Computer Aided Machining

Computer Notation Control, or more commonly known, CNC machining was one of the most important parts of manufacturing this prototype humanoid. Firstly the CAD design is imported into a Computer Aided Machining (CAM) software where a user defined machining path is defined. It is a common misconception that the CAM software will convert all CAD data into usable machine code for you without much human interaction. In fact the user must define every machining path, tool, tool depth, tool feed rate, spindle speed, safety heights, off set, finishing cut, start and finish points of every single cut that takes place. Once this is done the CAM software will produce a G-code which is a machine code that can be read by the CNC machine.

Every part, except for the carbon fibre rings and the pelvis yaw axis, was machined on the CNC machine. This, along with the high precision and intricacy of each part, meant a lot of machining time was required. A lot of the parts are very small, thin walled, and didn’t have any adequate positions for clamping which made for a very interesting machining process. A lot of the components, such as the hip and ankle joints, could not actually be produced on the standard 3 axes CNC machine. A mechanical 4th axis with a Dividing Head was implemented on the Massey University CNC machine solely for this project. This enabled parts to be mounted horizontally in a standard chuck which could then be rotated to any angle the user desired. This could not be done on the fly like a dedicated controlled 4th axis could but it still meant that parts that required 90 or 180 degree rotation multiple times could easily be achieved. (Figure 4-18) below on the left shows the operations performed to machine the pelvis. (Figure 4-18) on the right shows the profile path in orange that tool number 16 will take to machine out the bearing pocket for the hips.

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Figure 4-18: Computer Aided Machining (CAM) operations and tool paths

SolidWorks CAM software has a feature that allows a 3-D simulation of the entire machining process. This allows the user to ensure that they have produced the correct operations. For example it is very common to accidentally make the tool follow the incorrect side of the profile path, essentially machining away the part that you want to be keeping. (Figure 4-19) shows how the entire process is simulated in a 3-D Solid representation.

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Above is a snippet of G-Code that is produced by the CAM software. This particular snippet is the bearing pocket for the hips. In bold it shows the settings that must always be checked on the CNC machine before commencing operation. It is essential to ensure that the correct tool, spindle speed, and feed rate are being used.

O5000 /* DSF.CNC */ /* 11-JAN-2011*/ G90 G17 G80 G49 G40 G54 G91 G28 Z0 G90 M01 N1 M6 T16 T16

/* TOOL -16- MILL DIA 8.0 R0. MM */

G90 G00 G40 G54 G43 H16 D16 G0 X35.294 Y37.985 Z70. S3000 M3 M8 /*---*/ /*P-CONTOUR4-T16 - POCKET*/ /*---*/ X35.294 Y37.985 Z50. Z0. G1 Z-6. F100 G3 X35.294 Y37.985 I0. J-2.7 F450 G1 Y40.785 G3 X35.294 Y40.785 I0. J-5.5 G1 Y43.585 G3 X35.294 Y43.585 I0. J-8.3 G1 Y46.385 G3 X35.294 Y46.385 I0. J-11.1 G1 Y49.185 G3 X35.294 Y49.185 I0. J-13.9 G1 Y51.985 G3 X35.294 Y51.985 I0. J-16.7 G1 Y54.785 G3 X35.294 Y54.785 I0. J-19.5 G0 Z50. Y37.985

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Figure 4-20: Completed lower half of the humanoid robot MURPH

Figure 4-20 show the completed lower half of the humanoid robot named MURPH. MURPH is an acronym for Massey University Robotics, Pushrod controlled Humanoid.

4.10Discussion and conclusions

This humanoid robot is very complex in comparison to similar priced humanoids. The need for such intricacy became apparent early on in the project as it became obvious that low budget ‘classic’ designs lack the agility of their human counterparts. To avoid the issues plagued by ‘classic’ designs, this humanoid was designed and built to exploit as many mechanical factors as possible. The physical structure of the humanoid is built as lightweight and as agile as possible, consisting of high tensile aluminium, carbon fibre tube, and carbon impregnated plastics.

Solidworks is a very advanced 3D modelling program which allows the user to test designs to ensure their dimensions are correct. The software is also used to establish weight properties, finite element analysis can be performed to determine high stress areas of parts,

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and, most importantly, these designed parts can then be imported into a computer aided machining software which is used to determine machining profiles and tool paths for the CNC machine.

Due to a majority of the components being very lightweight their wall thicknesses were extremely thin. This produces a problem when machining, as aluminium flexes when not supported sufficiently, and this becomes an issue for fitting bearings. A lot of the parts that required machining from a top plane and a sagittal plan had to be machined on a 4th axis as they did not have sufficient positions for clamping. With a addition of a 4th axis, very unusually shaped parts could be machined, but a very high degree of accuracy still maintained which is usually not possible when parts need to be manoeuvred for re machining.

All joints contain roller ball bearings races. This is to reduce friction allowing the servo to perform to its full potential but, most importantly, it produces a slop free joint which is very important in a humanoid. A very small amount of slop in a joint gets significantly magnified by the end of the manipulator and would greatly increase the complexity of the control system as it would struggle to perform accurate foot placement.

High modulus carbon fibre is used in the legs and pushrods. This is to enable easy modification of leg lengths which may be necessary in the development stage as this humanoid is only the first prototype.

To conclude, a complete humanoid robot with revolutionary joint actuation and placement has been designed. The lower half up to the back bone has been completely fabricated from scratch, including 90 percent of components CNC machined from billets of material. The components are machined and constructed to a high accuracy to ensure the lowest amount of slop in each joint which helps reduce the complexity to control algorithms. The mechanical structure is more compact than regular systems due to the implementation of push rods for actuation, and gear drives for optimal module placement. The effect of a compact system is apparent in the control system as momentum and rotational inertia becomes a large factor in the agility of the humanoid.

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