DESIGN OF A ROBOTIC ARM FOR TEACHING INTEGRATED DESIGN

Automation systems are generally made upof three main subsystems, namely mechanical, electricaland software. The interactions among these componentsaffect the integrated system in terms of reliability, quality,scalability, and cost. Therefore, it is imperative that thethree components of automation systems are designedconcurrently through an integrated design paradigm.This leads to the need to teach integrated design conceptsto students in programs such as process automation,electrical and computer engineering, and mechanicalengineering. However, due to the time constraint, it isalmost impossible to run full integrated design classprojects. Therefore, instructors have to decide on theparts of the design process that their class projects haveto focus on, and the parts that have to be reviewed for thecompleteness of the integrated design process. In thispaper we present the design and implementation of amicrocontroller based, 3D printable, low cost robotic armsuitable for teaching integrated design. Moreover, thepaper presents how the robotic arm design is used in anintegrated design project of an Industrial Networks andControllers course. Since the focus of this course is theelectrical and software subsystems of the robotic arm,and we do not have enough time to do a full design,students review the design of the robotic arm presented inthis paper and use it to either 3D print the robotic arm orpurchase the mechanical subsystem of the robotic armthat meets the specification.