arms as much as possible.

Or at least minimize the need for

AUTOMATION OF DESIGN developer intervention.
In the design process, there is not only relied on developed
OF ROBOTIC ARM software tools but also the use of third-party resources. The
most important is the SolidWorks CAD system, with which it is
MILAN MIHOLA 1, ZDENEK ZEMAN 1, ADAM BOLESLAVSKY 1, possible to create the 3D models of the designed devices and
JAN BEM 1, ROBERT PASTOR 1, DAVID FOJTIK 2 perform kinematic, dynamic and strength analyses, together
1 VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, Department of Robotics, with several other tasks. The connection of this CAD system is
Ostrava, Czech Republic possible thanks to its application programming interface (API).
2 VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, Department of Control For example, the articles [Reddy 2016, Reddy 2018a, Reddy
Systems and Instrumentation, Ostrava, Czech Republic 2018b] present the use of the SolidWorks CAD API in the design
of bearings, gears or battery blocks. However, in the case of the
DOI: 10.17973/MMSJ.2022_10_2022122
design of robotic arms, its use will be significantly more
e-mail : [email protected] extensive, and the advanced functions of this CAD system will
Robotic arms are complex mechatronic systems. Therefore, be used.
their design requires knowledge and experience from various
technical fields, such as mechanics, electrical engineering,
2 RESEARCH METHOD
electronics or control. From the view of the requirements
placed on developers, the design of robotic arms is one of the At present, robotic arm designs are considered only for object
more complex tasks. Unfortunately, there is a lack of necessary manipulation tasks. The design procedure is described in the
specialists in this field of technology. Therefore, ways are form of a block diagram in Fig. 1.
sought to help existing specialists in their work and, Start of the robotic arm design process

simultaneously, reduce the time needed to design the required

1. Input parameters:
equipment. At the same time, there are also sought ways to  Trajectory of movement of OM
 Position of OM in individual places of the trajectory
open the way to this issue for developers who do not yet have  Information on speed and acceleration at individual moments of OM movement
 Position of the robot in relation to the trajectory
enough experience.
For this reason, algorithms and development tools have been 2. End effector design based on:
 Size and shape of OM and position and number of gripping surfaces
 Requirements based on the environment (eg the method of inserting OM into the
developed to significantly simplify and reduce the time technological equipment,…)
 Required gripping force
required to design robotic arms and simultaneously automate  Available energy sources (electric, pneumatic, hydraulic)

as much of this process as possible. The aim is to shorten the

3. Design of the kinematic structure of the robot:
design time and achieve better results than in the case of  Information on the course of velocities and accelerations in individual joints of the kinematic
structure of the robot is available
designs according to classical procedures.
Modification of parameters for the design of the kinematic

KEYWORDS 4. Creating a line model (skeleton) according to the proposed kinematic structure:
 Creating a line model according to the proposed kinematic structure
Design automation, algorithms, robot, SolidWorks, API  Addition of a 3D model of the end effector and OM
 Addition of 3D models of objects with which the proposed robot or manipulator could come
into contact/collision
structure of the robotic arm

1 INTRODUCTION 5. Design of the n-th line of the robotic arm:

 Design of a structural element connecting the end effector with the next joint of the robotic
arm or a pair of adjacent joints
The design of the robotic arm is based on the application for  Performing kinematic, dynamic and strength analyzes
 Design of drive units
which it is intended. For that purpose, an additional module for  Optimization of the dimensions of the proposed line
 Search for possible collisions within the entire robotized workplace (collisions between
the SolidWorks CAD system was designed to simplify the basic individual lines of the robotic arm are not taken into account in the first iteration)
 If it is not possible to design the n-th line according to the requirements placed on it (maximum
allowable deflection, exceeding the allowable stress) or due to a collision, it is necessary to
concept of robotic workplaces. Its function is described in the adjust the kinematic structure of the robotic arm

article [Boleslavsky 2022]. Commonly available industrial robots

are used in this module. However, they are not optimized for No
Has the nth link
of the robotic
the application. arm been
designed?
For this reason, procedures are sought with the help of which it
Yes
would be possible to design an optimized kinematic structure
of the robotic arm. For example, articles [Huczala 2021, Kot Have all robotic No
arm links been n=n-1
2021, Pastor 2021] are devoted to this issue, describing design designed?

