Brief Analysis On The Application Of Magnesium Alloy Materials In Lightweight Robots

With The Development Of Modern Industry, The Types Application Fields Of Robots Are Constantly Expanding. According To The Use Of Modern Robots, Robots Can Be Divided Into Two Categories: Professional Service Robots Household Service Robots. As A Result, Huiwen Intelligent Manufacturing 'S Robot Parts Processing Industry Has Flourished.

1. Development Application Status Of Robots

As Robots Continue To Mature, Their Applications Have Expanded The Earliest Industrial Fields To Medical Care, Life Services, Space Ocean Exploration, Military Entertainment, Etc. Robotics Will Only Push The Manufacturing Industry Into A New Stage, But Will Also Usher In The Rapid Development Of Non-Manufacturing Automation Technology.

At Present, Industrial Powers Such As The United States, Japan, Europe, South Korea Have Placed The Achievement Of Breakthroughs In Robot Technology The Promotion Of The Development Of The Robot Industry In An Important Strategic Position In The Development Of Science Technology In Their Countries. In Made In China 2025, My Country Also Lists "High-End CNC Machine Tools Robots" As One Of The 10 Key Development Areas, Proposing To "Actively Develop New Products Promote The Standardization Modularization Of Robots Around The Application Needs Of Industrial Robots Special Robots In The Automotive, Machinery, Electronics, Dangerous Goods Manufacturing, National Defense Military Industry, Chemical Industry, Light Industry, Service Robots In The Medical Health, Home Services, Education Entertainment Industries". The Outline Of The National Medium- Long-Term Science Technology Development Plan (2006-2020) Also Clearly Lists Service Robots As A Strategic High Technology For Future Priority Development, Proposing To "Focus On The Application Needs Of Service Robots Study Common Basic Technologies Such As Design Methods, Manufacturing Processes, Intelligent Control Application System Integration" [5]. At Present, The Average Density Of Industrial Robots Used In The World's Manufacturing Industry Is 55 Per 10,000 Employees, While The Density Of Industrial Robots Used In China Is Only 36 Per 10,000 People. In View Of The Above Background, "Replacing People With Machines" Has Become An Inevitable Trend. In Guangzhou, A Representative Manufacturing City In The Pearl River Delta Region, The Government Has Proposed That More Than 80% Of The City's Manufacturing Enterprises Should Apply Industrial Robots Intelligent Equipment By 2020.

In Addition To Being Widely Used In Stamping, Welding, Automated Assembly Lines Other Processes Involved In The Manufacturing Industry, Robots Can Also Be Used To Replace Traditional Complex Actions Such As Grinding, Complex Welding, Polishing That Require Manual Work. Apple Uses Two KUKA Electronic Robots To Perform Secondary Polishing On The Exterior Of The Mac Pro To Produce A Mirror-Like Surface. After Completing The External Polishing, The Robot Will Also Polish The Inside Of The Mac Pro Shell, As Shown In Figure 1. Welding Robots Have Played An Extremely Important Role In The High-Quality Efficient Production Of Hull Welding, Are Gradually Transforming To Automation. South Korea Has Adopted A PDA-Based Ship Mobile Welding Robot Rail Runner, Which Can Enter The Closed Structure Of The Double-Hull Ship Required For Welding, Work In A Harsh Welding Environment With Toxic Gases High Temperatures, Replace Manual Automation For Welding. Huiwen Intelligent Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Is A Comprehensive High-Tech Enterprise Relying On The Technical Background Of The Chinese Academy Of Sciences, Focusing On The Design Optimization, Production Manufacturing Of Intelligent Robot Parts, Domestic Foreign Sales. The Company Team Was Established In 2010 Has Long Been Committed To The Processing Of High-Precision, High-Difficulty, Easy-To-Deform Metal Plastic Parts , Small Medium-Batch Production Of Lightweight Alloy Composite Materials (Such As Magnesium-Lithium Alloy, Magnesium-Aluminum Alloy , Carbon Fiber, Etc.) Parts,  Procurement Customization Of Robot Parts .

