Design and Construction of a High-Performance 6-Axis Robotic Manipulator for Low-Cost Industrial Automation

In recent years, the need for low-cost robotic solutions has emerged in various industries where high performance is required. In this work, a low-cost 6-axis robotic manipulator was designed and built to meet the functional and performance requirements of industrial automation. The kinematic and dynamic model and trajectory planning algorithms were developed and implemented embedded in the Teensy 4.1 development board. The mechanical structure was built by combining 3D-printed PLA parts with machined metal parts in order to reduce costs. A brushless DC motor, harmonic gearboxes, and control board were selected to meet the dynamic requirements of the robot. The total construction cost of the robot was less than USD 3000. Point-to-point, linear, and circular trajectories were tested in simulation and experimentally on the proposed robot. Pose repeatability of ±0.07 mm and 48 cycles/min were obtained in the performance test, which is relatively close to its industrial counterpart.