procedures using various optimization algorithms. The output Yes

of these procedures is usually a simplified kinematic structure
6. Robotic arm base design:
of the robotic arm, with optimized dimensions of individual  Design of the base according to the required connection dimensions and dimensional
restrictions given by the planned location of the robotic arm
links of the whole mechanism. However, the road to a device  The design procedure is similar to the design procedure of the n-th line

composed of real elements capable of handling the required

load is still very long. As part of the research, software tools No Has the base of
the robotic arm
were gradually created, with the help of which it is possible to been designed?

either automate or significantly simplify the design process of Yes

individual parts of robotic arms. The article [Zeman 2021] 7. Collision detection
describes the software tool DrivePicker, designed to design
power units. The article [Mihola 2021] describes the software
Have collisions Yes
tool RobotArmDesigner, designed to design cross-sections of been detected?

individual arms of industrial robots and manipulators. However,

No
these are still stand-alone tools for which it is necessary to
8. Design process outputs:
prepare input data and subsequently evaluate the output data.  3D model of a robotic arm
 Results of design and control calculations and simulations for individual elements of the
Another goal is to connect both the already mentioned robotic arm

software tools and add other functions, with the help of which
End of robotic arm design process
it would be possible to automate the design process of robotic
Figure 1. Block diagram of the robotic arm design process

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In the first step, the input data for the design of the robotic arm 2.2 n-th link design procedure
is defined (parameters of the manipulation object (OM), The design of individual parts of the robotic arm is an iterative
trajectories of its movement, information about the speed and optimization process. Changing the dimensions or one of the
acceleration of the object of manipulation during movement, parameters of one element can affect the design of the
the position of the base of the robotic arm, etc.). In the second previous and next element. Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing
step, a suitable end effector is designed. Currently, software the design procedure of one robotic arm line and
tools of individual end effector manufacturers are used for this corresponding drive units. During this process, drive units are
design. Based on this information, the robotic arm's kinematic repeatedly designed, and kinematic, dynamic and strength
structure is designed in the next step, using genetic algorithms analyses are performed. In the case of the first iteration of the
or artificial neural networks. The kinematic structure designed design, collisions between the individual lines of the robotic
this way is then transferred in the form of a skeleton to the arm are not taken into account. Only collisions between the
SolidWorks CAD system. In the following steps, the individual robotic arm and the elements of the workplace are taken into
elements of the robotic arm are gradually designed. Suppose it account. In this way, a preliminary design of the arm is
is impossible to design the robotic arm according to the given obtained. Only after the complete design have the collisions
kinematic structure, the algorithm returns to the third step been checked within the individual elements of the robotic arm
according to Fig. 1 and the design of a new kinematic structure (Fig. 1, step 7). The preliminary draft can also be considered
is initiated. When designing a new kinematic structure, the final if no collisions are found. However, if collisions are found
input parameters are adjusted in such a way as to reflect the in this step, the second iteration of the design begins. All
reasons for the failure of the previous design steps. possible collisions within the workplace are already considered
in this and other iterations. The goal is not only to design a
2.1 Creation and use of skeletons functional device but also to optimize it in terms of weight,
The proposed kinematic structures are usually obtained in the dimensions or both, depending on the specific assignment.
form of simplified 3D models or line kinematic structures. The design process is divided into two main branches. The first
These are then converted into solid skeletons using the is intended for line design where the distance between the axes
SolidWorks CAD API. The motion links between the skeleton's of the joints does not exceed a distance corresponding to four
parts correspond to the proposed device's links. Together with times the diameter of the previous power unit (in the case of a
3D models of the object of manipulation and the end effector, line connecting the end effector and the next joint is calculated
the skeleton forms the basis of the robotic arm, on which with a distance corresponding to four times the body length of
kinematic and dynamic analysis are subsequently performed. the end effector). In this case, it is assumed that the link will
consist of one piece of material. However, if this distance is
greater, the link will consist of three parts, a pair of consoles
and a profile that connects them.