The Application Of Robots In Non-Manufacturing Industries Is Also Becoming More More Diverse. Amazon Has Equipped Its Distribution Centers With More Than 15,000 Kiva Wheeled Robots To Achieve Warehouse Automation, As Shown In Figure 3. These Robots Move Quickly Quietly. After Receiving Digital Instructions Wirelessly Transmitted By The Central Computer, They Scan The Barcode Labels On The Ground To Pass Through, Slide Under The Shelves, Then Deliver Them To The Pickers. The R2D4 Underwater Robot Developed By Japan Has A Maximum Diving Depth Of 4,000 Meters Can Collect Data Autonomously. It Can Be Used For Submarine Volcanoes, Shipwrecks, Mineral Deposits. The CR-01 CR-02 Series Of Pre-Programmed Underwater Robots Developed By The Shenyang Institute Of Automation Of The Chinese Academy Of Sciences In Cooperation With Russia Have A Maximum Diving Depth Of 6,000 Meters Have Completed Deep-Sea Surveys In The Pacific Ocean. In Terms Of Space Robots, The Robot Robonaut Developed By NASA In The United States Will Replace Astronauts In Extravehicular Work, Its Reaction Speed Must Exceed That Of Humans, Making It Suitable For Dealing With Unforeseen Emergencies.

At Present, China Has Entered An Aging Society. The Medical, Rehabilitation, Disability Assistance Problems Brought About By The Aging Population Structure Have Also Brought Huge Economic Resource Pressures To The Entire Society. Surgical Robots Represented By The Da Vinci Robot Represent The Highest Level Of Current Medical Robots Also Show The Broad Application Prospects Of Medical Robots. Exoskeleton Robots Have Also Shown Their Application Potential In Assisting The Elderly Disabled To Walk. In Terms Of Medical Robots, Many Hospitals Such As Southwest Hospital In My Country Use Capsule Endoscopy Robots To Replace Traditional Gastroscopy For Digestive Tract Examinations. The Robot Is Only The Size Of A Capsule. After The Patient Takes It Orally, The Doctor Can Observe The Internal Situation Of The Digestive Tract At 360° Through The Display Screen. The Examination Can Be Completed In About 15 Minutes, Which Only Makes The Patient More Comfortable, But Also The Disposable Capsule Prevents Cross Infection Is More Hygienic Safe. In Terms Of Elderly Assistance Robots, The Exoskeleton Robot Robot Suit HAL Of Cyberdyne, Japan, Can Assist Patients With Walking Difficulties To Achieve Rehabilitation, Is Also Suitable For Assisting The Elderly To Walk. The Robot Can Help The Wearer Complete Actions Such As Standing, Walking, Grasping Lifting Heavy Objects, The Continuous Working Time Can Reach 280 Minutes.

2. Robot Materials Lightweight Trends

At Present, Various Brands Of Metal Materials Are The First Choice For Various Robot Structural Parts, Such As Cast Iron, Alloy Steel, Stainless Steel, Aluminum Alloy, Titanium Alloy, Etc. When Designing Using Professional Robots Represented By Traditional Industrial Robots, The First Consideration Is The Need For Sufficient Strength. Therefore, Most Of Their Structural Parts Are Made Of Various Cast Iron, Alloy Steel Other Materials, Some Parts Are Made Of Aluminum Alloy, Composite Materials, Etc.

Taking Into Account The High Requirements Of Detection Rescue Robots For Reducing Their Own Weight, Fast Stable Movement, Etc., The Main Body Of The Detection Robot Is Made Of Flax Fiber Natural Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Resin Matrix Thermosetting Resin Composite Material Instead Of 45 Steel. The Weight Of The Main Body Is Reduced To 45 Kg, Which Is 190.5 Kg Less Than The Original Body Weight, The Weight Reduction Rate Is As High As 80.9%. Household Service Robots Have Slightly Lower Requirements For Material Strength, But Have More Requirements For Robot Weight Portability. Therefore, The Basic Structure Of Service Robots Is Mostly Made Of Aluminum Alloy. For Example, The Mechanical Arm Structure Of A Service Robot For The Elderly Is Made Of 7075 Aluminum Alloy. The Lightweight Design Of The Mechanical Arm Is Achieved By Optimizing The Structure Ensuring Its Performance Requirements. As A Representative Of Assistive Robots, Exoskeleton Robots Have Higher Requirements For Weight Reduction Portability. For Example, The EKSO (Figure 5) Exoskeleton Robot Uses Aluminum Titanium Alloys As Its Mechanical Structure, With A Total Weight Of Only About 23kg. The Material Of The PRMI Autonomous Weight-Reducing Exoskeleton Lower Limb Robot Of The University Of Electronic Science Technology Of My Country Is Also Mainly Aluminum Alloy.

In Short, In Order To Meet The Needs Of Robots To Be Lighter, More Efficient Easier To Operate, Lightweight Robots Are The Future Development Trend. In Addition To Lightweight Structure Design, Lightweight Materials Are More Important. Compared With Lightweight Structure, Lightweight Materials Give Robots Greater Weight Reduction Potential A Wider Range Of Applications.

