Design of a parallel robot with additively manufactured flexure hinges for a cryogenic work environment

verfasst von: Philipp Jahn, Frank Ihmig, Annika Raatz
Abstract: Automation is ubiquitous in today's industrial landscape and is finding its way into more and more highly specialised applications - also in the field of cryopreservation. The extreme work conditions in cryobanks place exceptionally high demands on the mechanical and electronic components used. The preservation and storage of biological samples take place at temperatures between -130 °C and -196 °C using liquid nitrogen as a cooling medium. The bearings and joints used in industrial parallel kinematic robots (for example, ball bearings or Cardan joints) jam at these ambient parameters and are unsuitable for an application within a cryobank. We, therefore, develop methods and technologies to enable fully automated handling of biological samples under cryogenic working conditions. The basis for this is a parallel kinematic robot structure that allows the drives to be placed outside the cold environment. In contrast, the rest of the robot structure can be actuated in a cryogenic container. In this context, the passive joints for this parallel robot are designed as additively manufactured monolithic flexure hinges. This paper presents the design, simulation, and construction of the parallel robot and focuses on the flexure hinges fabricated using the selective laser melting process (SLM). We describe the design of the flexure hinges, their intended use in the robot, and the experimental setup used for their validation. We also compare the operating parameters recorded in experiments (such as bending angle, bending moment) with the data obtained in finite element method simulations (FEM). In addition, we describe the geometric constraints and deviations of the manufactured joints due to the manufacturing process.
Organisationseinheit(en): Institut für Montagetechnik und Industrierobotik
Externe Organisation(en): Fraunhofer-Institut für Biomedizinische Technik (IBMT)
Typ: Konferenzaufsatz in Fachzeitschrift
Journal: Procedia CIRP
Band: 103
Seiten: 280-285
Anzahl der Seiten: 6
ISSN: 2212-8271
Publikationsdatum: 2021
Publikationsstatus: Veröffentlicht
Peer-reviewed: Ja
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete: Steuerungs- und Systemtechnik, Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen und Fertigungstechnik
Elektronische Version(en): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2021.10.045 (Zugang: Offen)

BibTeX

@article{cac77c3a18ae4a688cd79d8c59520373,
title = "Design of a parallel robot with additively manufactured flexure hinges for a cryogenic work environment",
abstract = "Automation is ubiquitous in today's industrial landscape and is finding its way into more and more highly specialised applications - also in the field of cryopreservation. The extreme work conditions in cryobanks place exceptionally high demands on the mechanical and electronic components used. The preservation and storage of biological samples take place at temperatures between -130 °C and -196 °C using liquid nitrogen as a cooling medium. The bearings and joints used in industrial parallel kinematic robots (for example, ball bearings or Cardan joints) jam at these ambient parameters and are unsuitable for an application within a cryobank. We, therefore, develop methods and technologies to enable fully automated handling of biological samples under cryogenic working conditions. The basis for this is a parallel kinematic robot structure that allows the drives to be placed outside the cold environment. In contrast, the rest of the robot structure can be actuated in a cryogenic container. In this context, the passive joints for this parallel robot are designed as additively manufactured monolithic flexure hinges. This paper presents the design, simulation, and construction of the parallel robot and focuses on the flexure hinges fabricated using the selective laser melting process (SLM). We describe the design of the flexure hinges, their intended use in the robot, and the experimental setup used for their validation. We also compare the operating parameters recorded in experiments (such as bending angle, bending moment) with the data obtained in finite element method simulations (FEM). In addition, we describe the geometric constraints and deviations of the manufactured joints due to the manufacturing process. ",
keywords = "compliant mechanisms, cryobank, cryopreservation, flexure hinges, parallel robots",
author = "Philipp Jahn and Frank Ihmig and Annika Raatz",
note = "Funding Information: The authors acknowledge the support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under project number 349906175 (cryogenic handling); 9th CIRP Global Web Conference on Sustainable, Resilient, and Agile Manufacturing and Service Operations: Lessons from COVID-19, CIRPe 2021 ; Conference date: 26-10-2021 Through 28-10-2021",
year = "2021",
doi = "10.1016/j.procir.2021.10.045",
language = "English",
volume = "103",
pages = "280--285",
journal = "Procedia CIRP",
issn = "2212-8271",
publisher = "Elsevier BV",
}