Figure 3. Examples of a link consisting of: a) one part; b) three parts

In previous publications [Mihola 2021, Zeman 2021], software

tools for designing drive units and cross-sections of line profiles
have been described. These software tools have been modified
so that the robotic arm design process can be automated.
However, their functionality remained unchanged. Procedures
have been newly created to automate strength analyses of any
structural elements of robotic arms. Based on them,
procedures for dimensional optimization of these structural
elements were developed. Procedures for finding collisions
have also been newly created for both within the robotic arm
and the entire workplace. In the block diagram of Fig. 4, only
kinematic and dynamic analyzes are no longer fully automated.
The input data for these analyzes are automatically taken from
the previous design steps and prepared in the required form. It
is also possible to automatically define selected elements of
these analyzes. The results of these analyzes are then
Figure 2. Demonstration of a skeleton with 4 DOF and its gradual automatically converted into the form needed for the next
addition to the designed elements of the robotic arm steps of the design process. The full automation of this part of
the process is prevented by occasional problems with the CAD
The results of these analyses are then used in designing API of the SolidWorks system (not all the required actions are
individual drive units and structural elements of the robotic performed). It is therefore necessary to manually check the
arm. Fig. 2 shows the design procedure of a robotic arm with 4 definition of these analyzes and their possible correction. But
DOF. From the skeleton to the final 3D model. these are exceptional cases.

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 Start of the process of designing the n-th line of the robotic arm

Analysis of the length of the n-th link

The length of the n-th link is less than four times the length of The length of the n-th link is greater than four times the length of the
the effector or four times the diameter of the previous drive unit effector or four times the diameter of the previous drive unit

Kinematic and dynamic analysis of a 3D model Kinematic and dynamic analysis of a 3D model
Have the
available 3D
Design of the shape and basic dimensions of the first part of the n-th link
No model variants Yes
Preliminary design of the drive unit for the following joint
from the
database been
Dimensional optimization of the first part of the n-th link exhausted?
Has a
suitable drive No
unit been
found?
Satisfactory from
Yes the point of view of No
Yes deflection and
Design of the shape and basic dimensions of the n-th link strength?
Collision detection
Dimensional optimization of the n-th link Have collisions Yes
been detected?

Satisfactory from
No
No the point of view of Yes Kinematic and dynamic analysis of a 3D model
deflection and
strength?
Preliminary design of the drive unit for the following joint

Have the available A suitable drive No

No 3D model variants Yes unit was found
from the database
been exhausted?
Collision detection Yes
Preliminary design of the shape and basic dimensions of the
third part of the n-th link, preliminary design of the length of
the second part of the n-th link
Yes Have collisions Have the available
been detected? Design of the cross section and its basic dimensions of the No 3D model variants Yes
second part of the n-th link from the database

Modification of parameters for the design of the kinematic structure of the robotic arm
No been exhausted?

Collision detection
Kinematic and dynamic analysis of a 3D model

Have collisions Yes

Design of a drive unit for the following joint been detected?

Has a suitable
No
No Kinematic and dynamic analysis of a 3D model
drive unit been
found?

Yes Design of a drive unit for the following joint

Are dimensional
Yes changes to the
Has a suitable No
drive unit been
n-th link
found?
necessary?
Yes
No
Design of the shape and basic dimensions of the third part of the n-th link

Are adjustments
to the length of Yes
the second part
of the n-th link
necessary?
No
Have the
No available 3D
Dimensional optimization of the third part of the n-th link model variants Yes
from the
database been
exhausted?
Satisfactory from
the point of view of No
deflection and
Yes strength?

Collision detection

Have collisions Yes

been detected?

No
Kinematic and dynamic analysis of a 3D model

Design of a drive unit for the following joint

Has a suitable No
drive unit been
found?

Yes
Are dimensional
changes of the Yes
third part of the
n-th link
necessary?

