Pick and place head for the “ROBOARM” robotic arm

1. the suction cup is placed on the part to be picked up and pressed against its surface until it seals;
2. through the shield, Arduino starts the vacuum pump and, since the solenoid valve at rest connects the suction cup straight to it, the cup draws the part in and holds it;
3. Arduino moves the arm so that it lifts the part and places it where it has to go;
4. at this point Arduino energises the solenoid valve, which switches the common port to the vent, so the vacuum stops and the object can drop;
5. once the object has been released, the electronics takes the arm back to its starting position and gets ready for a new pick.

That is extremely useful for precision positioning, for instance, because it lets you correct errors or tolerances caused by play in the joints, but also teach movements so as to build sequences to be replayed later on automatically; teaching is done by moving the arm to the wanted positions by hand, recording them and then putting them into firmware that repeats those movements, aiming at the rotation angles of the servos involved.
Bear in mind, in any case, that the system works perfectly well with ordinary servos too, such as those supplied with the basic robotic arm described in the previous issue.
Among the functions it implements, the shield supplies power to the servos and drives the solenoid valve coil and the vacuum pump that make pick and place possible.

• Power output current (OUT1 and OUT2): 1 A
• Buttons for future use (P1 and P2): 2

Warning: the control electronics and the “ROBOARM” robotic arm are not included. See related products.

• Arm:
• – Upper arm and forearm length (mm): 160
• – Maximum height reached by the wrist (mm): 310
• – Gripper at the tip with arc-shaped jaws
• – Driven by 5 servos
• 13 kg•cm RC servo:– Operating speed: 0.17 s / 60 degrees (@ 4.8 V no load)
  – Torque: 9.4 kg·cm (@ 4.8 V)
  – Stall torque: 13 kg·cm (@ 6 V)
  – Supply: 4.8 to 6 V
  – Metal gears
  – Dimensions (mm): 40.7 x 19.7 x 42.9
  – Weight: 55 grams

– Operating speed: 0.12 s / 60 degrees (@ 4.8 V no load)
– Operating speed: 0.11 s / 60 degrees (@ 6 V no load)
– Torque: 1.2 kg·cm (@ 4.8 V)
– Stall torque: 1.5 kg·cm (@ 6 V)
– Supply: 4.8 to 6 V
– Plastic gears
– Dimensions (mm): 22x12x29
– Weight: 9 grams

• Firmware
• Library