Lightweight and Low-Cost Cable-Driven SCARA Robotic Arm with 9 DOF

This paper presents the design and testing of a lightweight, low-cost robotic arm with an extended vertical range. The 9-degree-of-freedom (DOF) system comprises a 6-DOF arm and a 3-DOF gripper. To minimize weight, the six wrist and gripper joints are cable-driven, with all actuators relocated to the shoulder assembly. As a result, the wrist and gripper only weigh 222 g and 113 g, respectively, significantly reducing the inertia on the end effector. The arm utilizes a SCARA-configuration that slides along a tower for extended vertical reach. A key innovation is a closed-section frame that attaches the arm to the tower, in which the bending and torsional loads from the payload can be directly transferred onto the static structure. In contrast to conventional design, this design does not require the shoulder motor to take the bending load directly. Instead, the motor only needs to overcome the rolling friction of the reaction load. Experimental results demonstrate that this approach reduces the required motor torque by a factor of 30. Consequently, the prototype can manipulate a 3 kg payload at a 0.5 m lateral reach while weighing only 4.5 kg, costing USD 1200, and consuming a maximum of 11.1 W of power.