Manipulator mainly consists of three major parts: hand, motion mechanism and control system. The hand is a part used to grip the workpiece (or tool), and has various structural forms, such as clamping type, holding type and adsorption type, according to the shape, size, weight, material and operation requirements of the gripped object. Motion mechanism, so that the hand to complete a variety of rotation (oscillation), movement or composite movement to achieve the prescribed action, change the position and posture of the gripped object. The independent movement of the motion mechanism, such as lifting, telescoping and rotating, is called the degree of freedom of the manipulator. In order to grasp an object in any position and orientation in space, six degrees of freedom are required. Degrees of freedom are the key parameters of manipulator design. The more degrees of freedom, the greater the flexibility of the manipulator, the wider the versatility, and the more complex its structure. Generally, special robots have 2 to 3 degrees of freedom. The control system is used to complete specific movements by controlling the motor of each degree of freedom of the manipulator. It also receives feedback from sensors to form a stable closed-loop control. The core of the control system is usually composed of a micro-control chip such as a microcontroller or dsp, which is programmed to achieve the desired function.
The types of manipulators can be divided into hydraulic, pneumatic, electric and mechanical manipulators according to the driving method; special manipulators and general-purpose manipulators according to the scope of application; point control and continuous trajectory control manipulators according to the motion trajectory control method, etc. Manipulators are usually used as additional devices for machine tools or other machines, such as loading and unloading and transferring workpieces in automatic machine tools or automatic production lines, changing tools in machining centers, etc., generally without independent control devices. Some operating devices need to be operated directly by a person, such as the master-slave operator used in the atomic energy sector to handle hazardous materials is also often called a manipulator. The application of manipulators in the forging industry can further develop the production capacity of forging equipment, improve the heat, tired and other labor conditions. Manipulators were first developed in the U.S. The first manipulator was developed in 1958.