#worm screw gearbox factory

[gearboxmanufacturerahmedabad]

The Role of Worm Reduction Gearboxes in Material Handling Equipment 

Transportation and distribution, production, excavation, and storage and distribution are fundamental to many industries. Application: in handling equipment such as conveyors, lifts, trolleys, cranes, and hoists there must be timely and effective means of handling materials. This gearbox usually reaches one of the important parts of the application in several of these machines. As a high torque and high accuracy speed control type of gearbox, this type is essential in numerous material handling operations.

In today’s blog, we will discuss the various ways that worm reduction gearboxes have benefited material handling equipment and how it impose benefits in industrial use.

Understanding Worm Reduction Gearboxes

Worm reduction gearboxes are specific units that are intended to decrease rotational speed, at the same time increasing the level of transmitted torque. Their design includes:

Worm Gear: A type of helical pin that engages with a cogwheel having a series of teeth.

worm shaft: A wheel whose teeth are in mesh with that of the worm gear.

This configuration enables a considerable reduction of the speed thus qualifying these gearboxes as compact but strongly built to meet several industrial needs.

How Worm Reduction Gearboxes Serve Material Handling Equipment

A. Enhanced Power Transmission

Worm gearboxes are ideal for machines that handle heavy loads, as they:

Slow down motors’ fast spinning and turn them into vigor and torque.

Stabilise and provide clean power, this makes it possible for equipment to work well under load.

B. Precision in Speed Control

Material handling may require certain speed control at specified or standard levels of accuracy. Worm gearboxes:

Supply accurate speed reduction for fine procedures such as handling conveyors.

Be able to produce a stable constant amount for any load conditions.

C. Compact Design for Tight Spaces

Some of the industrial applications demand compact or space-optimized working equipment. Worm gearboxes are:

Very portable in form, they can be incorporated in space-limited systems.

D. Safety Through Self-Locking

A standout feature of worm reduction gearboxes is their self-locking capability, which:

Prevents reverse motion, keeping loads stationary even without power.

Ensures safety, especially in cranes, hoists, and lifting mechanisms.

Applications in Material Handling Equipment

The versatility of worm reduction gearboxes makes them suitable for a wide array of applications, including:

Conveyor Belts: The flow is to be fluent and constant throughout the material flow system.

Cranes and Hoists: Have to offer the amperage to render the torque necessary for the safe lifting of the load.

Benefits of Worm Reduction Gearboxes

High Torque Output: Indispensable for use in hearty operations.

Quiet Operation: Slows sounds in places such as factories or warehouses.

Choosing the Right Worm Reduction Gearbox

Keep the following in mind while buying:

Load Capacity: In its simplest form make sure it has adequate torque and weight for an intended application.

Size and Placement: Note:Select the optimal organization that will correspond to the dimensions and layout of your machine.

Conclusion

Worm reduction gearboxes serve a central function in the smooth running of such equipment in the material handling industry. Due to their high torque, excellent control as well as shock resistance they are useful in applications such as conveyors, cranes and forklifts.

Call to Action

Looking for quality worm reduction gearboxes for your machines and equipment? We'd like to invite you to walk through the collections of our products to fit various requirements of the contemporary industry.

[seimitsu]

SEIMITSU Factory Automation Pvt Ltd is an Authorized Distributor of KHK gears and distributes its various products Such as Spur gears, Worm gears, Bevel Gears, Gear Rack, Helical Gears, Miter Gears Plastic Gears, Screw Gears, Bevel Gearbox and Other Products across India.

 Features of KHK Gears :-

1)    Extensive Range of 20,000 Gears.

2)    All Gears in Stock.

3)    No Minimum Order Quantity.

4)    All Gears Individually Packed.

5)    High Reliability.

 For More Information :-

 Imgur reference - https://imgur.com/gallery/dcv24Qg

Website – https://www.seimitsu.in/KHK-gear-products.html

Contact No. – 020-46212700/9028121211

Mail Id – sales@seimitsu.co.in

[starredriver]

Maintenance Of Worm Gearboxes

A Worm Gearbox is a special gear assembly in which the worm mesh with a worm gear. The term worm gearbox is also used to describe the main worm and the drive, also known as the worm wheel or the gear wheel. It is sometimes mistakenly confused with the worm shaft, the ratchet or the sprocket as a whole.

