中英文翻译--工业机器人{修}

Industrial robots

There

are variety of definitions

of the term

robot. Depending on the definition

used,

the

number

of

robot

installations

worldwide

varies

widely.

Numerous

single-purpose

machines

are

used

in

manufacturing

plants

that

might

appear

to

be

robots.

These

machines

are

hardwried

to

perform

a

single

function

and

cannot

be

reprogrammed to preform a different function. Such single-purpose machines do not

fit the definition for industrial robots that is becoming widely definition

was developed by the Robot Institute of America.

A

robot

is

a

reprogrammable

multifunctional

mainipulator

designed

to

move

material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for

the performance of a variety of tasks.

Note

that

this

definition

contains

the

words

reprogrammable

and

multifunctional.

It

is

these

two

characteristics

that

separate

the

ture

industrial

robot

from the various single-purpose machines used in modern manufacturing firms. The

term

“

reprogrammable

”

implies two things: The robot operates according to a written

program,

and

this

program

can

be

rewritten

to

accommodate

a

variety

of

manufactureing tasks.

The term

“

multifu nctional

”

means that the robot can, through

reprogramming

and the use of different

end-effectors, perform

a number of different

manufacturing

tasks.

Definitions

written

around

these

two

critical

characteristics

are

becoming

the

accpted definitions among manufacturing professionals.

The first articulated arm came about in 1951 and was used by the U. S. Atomic

Energy Commission. In 1954, the first programmable robot was designed by George

Devol. It was based on two important technologies:

(1)

Numerical control (NC) technology.

(2)

Romote manipulator technology.

Numerical contorl technology provided a form of machine control ideally suited

to

robots.

It

allowed

for the control

of motion

by

stored programs.

These programs

contain date points to which the sequentially moves, timing signals initiate action and

to stop movement, and logic staements to allow for decision making.

Remote manipulator technology allowed a machine to be more than just another

NC machine. It allowed such machines to become robots that can perform a variety of

manufacturing tasks in both inaccessible and unsafe environments. By merging these

two

technologies,

Devol

developed

the

first

industrial

robot,

an

unsophisticated

programmable materials handling machine.

The

first

commerically

produced

robot

was

developed

in

1959.

In

1962,

General

Motors

Corporation.

This

robot

was

produced

by

Unimation.

A

major

step

forword in robot control occurred in 1973 with the development of the T-3 industrial

robot

by

Cincinnati

Milacron.

The

T-3

robot

was

the

first

commercially

produced

industrial robot controlled by a minicomputer.

Numerical control and remote manipulator technology prompted the wide- scale

development and use of industrial robots. But major technological developments do

not take place simply because of such new capabilities. Something must provide the

impetus for taking advantage of these capabilities. In the case of industrial robots, the

impetus was economics.

The rapid inflation of wages experienced in the 1970s tremendously increased

the

personnel

costs

of

manufacturing

firms.

At

the

same

time,

foreign

competition

became

a

serious problem

for U. S. manufacturers. Foreign manufacturers who had

undertaken automation on a wide-scale basis, such as those in Japan, began to gain an

increasingly

large

share

of

the

U.

S.

and

world

market

for

manufactured

goods,

particularly automobiles.

Through

a

variety

of

automation

techniques

including

robots,

Japanese

manufacturers, beginning in the 1970s, were able to produce better automobiles more

cheaply than nonautomated U. S. manufacturers. Consequently, in order to survive, U.

S. manufacturers were forced to consider any technological developments that could

help improve productivity.

It became imperative to

produce better products

at

lower costs in

order to be

competitive with foreign manufacturers. Other factors such as the need to find better

ways of performing dangerous manufacturing tasks contributed to the development of

industial

robots.

However,

the

principal

rationale

has

always

been,

and

is

still,

improved productivity.

One of the principal advantages

of

robots is

that they

can be used in

settings

that

are

dangerous

to

humans.

Welding

and

parting

are

examples

of

applications

where robots can be used more safely than humans. Even though robots are closely

associated with safety in the workplace, they can, in themselves, be dangerous.

Robots and robot cells must be carefully designed and configured so that they

do not endanger human workers and other machines. Robot work envelops should be

accurately calculated and a danger zone surrounding the envelope clearly marked off.

Red flooring strips and barries can be used to keep human workers out of a robot

’

s

work envelope.

Even

with

such

precautions

it

is

a

good

idea

to

have

an

automatic

shutdown

system in situations where robots are used. Such a system should have the capacity to

sense the need for an automatic shutdown of operations. Fault-tolerant computers and

redundant systems can be installed to ensure proper shutdown of robotics systems to

ensure a safe enviroment.

About componets of a robot system, the componets of a robot system could be

discussed either from a systems point of view. Physically, we could divide the system,

and

controller

(computer)

.

Likewise,

the

robot

itself

could

be

partitioned

anthropomorphically into base, shoulder, elbow, wrist, gripper, and tool. Most of these

terms require little explanation.

Consequently,

we

will

describe

the

components

of

a

robot

system

from

the

point of view of information transfer. That

is,

what

information

or signal

enters

the

component;

what

logical

or

arithmetic

operation

does

the

component

perform;

and

what information or signal does the component produce? It is important to note that

the

same

physical

component

may

performs

many

different

information

processing

operations

(

e.

g.

,

a

central

computer

performs

many

different

calculations

on

different

data

)

.

Likewise,

two

physically

separate

components

many

perform

identical informations ( e .g . , the shoulder and elbow actuators both convert signals