3. Advantages Of Lightweight Magnesium Materials In Robots

The Metal Materials That Can Be Used For Robots Mainly Include Steel, Aluminum Alloy, Magnesium Alloy , Titanium Alloy, Etc. Since The Density Of Steel Is As High As 7.8g/Cm3, Although A Small Number Of Robot Moving Parts Use Titanium Alloy (4.5g/Cm3) Aluminum Alloy (2.7g/Cm3) Instead Of Steel, The Density Of Titanium Alloy Is Still Relatively High The Cost Is Expensive, The Density Of Aluminum Alloy Is Also Higher Than That Of Magnesium Alloy.

As The Lightest Metal Structural Material, Magnesium Magnesium Alloy Has A Density Of 2/3 Of Aluminum Less Than 1/4 Of Steel. For Polycarbonate Composite Materials Containing 30% Glass Fiber, The Density Of Magnesium Does Exceed 10%. In Addition, China's Iron Aluminum Resource Reserves Only Account For 18.7% 2.3% Of The World's Proportion, But China's Magnesium Ore Resources Are The Richest In The World, The Application Of Magnesium Materials Has Unique Resource Advantages. Therefore, Magnesium  Magnesium Alloy Materials Have Significant Advantages In Reducing Weight, Improving Robot Mobility Endurance Due To Their Light Weight High Specific Strength, Are One Of The Most Ideal Materials For Manufacturing Robots.

The Lightweight Of Robot Materials Can Greatly Improve Its Mobility Work Efficiency, Highlighting The Advantages Of Robots In Reducing Motion Inertia, Improving Operation Speed Movement Accuracy. The Third Generation Of ASIMO (Figure 6) Of Honda Company In Japan Is Made Of Lightweight Alloy, Its Shell Is Made Of Magnesium Alloy , Which Greatly Reduces The Weight Of The Robot, Increases The Walking Speed The Original 1.6km/H To 2.5km/H, The Maximum Running Speed Reaches 3km/H.

Although Magnesium Alloy Materials Have Been Initially Applied In Robots, One Of The Major Bottlenecks Limiting The Application Of Magnesium Alloy Materials In The Field Of Robot Parts Is That The Strength Toughness Of Existing Magnesium Alloys Are Still Lower Than Those Of Steel Aluminum Alloys, There Is Still A Gap Between The Performance Requirements Of Robot Materials The Complete Replacement Of Steel, Aluminum Alloys Other Materials. Therefore, The Development Of High-Performance Magnesium Alloys Their Forming Processing Technologies For Manufacturing Robot Parts Is Of Great Significance To Reducing The Mass Of Robot Moving Parts, Improving Movement Accuracy, Achieving Energy Saving.

In October 2015, Beijing University Of Technology Launched The "Big Scientific Research Promotion Plan - Intelligent Robots" In Response To The Current Research Status Development Prospects In The Field Of Robots. In Addition To Focusing On Major Common Key Technologies, Key Components, Whole Machine Development, Integrated Applications Other Directions Of Intelligent Robots, A Notable Feature Of The Plan Is That It Highlights The "Key Technology Research On Lightweight Materials For Robots" Represented By Magnesium Alloy Materials. Relying On The Research Development Team Platform Advantages Of The School Of Materials Of Beijing University Of Technology In The Direction Of Lightweight Magnesium Alloy Materials For More Than Ten Years, The "Big Scientific Research Promotion Plan" Is Based On The Research Results Of Material Design, Fine Structure Control, Plastic Forming Mechanism Other High-Performance Magnesium Alloys Such As Mg-Zn-Er Mg-Gd-Er-Zr, Targeting The Needs Of High-Value-Added Medical Robots Domestic Robots In Terms Of Material Lightweighting, Taking New High-Strength High-Toughness Magnesium Alloy Materials As The Goal, Developing High-Performance Magnesium Alloy Parts For Medical/Domestic Other Household Service Robots , Focusing On The Lightweighting Of Moving Parts Such As The Arms Of Such Robots , Gradually Achieving Overall Weight Reduction Of Household Service Robots.

In The Context Of Industrial Upgrading Transformation Of An Aging Society In My Country's Manufacturing Industry, The Demand For Traditional Industrial Robots New Domestic Service Robots Will Continue To Rise In The Next Decade Even Decades, The Application Potential Of The Robot Market Is Very Significant. The Application Of Lightweight Alloy Materials Represented By Magnesium Alloys In Robots Has The Advantages Of Significantly Improving The Mobility Of Robots, Reducing Energy Consumption, Increasing Standby Time, Is One Of The Important Directions Of Robot Research Development.