Worm Gears are a type of gear that has a central hole or slot that the screw fits into. Inside the gear are a rotating shaft and a fixed screw. This fixed screw rotates the shaft and provides the turning force to turn the gear in a clockwise direction.

Worm gearboxes from worm gearbox factory have a number of advantages. They are used on all sorts of applications including industrial machinery. The worm provides more torque than other types of gear and is less prone to jamming, and there is no need for lubrication in most instances. Worm gears are made of different materials and sizes but they are usually made of metal like brass, copper, nickel and stainless steel.

Another advantage of using worm gears is that they provide much greater speed when compared to other forms of gearing. It may not seem important to you but a worm is more sensitive than a screw that has no lubrication will not work as well. Without lubrication, it will only be able to turn as fast as the amount of torque provided by the screw.

However, as mentioned above worm gears are quite prone to jamming. They are prone to such problems because the screws they are made up of are very heavy and so are usually placed in the high pressure area of the gear box. When the screw starts to wear down due to friction and other causes it will often stop turning the shaft and it can even be damaged completely.

As you can see worm gears are more susceptible to jamming than other types of gearboxes. So, when you want to buy one you need to make sure that you buy a high quality worm gearbox that comes with all the right lubricants, lubrication and anti-jammed components. This is not always easy to do though as most worm gears come with instructions that tell you exactly what you need to do to keep them working well.

Worm gears do require some maintenance and therefore you will need to clean them once in a while. Worm gears with lubricants should be cleaned every couple of weeks while lubricated ones should be cleaned every couple of months.

For the lubricants to be effective you need to use a solvent that will break down the lubricant so that it does not affect the lubrication of the worms. You should use a water based solvent that will not harm your hands or fingers. For the anti-jamming components you need a solvent that will not harm the gears.

Worm gears should be oiled before using them. There are two ways to do this. The first is to put the worms in a pan of oil and leave them for some time to soak and the other is to use a spray bottle with some silicone.

The best way to do both is to use silicone spray with some silicone on the inside surface of the worm and leave it overnight. After the silicon has dried, you will need to clean the inside of the worm with a damp cloth. You should then remove any excess silicon to prevent the silicon from damaging the gears.

Before cleaning your wormbox you will also need to lubricate the inside of the gearbox. Make sure that you use a good quality lubricant to avoid damage to the gears and to get rid of any dirt that may cause them to jam.

To apply the lubricant you should first put some lubricant into the oil reservoir and turn the clockwise until you reach the oil. A good lubricant should have a thick viscosity and this should be about 1.3 ml. per gallon of oil.

[kristablogs]

Twelve classic products that were perfect from the start

Perfection often requires iteration. Even after releasing a product, designers, programmers, and engineers will continue to reinvent subsequent generations. But sometimes they get it right the first time. These items were so good from the get-go, they endured for decades.

Sliced bread (Gregory Reid/)

Sliced bread

Born 1927

Otto Rohwedder reinvented bread when he created the first machine to slice it. His local paper called the innovation “a refinement that will receive a hearty and permanent welcome.” Only a few cities enjoyed the convenience until Taggart Baking Co. made Wonder Bread one of the first pre-portioned loaves sold nationwide, turning the super-soft carb into a glutenous rock star. The US government banned the culinary creation in 1943, in part to conserve paraffin (used in the waxed-paper packaging) for the war. But widespread public outcry forced Uncle Sam to quickly change course, making the return of sliced bread the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Concrete Masonry Unit (Gregory Reid/)

Concrete Masonry Unit

Born 1890

Your name for the venerable CMU probably depends upon where you live, but cinder block, breeze block, and hollow block all refer to an 8-by-8-by-16-inch brick with two or three internal voids. This mainstay of construction emerged when Harmon S. Palmer developed a process for using coal cinders—hence the name—to create something lighter, more insulating, and easier to work with than the solid hunks of his day. The industry standardized the dimensions in the 1930s, and coal waste eventually gave way to concrete and other materials, making the items heavier and stronger.

