Humanoid robots want the appropriate movement parts to satisfy efficiency necessities, says IKO. Supply: Adobe Inventory
Humanoid robots are anticipated to remodel a broad spectrum of actions, because of superior neural networks that command joints, appendages and finish effectors to offer nearly human expertise. Nevertheless, the rising adoption of humanoids wouldn’t be potential with out superior movement parts designed to suit their duties and environments.
A few of the rising markets embrace healthcare, retail and hospitality, manufacturing, materials dealing with and logistics, to call a couple of. Actually, the humanoid market potential is projected to succeed in as much as $38 billion in gross sales by 2035, based on Goldman Sachs analysis.
Let’s take a look at a number of the design parts you might want to type by to specify the appropriate movement part and optimize it for a robotic’s supposed duties and environments.
Humanoid duties require exact, managed movement
Though mechanical techniques in humanoids will probably want optimized parts to carry out duties of their deliberate environments, it’s essential to seek out out what normal merchandise can do in your movement system earlier than committing to a {custom} part.
From there, you’ll be able to take your particular necessities to a movement part specialist with confirmed expertise modifying normal merchandise to deal with utility challenges. Listed below are some widespread humanoid movement parts together with some normal parts which might be well-suited for the duty, utilizing IKO merchandise as examples:
- Hip, joint, elbow, or wrist movement. There’s no extra essential part in humanoids than crossed curler bearings (CRBs). With rollers alternately crossed at proper angles to 1 one other between their interior and outer rings, CRBs can deal with radial, thrust, and second masses on the similar time. This association permits the rollers to make better contact with the raceway so robotic actuators in elbows, hips, and different joints can manipulate heavy masses with better stability and rotational accuracy — all in a compact dimension. Not surprisingly, a typical humanoid has between 14 and 20 CRBs to carry out varied features.
The CRBT and CRBTF crossed curler bearings measure simply 5.5 mm excessive and 5 mm huge. Supply: IKO
- Managed linear movement. Linear movement rolling guides are available in a variety of sizes, making them appropriate for various elements of a humanoid physique. For instance, grippers and finish effectors that mimic fingers are sometimes used to know objects and, subsequently, should open and shut with precision. Linear movement rolling guides are vital in selecting and putting duties by giving robotic fingers simply the appropriate clamping power to govern the article whereas additionally permitting them to be sufficiently nimble to keep away from damaging the article.
One such information, IKO’s ML Collection, is available in a number of the trade’s smallest sizes, whereas the LWL is offered with a width of simply 1 mm (0.03 in.). A lot of its bearings boast a recirculating ball-type design to offer exact, managed movement.
ML Collection linear movement rolling guides are available in a number of the trade’s smallest sizes, IKO claims. Supply IKO
IKO guides are additionally obtainable in normal and extremely inflexible lengthy variations that may be designed right into a robotic’s torso, arms or legs to increase its attain to, for instance, entry excessive shelving. These guides may even be utilized in a robotic’s neck to permit the pinnacle to look above or round obstacles to raised “see” its environment.
- Spherical plain bearings — often known as bushings — stabilize humanoid limbs as they pivot and simulate human actions. For instance, many humanoids have a rod on the rear of the foot that connects to the baseplate. With spherical plain bearings in this sort of design, ft and ankles can flip, rotate, or lean ahead or backward.
- Gripping and turning objects. Cam followers are fascinating in lots of inner designs that want a component to trip onto a cam and will be mounted above a round arc to offer extra levels of freedom.
IKO stated it presents a number of the smallest cam followers available in the market, together with models with stud diameters as small as 1.4 mm (0/05 in.). These parts even have an inner design that handles thrust masses with out important degradation to the product.
Linear guides might help a humanoid robotic prolong its attain. Supply: IKO
Efficiency enhancements contain movement trade-offs
Since humanoid robots are designed to occupy the identical environments as folks and manipulate uniformly sized objects equivalent to warehouse totes, it may be simple to assume that normal movement parts are requisite. However upon getting selected the kind of part you want, the one restrict to bettering your system’s efficiency is your capability to optimize your movement objectives.
Relating to efficiency enhancements, it’s essential to keep in mind that humanoid designs include trade-offs that usually pose troublesome questions. Have a trusted movement part provider assess your wants, advise you of your choices and assist present solutions. Due to this fact, it pays to work intently together with your part producer, particularly when your humanoid design targets embrace:
- Movement management. Any joint that should pivot, flip, rotate, or oscillate would require movement parts. However to imitate human actions, varied joints and actuators might want to work with efficient movement management. For instance, right here’s how your movement part producer might help you’re employed by the problems concerned in reaching excessive precision and clean rotation in a standard robotic joint:
Though two skinny part bearings can do the job, they’ll devour a considerable amount of area and include a excessive value. IKO CRBs can remove the two-bearing system. They combine two bearings into one platform through rollers organized in an “X” sample, permitting them to deal with giant axial, radial, and second masses concurrently to carry out advanced duties whereas saving area. Customizations could embrace further flanges or completely different bolt patterns to simplify set up.
