37, it will pick red and place it in its respective box.
• If the difference between the blue and red values is less than 0, it will pick blue and place it in the blue box.
• If an object other than the three primary colors is placed, the controller will not consider it and will stop.

Through a trial and error method, we calculate the delay of 1.2 seconds as it is a feed-forward process. We turn off the motor again after 1.2 seconds so that we can place the next object at the starting point of the conveyor. The sonar and color sensor detect each placed object, and the arm picks it up and places it. The LCD displays the details of the object.

PICK AND PLACE MULTI-AXIS ROBOTIC ARM APPLICATIONS

• Hazardous Environments:

Robotic arm PICK AND PLACE MULTI-AXIS operates in environments that are either hazardous (e.g. radiation) or not accessible. The primary justification for using robotics is to protect people from working in dangerous environments and handling hazardous materials. Robots are regularly employed to perform tasks that could potentially harm or injure individuals, ranging from handling explosive chemicals to managing radioactive substances.

• Industry:

The PICK AND PLACE MULTI-AXIS Robotic ARM can utilize color detection to separate objects moving through a conveyor belt in material handling within the logistics and packaging industry.

• Education:

Pick and place multi-axis robotic arm machines are used in libraries for book sorting and arrangement.

• Agriculture:

The important application in the agriculture field enables the sorting of different agricultural products like grains, lemons, almonds, grapes, and many more.

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