Piper J-3 Cub (Gregory Reid/)

Piper J-3 Cub

Born 1938

The Piper J-3 Cub was a cheap, simple, and quick machine with two seats placed one behind the other inside a tubular steel frame wrapped in cotton fabric. Beloved by everyone from weekend aviators to the US military, nearly 20,000 of them rolled out of Piper’s factory before the company upgraded the plane in 1947. Many still fly. Bush pilots in particular adore the J-3’s brawnier descendant, the Super Cub, because it is durable, easily repaired, and can take off or land on even the smallest sliver of ground. The design remains so popular that the Washington state outfit CubCrafters builds several models based on the original, including a kit you can assemble yourself.

Paper clips (Gregory Reid/)

Paper clips

Born 1880s

Before this ubiquitous office staple (sorry) came along, people used pins, ribbons, string, and other workarounds to secure sheaves of paper. Although inventors had experimented with wire wound in loops, Britain’s Gem Ltd. clinched the design with two narrow concentric ovals. That provided just enough torsion in the fastener and friction between the pages to keep everything together. Connecticut entrepreneur William Middlebrook patented a clip-winding machine in 1899, and American Clip Co. started cranking out the indispensable office supply stateside four years later. Today, its factory in Mississippi spits out 1,600 of them every minute.

Zildjian cymbals (Gregory Reid/)

Zildjian cymbals

Born 1618

Legend has it that metallurgist Avedis Zildjian hoped to make gold when he mixed copper and tin with a substance held secret to this day. He ended up creating an alloy that, unlike regular bronze, could resonate without cracking or shattering—just the thing for crafting cymbals that were less likely to break during exuberant performances. His descendants spent the next 300 years or so in Turkey before moving to the US, introducing their wares to jazz musicians, who appreciated both the sound and durability. Today, you’ll find drummers in every genre playing Zildjians, each of them forged from a material that proved almost as valuable as gold.

Berkel Flywheel Meat Slicer (Gregory Reid/)

Berkel Flywheel Meat Slicer

Born 1898

Cutting a few hunks off a salami or ham is not too strenuous. Shaving thousands of paper-thin slices for eight hours a day is a recipe for injury. That explains why Dutch butcher and amateur engineer W.A. Van Berkel invented the first mechanical meat slicer. Cranking the cast-iron flywheel turns a pair of gears: One spins a cutting blade that is concave to minimize friction against the delicate flesh; the other drives a carriage that moves the meat back and forth through the whirling blade. Berkel’s electric models operate on the same principle, but discerning chefs prefer doing the job manually; heat generated by the motor can melt the fat and compromise the taste and texture of prosciutto and other delicacies.

Adjustable wrench (Gregory Reid/)

Adjustable wrench

Born 1842

Simple as it might seem, the adjustable wrench is an engineering marvel. Rotate its screw mechanism with your thumb, and a series of teeth—called a rack and worm—open or close the jaw to fit most any nut or bolt. Credit for this ingenious idea goes to British engineer Richard Clyburn, whose cast-iron “screw spanner” looks a lot like the do-it-all wonder in your toolbox right now. Chrome-plated steel now helps prevent corrosion, and modern models incorporate one knuckle-saving improvement: a small tension spring to prevent slippage as you crank on particularly recalcitrant fasteners.

Kitchenaid Tilt-Head Stand Mixer (Gregory Reid/)

Kitchenaid Tilt-Head Stand Mixer

Born 1937

When industrial designer Egmont Arens sought to make a countertop version of the 80-quart behemoths ordinarily found mixing dough in commercial bakeries, he had to do more than just miniaturize. He coated his new Model K with easy-to-clean enamel and created the now-iconic tilting head, which let home bakers quickly add ingredients to their mixes. The 3-quart bowl locks into place with a twist, and the head’s planetary action (think of Earth spinning on its axis as it revolves around the sun) ensures that nothing within the stainless-steel vessel goes unstirred. KitchenAid later trademarked the design, which, aside from the addition of bright colors in 1955, remains largely the same today.

