A novel methodology focused on the selection of the movement strategy to minimize power and energy consumption of drive systems for manufacturing robots in pick-and-place applications

In this article, a methodology to minimize mechanical power and energy consumption for manufacturing robots in pick-and-place applications based on the movement strategy definition is developed and validated. Initially, a general sequence of logical steps is presented to carry out the design process from the displacement requirements and the kinematic constraints of the system. Once this sequence has been defined, the effect of saturation on the required force, speed, acceleration, power, and energy consumption in drives for manufacturing robots in pick-and-place applications is investigated, focusing on generic robot system that move a constant inertia load and are not equipped with regenerative devices. A set of methods is proposed for the choice of this saturation, among which are thumb rules, analytical methods, and graphical methods. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed methodology is demonstrated through its application in a case study. It was determined that by not applying the proposed methodology in the case study, the required power and energy consumption increased by more than 15.7% and 100%, respectively, with respect to the optimum values.