Development of a CAD/CAE/CAM system for a robot manipulator

Abstract In this study, a CAD/CAE/CAM integrated system for a robot manipulator was developed. The D–H (Denavit–Hartenberg) coordinate transformation method was used to perform the robot position analysis, according to the transformation matrices, we used Matlab to calculate the robot position analysis. Pro/ENGINEER (Pro/E) was used to construct the robot manipulator parametric solid models, Pro/Mechanica was used to simulate the dynamic simulation and working space, MasterCAM was used to implement the cutting simulation, and the prototype was manufactured using a CNC milling machine. Finally, a CAD/CAE/CAM integrated system for a robot manipulator was developed. A demonstration example is presented to verify the design, analysis, and manufacture results (the demonstration is located at the website of http://www.sparc.nhit.edu.tw/∼jennifer/robot1/index.htm ). This integrated system not only promotes automation capabilities for robot manipulator production, but also simplifies the CAD/CAE/CAM process for a robot manipulator. This integrated system is useful for developing a supplementary teaching tool for practical computer-aided mechanism design courses.