Honda Super Cub (Gregory Reid/)

Honda Super Cub

Born 1958

Back in the 1950s, many people considered motorcycles to be loud, finicky, disreputable machines. Honda changed that with the quiet, reliable, and easy-to-ride Super Cub. Its step-through frame, which placed the fuel tank under the seat, made saddling up a snap. Large 17-inch wheels could tackle the worst roads without sacrificing comfort or stability. The engine made impressive power for its size, a semiautomatic gearbox ditched the clutch lever, and the plastic fairing gave riders some protection from the wind. It was an immediate hit. The motorbike has received a few updates over the years, and today’s models sport anti-lock brakes and LED headlamps. Honda has moved more than 100 million of them, making the Cub the best-selling motor vehicle in history.

Leica M-Series (Gregory Reid/)

Leica M-Series

Born 1954

The M3 found immediate success with photojournalists because of its speedy shooting. Instead of using two viewfinders—one for focusing and another for composing—the M3 featured a large, bright eyepiece to handle both. The “bayonet” lens mount let photographers save still more time by swapping glass with a twist and click rather than screwing it on and off. Leica employs the same system today, and modern M bodies work with almost any lens from the line’s history. The M3 also ditched the finicky film-advance knob of the era in favor of the simple thumb lever you now find on almost every camera that uses that wonderful medium. Leica still offers a 35mm film version that’s entirely mechanical and capable of enduring conditions that would brick most digital devices. It sells replacement parts too, because most people who shoot with one see no need to “upgrade.”

Porsche 911 (Gregory Reid/)

Porsche 911

Born 1963

The engine in a Porsche 911 sits at the very back, a design that eschews the conventional wisdom that most of a vehicle’s mass should sit between its axles. And yet Porsche not only made the unconventional design work, it created one of the best sports cars of all time. Oh, sure, the 911 had a nasty habit of punishing inept drivers by spinning like a Matchbox car thrown across the kitchen floor. But in the hands of a skilled pilot, the layout provides excellent traction and improved braking. That’s helped make this iconic automobile one of the most successful racing machines ever, even as it has grown larger and more luxurious. As always, that unusual drivetrain architecture is still wrapped in a sleek fastback body that’s impossible to mistake for anything else.

Swiss Army Knife (Gregory Reid/)

Swiss Army Knife

Born 1891

The first Swiss Army knife featured a blade, a screwdriver, a can opener, and an awl—everything a soldier could need to maintain a rifle, prepare a meal, or repair a saddle. (A later model for officers added a corkscrew, because officers were fancy.) When Karl Elsener started producing them for the Swiss military, he sandwiched the carbon-steel components in a hardwood handle. Its dark color made the original multitool difficult to spot if dropped, so he began painting the grip bright red in 1908. Another upgrade came in 1927 with the switch to rust-resistant stainless steel. Just two companies—Victorinox and Wenger—have manufactured the official tool, adding implements and colors over the years but never straying from the original goal of packing the greatest utility into the smallest space.

This story appears in the Spring 2020, Origins issue of Popular Science.

[scootoaster]

Twelve classic products that were perfect from the start

Perfection often requires iteration. Even after releasing a product, designers, programmers, and engineers will continue to reinvent subsequent generations. But sometimes they get it right the first time. These items were so good from the get-go, they endured for decades.

Sliced bread (Gregory Reid/)

Sliced bread

Born 1927

Otto Rohwedder reinvented bread when he created the first machine to slice it. His local paper called the innovation “a refinement that will receive a hearty and permanent welcome.” Only a few cities enjoyed the convenience until Taggart Baking Co. made Wonder Bread one of the first pre-portioned loaves sold nationwide, turning the super-soft carb into a glutenous rock star. The US government banned the culinary creation in 1943, in part to conserve paraffin (used in the waxed-paper packaging) for the war. But widespread public outcry forced Uncle Sam to quickly change course, making the return of sliced bread the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Concrete Masonry Unit (Gregory Reid/)

Concrete Masonry Unit

Born 1890

Your name for the venerable CMU probably depends upon where you live, but cinder block, breeze block, and hollow block all refer to an 8-by-8-by-16-inch brick with two or three internal voids. This mainstay of construction emerged when Harmon S. Palmer developed a process for using coal cinders—hence the name—to create something lighter, more insulating, and easier to work with than the solid hunks of his day. The industry standardized the dimensions in the 1930s, and coal waste eventually gave way to concrete and other materials, making the items heavier and stronger.