No
Step No. 3 of the robotic arm
End of the design process of the n-th link of the robotic arm design procedure (Fig. 1)

Figure 4. Block diagram of the design process of the nth line of the robotic arm

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 Začátek procesu
2.3 Dimensional optimization of structured hledání kolizí
elements Start of the collisions search process
Design studies can be performed within the SolidWorks CAD
system. Within them, it is possible to define the range of Start of kinematic analysis
Start kinematické
individual dimensions of the proposed structural analýzy the
element,
method of loading, the required result (e.g. the maximum Checking the intersections between all
amount of deformation of the element), and other elements of the 3D model at a given
point in time
requirements (e.g. to minimize the Kontrola
weightprůniků mezi všemi
of the prvky
proposed
3D modelu v daném časovém
element). However, the ability to define a Design Study through
okamžiku

Move to the next time point of the

the SolidWorks CAD API is very limited. This means significant Have
limitations in terms of the possible automation of this phase of No intrusions

kinematic analysis
Posunutí do následujícího časového
been
the design process. Therefore, an alternative solution was

okamžiku kinematické analýzy

detected?
detekovány
created. The optimization procedure is described in the form of
průniky?
a block diagram in Fig. 5. Yes
Recording of the elements between
Start of the part dimension which there was an intersection
optimization process
Zaznamenání prvků, mez kterými
došlo k průniku
Loading a 3D model of a part and its Was the
parameters for dimensional
optimization from a database
inspection No
performed in
all planned
Defining ranges for individual kontrola ve všech positions?
dimensions of the 3D model, defining plánovaných
constraints and loading methods for polohách Yes
strength analysis, defining
requirements for the optimized part End of kinematic analysis, listing of all
found intersections

Strength analysis of a 3D modelKonec kinematické analýzy. Výpis

všech nalezených průniků End of the collisions search process
Changing the dimensions

Recording the dimensions of the 3D Figure 6. Block diagram of the collision search algorithm
model, its weight and the results of
of a 3D model

strength analysis (stress and Ukončení procesu hledání

deflection)
kolizí
Kinematic analysis is divided into smaller time periods. In each
time period, a check is made to see if there is a mutual
intersection of volumes between the individual elements of the
Have analyzes been
performed for all 3D model. If not, it is continued to the next time period. If so, it
No
dimensional is recorded which elements intersected and what its volume is.
combinations of the
3D model? It is then continued to the next time period. This procedure is
repeated until the entire kinematic analysis is completed. If no
intersections have been found, it is possible to proceed to the
Yes
next design step of the robotic arm. If intersections have been
Choosing the dimensional variant that
best meets the requirements for the found, it is necessary to return to one of the previous design
optimized part steps and adjust its input parameters.

Completion of the part dimensioning

optimization process 3 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
Figure 5. The procedure of dimensional optimization of individual The algorithms described in Chapter 2 were used to design a
structural elements of the robotic arm robotic arm whose skeletal kinematic structure is indicated in
Fig. 7. This kinematic structure with 5 DOF was designed for
manipulation with a cylindrical object with a diameter of 52
This step performs strength analyses for all proposed
mm, a length of 200 mm and a weight of 3.33 kg. The
dimensional combinations of a given structural element. Then
movement time of the manipulation object from the starting
the dimensional variant that best meets the requirements for
position to the target position is 4 seconds. The length of the
the given structural element is automatically selected. The time
trajectory is 1348 mm.
required for this process depends on the complexity of the
component, the number of analyzes performed, etc.

2.4 Collision search procedure

The SolidWorks CAD system is also equipped with functions for
finding collisions between individual elements of the 3D model.
However, the possibilities of these functions are also quite
limited. Moreover, their control via API is also problematic. For
this reason, a custom collision detection algorithm was built
(Fig. 6). It is based on a combination of kinematic analysis of the
proposed device and a function for finding intersections
between individual elements of the 3D model.

Figure 7. Kinematic structure with 5 DOF and trajectory of the object of

manipulation

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Based on the results of kinematic and dynamic analyzes,
individual elements of the robotic arm are designed. In the case
of structural elements, the effort is to find the most suitable
ratio between the element's dimensions and its weight. All this
while maintaining its sufficient rigidity. Fig. 8 is an example of a
bracket line 3 in which the axis drive four is mounted.

