An overall structure optimization for a light-weight robotic arm

The application of lightweight robotic arms is having been expanded from factory automation to the service areas. It is significant to make lightweight robotic arms much safer and lighter for human-robot co-existence. This study presents an overall structure optimization design approach to minimize the mass of the lightweight robotic arm with the constraints on structural strength and drive trains. This method is implemented by integrated co-simulation analysis and the complex method. In this paper, a parameterized model of the robotic arm is established for optimization design. Then, the complex method is utilized to obtain the optimal design of the robotic arm. Meanwhile, a co-simulation analysis platform based on ANSYS Workbench and ADAMS is built to evaluate the constraints. Finally, a design example is illustrated to demonstrate the application of the proposed approach in design of a five degree-of-freedom lightweight robotic arm.