Upkeep-free parts maintain humanoids on the transfer
In humanoids, as with every machine with movement techniques, retaining bearings and different parts correctly lubricated is a key concern. Many humanoids are anticipated to repeat duties many hundreds of occasions with no deterioration of shifting elements. And, these elements are usually built-in into tight areas.
IKO solves this drawback with C-Lube — a lubricating factor constructed into many merchandise together with linear guides and cam followers. In linear guides, C-Lube provides the lubricating oil to the surfaces of its rolling parts with out contacting the monitor rail. This built-in lubrication system can run maintenance-free for 5 years or 12,500 mi. (20,116.8 km) and past. Taken collectively, C-Lube parts ship long-lasting, maintenance-free efficiency so your humanoid robots will keep on the transfer.
- Match the present work surroundings. Superior motion-control methods are additionally generally essential to get a humanoid to carry out in a definite work surroundings. Suppose a robotic should deal with an object at a shelf peak or depth that an individual could not be capable to attain. The precise movement part producer can add linear extending mechanisms to arms or legs, or modify a torso to create a bodily construction that may overcome a human’s bodily limitations and adapt to a extra advanced work surroundings.
- Decrease upkeep necessities. Lowering and predicting upkeep wants are essential points when designing movement techniques that will probably be anticipated to persistently carry out tens of hundreds of occasions with out degradation. Whereas some parts with built-in sensors can, for instance, alert operators to mechanical injury, IKO strives to fabricate merchandise which might be maintenance-free over the lifetime of the appliance.
C-Lube is a built-in lubrication system for linear guides. Supply: IKO
Customized parts give humanoids free vary of movement
Since humanoid robots are supposed to maneuver freely as they tackle their duties and environments, {custom} movement parts are vital to facilitating motion in addition to optimizing productiveness and reliability. When growing a {custom} resolution in your humanoid robotic, maintain a few of these greatest practices – utilizing crossed curler bearings for instance – in thoughts. Do not forget that humanoids can comprise as many as two-dozen CRBs.
- Guarantee movement accuracy. As is the case with stationary robots, exact movement is important. Crossed curler bearings are constructed to offer excessive rigidity and positioning accuracy. This accuracy will be optimized additional and backlash will be eradicated, for instance, by including a light-weight preload or minimizing clearance in robotic joints, which additionally permits clean movement.
- Decrease energy consumption. The much less energy the humanoid wants to satisfy its mission, the longer the battery life. Crossed curler bearings will be custom-designed to distribute masses extra successfully, exhibit decrease rotational torque, decrease friction through separators, remove backlash, or use lighter-weight supplies which may all assist cut back energy consumption.
- Contemplate set up and meeting. CRBs give robotic joints their capability to pivot, and correct mounting is vital to making sure accuracy and stopping misalignment in addition to the related injury to the bearings themselves. Customized choices can embrace particular housings, plates, flanges, and mounting holes.
- Specify parts to face as much as harsh circumstances. In most purposes, Alloy 52100 supplies good power and anti-fatigue traits. Nevertheless, some humanoids will probably be deployed in harsh environments, requiring corrosion-resistant stainless building or particular seals to repel mud and dust in addition to stop grease leakage. Black chrome and skinny dense chrome floor therapies additionally present efficient safety in lots of harsh environments.
- Don’t overlook upkeep. For conditions through which a standard lubricating grease shouldn’t be potential, IKO recommends alternate options equivalent to a dry movie lubricant to cut back friction or perhaps a liquid crystal lubricant for clear environments.
Collaborate early together with your movement part provider
As you specify {custom} movement parts for humanoid robotic purposes, it’s essential to get in contact together with your provider early within the design course of to keep away from the additional work that may come up over time. IKO makes use of its intensive experience on CRBs, linear movement parts, spherical bushings and cam followers in {custom} options that embody all of the circumstances and situations you anticipate your humanoid to come across.
We work with clients each step of the way in which, together with testing and validating the {custom} half to make sure it performs as anticipated when the humanoid goes to work. Whether or not the movement part is meant for manufacturing, caregiving, dwelling upkeep, or fulfilling orders, IKO stands prepared that can assist you create a {custom} movement product that may function reliably and supply an extended, productive lifetime.
In regards to the writer
Karl Wickenheisser is vp of gross sales and advertising at Parsippany, N.J.-based IKO Worldwide Inc. He’s a licensed skilled engineer and bearings trade veteran with over 38 years of worldwide expertise at IKO, The Torrington Co., FAG Bearings and RBC Bearings.
An energetic member of each the Bearing Specialist Affiliation (BSA) and Energy Transmission Distributors Affiliation (PTDA), Wickenheisser is a graduate of Stevens Institute of Expertise with a bachelor’s diploma in mechanical engineering (BEME). He additionally has an MBA from Fairfield College.
IKO has 50 years of expertise in movement management. The firm‘s merchandise embrace needle curler bearings, linear movement rolling guides, precision positioning tables, the C-Lube expertise, and machine parts.
Editor’s be aware: Study extra about humanoid robotic growth at RoboBusiness 2025, which will probably be on Oct. 15 and 16 in Santa Clara, Calif.