Figure 8. Link 3 Console

The basic dimensions of this element are based on the

dimensions of the drive unit, designed using the DrivePicker
tool. Dimensions t1 (ranging from 7 to 20 mm) and t2 (ranging
from 7 to 15 mm) were used in the dimensional optimization.
This corresponds to performing 128 strength analyzes. Fig. 9 is
a graph showing the dependence of the maximum deformation
of the proposed element on these dimensions at maximum
load. Figure 10. The first iteration of the robotic arm design
Within the range of dimensions t1 and t2, the weight of this
element ranges from 0.666 to 1.446 kg. With a requirement for
In the first iteration of the design, collisions between the
a maximum allowable deformation of 0.01 mm, a variant with
individual elements of the robotic arm are not taken into
dimensions t1 = 14 mm and t2 = 9 mm, with a maximum
account. If no collision is found in step 7, according to the block
deflection of 0.0098 mm and a weight of 0.991 kg, was selected
diagram in Fig. 1, the robotic arm design process is successfully
as the most suitable. Other structural elements of the robotic
completed. In this case, however, a collision was found
arm were designed similarly.
between lines 2 and 3 (Fig. 11).

Figure 11. Collision between links 2 and 3

Thus, the second iteration of the proposal was started. During

it, collisions between the individual elements of the robotic arm
were also taken into account. The collision was found only
between links 2 and 3. The part of the robotic arm relating to
axes 5 and 4 could therefore be left unchanged. Collisions with
Figure 9. Graph showing the dependence of the amount of deformation link 2 and the dimensions designed in the first iteration were
on the dimensions t1 and t2 also considered in the design of link 3. The result of the design
in the second iteration is shown in Fig. 12.

The procedure for designing the robotic arm in the first

iteration is indicated in Fig. 10. Then, gradually, the individual
components and drive units of the CanisDrive type from
Harmonic Drive SE were designed.

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 and reduce the overall weight of the robotic arm. That would
lead to a lower electricity consumption of the proposed arm
during operation.
The functionality of the proposed algorithms was subsequently
presented on the example of a robotic arm with 5 DOF. It took
two iterations to reach the final design, totaling 16 hours.
Approximately 95% of this time (ie 15.2 hours) was spent
performing 3900 strength analyses. Another 20 minutes was
spent checking that the kinematic and dynamic analyzes were
set up correctly (in this case there were no issues with the
SolidWorks CAD API and all settings were set up correctly). The
Figure 12. Modified link 3 as part of the next iteration
remaining time was devoted to the other steps of the design.
Using standard procedures, a similar result would be achieved
Compared to the original design, the length of the connecting in several hundred hours, depending on the experience of the
profile of link 3 was shortened by 70 mm, and the wall developer. Thus, the presented design process turns out to be
thickness was reduced from 4 mm to 3 mm. At the same time, very effective.
the bracket at the drive unit in axis 3 was extended by the same
length. To maintain the required rigidity of this element, the
wall thickness was increased by 2 mm. The resulting minimum ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
distance between links 2 and 3, indicated in Fig. 12, is 10.5 mm. This article has been elaborated under support of the project
No other problem areas were found in the second iteration. Research Centre of Advanced Mechatronic Systems, reg. no.
Therefore, the design process could be completed successfully. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000867 in the frame of the
The final design of the robotic arm is shown in Fig. 13. Operational Program Research, Development and Education.
Two types of materials were considered when designing the This article has been also supported by specific research project
robotic arm's structural elements. Aluminum alloy AL 6063 T6 SP2022/67 and financed by the state budget of the Czech
and steel AISI 4340 (they are color-coded in Fig. 13). The Republic.
resulting weight of the robotic arm is 40.7 kg, and its maximum
reach is 1303 mm. Used drive unit sizes are 14A (axis 5), 17A
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CONTACTS:
doc. Ing. Milan Mihola, Ph.D.
VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, Department of Robotics
17. listopadu 2172/15, Ostrava-Poruba, 708 00, Czech Republic
+420 596 995 445, [email protected],
https://www.fs.vsb.cz/354/en

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