Resin Composite Robot Arm Structure for Lower Weight and Cost
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional industrial robot arms made of metal are heavy and costly to produce, and existing manufacturing methods struggle to efficiently mold robot arms with mounting interface portions at both ends of a long cylindrical arm body, limiting weight reduction and manufacturing cost-effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A robot arm design featuring a long cylindrical arm body with mounting interface portions formed from resin, where metal members are embedded within the resin connection sections to provide a strong and lightweight structure, allowing for precise positioning and reduced manufacturing complexity through divided molding and mechanical coupling, and incorporating carbon fibers for electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a robot arm is made of metal to maintain strength, then strength is improved, but weight increases and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining resin (for weight reduction) with embedded metal members (for strength). The arm body is primarily formed of resin material, while metal members are embedded within the resin to provide localized structural strength and mounting functionality, achieving a balance between weight reduction and strength requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the robot arm into multiple parts: a resin-formed arm body and separately manufactured metal mounting interface portions. These segments are joined together through embedding and mechanical coupling, allowing each component to be optimized independently for its specific function while reducing overall weight compared to a fully metal construction
2Strength
If a robot arm is made of metal to maintain strength, then strength is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses composite materials to reduce manufacturing cost by replacing expensive metal construction with a resin-based composite structure. The resin arm body is manufactured through molding processes, and metal members are embedded during or after molding, eliminating the need for costly metal machining and assembly operations while maintaining required strength
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the manufacturing processes by embedding metal mounting interface portions directly into the resin arm body during the molding process or immediately afterward. This integration eliminates separate manufacturing and assembly steps, reducing labor costs and manufacturing complexity while ensuring precise positioning of mounting interfaces
3Device complexity
If mounting interface portions are integrated into the arm body, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision becomes more difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-forming the metal mounting interface portions with precise geometries and mounting features before embedding them into the resin arm body. The metal members are manufactured with precise dimensions and mounting surface orientations in advance, ensuring that positioning precision is achieved during the embedding process rather than requiring post-assembly adjustments
Solution Approach 2:
The resin matrix provides a stable embedding medium that holds the metal mounting interface portions in precise positions. The composite structure allows the resin to be molded with precise cavity geometries that guide the metal members into correct positions, while the metal members provide rigid mounting surfaces with high dimensional stability
4Ease of manufacture
If the arm body is divided into multiple parts for molding, then ease of manufacture is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the robot arm into a resin arm body and separate metal mounting interface portions. This segmentation allows the resin body to be molded in optimized sections or as a single piece, while the metal components are manufactured separately using appropriate metal forming processes, then joined together through embedding and mechanical coupling
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple manufacturing processes and components into an integrated assembly. The resin arm body and metal mounting interface portions are combined through embedding, where metal members are set into cavities or channels in the resin body and secured through mechanical coupling features, creating a unified structure that combines the advantages of both materials and processes
Data Source
AI summary
For the purpose of achieving a further reduction in weight while maintaining strength and of reducing the manufacturing cost, the present invention provides a robot arm including: a long cylindrical arm body; and mounting interface portions that are fixed at both sides of the arm body and that are used to mount the robot arm to another member. At least sections of outer surfaces of the arm body and the mounting interface portions are formed of a resin. A first part that has one of the mounting interface portions and a section of the arm body and a second part that has the other one of the mounting interface portions and a section of the arm body are joined to each other.