Piper J-3 Cub (Gregory Reid/)

Piper J-3 Cub

Born 1938

The Piper J-3 Cub was a cheap, simple, and quick machine with two seats placed one behind the other inside a tubular steel frame wrapped in cotton fabric. Beloved by everyone from weekend aviators to the US military, nearly 20,000 of them rolled out of Piper’s factory before the company upgraded the plane in 1947. Many still fly. Bush pilots in particular adore the J-3’s brawnier descendant, the Super Cub, because it is durable, easily repaired, and can take off or land on even the smallest sliver of ground. The design remains so popular that the Washington state outfit CubCrafters builds several models based on the original, including a kit you can assemble yourself.

Paper clips (Gregory Reid/)

Paper clips

Born 1880s

Before this ubiquitous office staple (sorry) came along, people used pins, ribbons, string, and other workarounds to secure sheaves of paper. Although inventors had experimented with wire wound in loops, Britain’s Gem Ltd. clinched the design with two narrow concentric ovals. That provided just enough torsion in the fastener and friction between the pages to keep everything together. Connecticut entrepreneur William Middlebrook patented a clip-winding machine in 1899, and American Clip Co. started cranking out the indispensable office supply stateside four years later. Today, its factory in Mississippi spits out 1,600 of them every minute.

Zildjian cymbals (Gregory Reid/)

Zildjian cymbals

Born 1618

Legend has it that metallurgist Avedis Zildjian hoped to make gold when he mixed copper and tin with a substance held secret to this day. He ended up creating an alloy that, unlike regular bronze, could resonate without cracking or shattering—just the thing for crafting cymbals that were less likely to break during exuberant performances. His descendants spent the next 300 years or so in Turkey before moving to the US, introducing their wares to jazz musicians, who appreciated both the sound and durability. Today, you’ll find drummers in every genre playing Zildjians, each of them forged from a material that proved almost as valuable as gold.

Berkel Flywheel Meat Slicer (Gregory Reid/)

Berkel Flywheel Meat Slicer

Born 1898

Cutting a few hunks off a salami or ham is not too strenuous. Shaving thousands of paper-thin slices for eight hours a day is a recipe for injury. That explains why Dutch butcher and amateur engineer W.A. Van Berkel invented the first mechanical meat slicer. Cranking the cast-iron flywheel turns a pair of gears: One spins a cutting blade that is concave to minimize friction against the delicate flesh; the other drives a carriage that moves the meat back and forth through the whirling blade. Berkel’s electric models operate on the same principle, but discerning chefs prefer doing the job manually; heat generated by the motor can melt the fat and compromise the taste and texture of prosciutto and other delicacies.

Adjustable wrench (Gregory Reid/)

Adjustable wrench

Born 1842

Simple as it might seem, the adjustable wrench is an engineering marvel. Rotate its screw mechanism with your thumb, and a series of teeth—called a rack and worm—open or close the jaw to fit most any nut or bolt. Credit for this ingenious idea goes to British engineer Richard Clyburn, whose cast-iron “screw spanner” looks a lot like the do-it-all wonder in your toolbox right now. Chrome-plated steel now helps prevent corrosion, and modern models incorporate one knuckle-saving improvement: a small tension spring to prevent slippage as you crank on particularly recalcitrant fasteners.

Kitchenaid Tilt-Head Stand Mixer (Gregory Reid/)

Kitchenaid Tilt-Head Stand Mixer

Born 1937

When industrial designer Egmont Arens sought to make a countertop version of the 80-quart behemoths ordinarily found mixing dough in commercial bakeries, he had to do more than just miniaturize. He coated his new Model K with easy-to-clean enamel and created the now-iconic tilting head, which let home bakers quickly add ingredients to their mixes. The 3-quart bowl locks into place with a twist, and the head’s planetary action (think of Earth spinning on its axis as it revolves around the sun) ensures that nothing within the stainless-steel vessel goes unstirred. KitchenAid later trademarked the design, which, aside from the addition of bright colors in 1955, remains largely the same today.

Honda Super Cub (Gregory Reid/)

Honda Super Cub

Born 1958

Back in the 1950s, many people considered motorcycles to be loud, finicky, disreputable machines. Honda changed that with the quiet, reliable, and easy-to-ride Super Cub. Its step-through frame, which placed the fuel tank under the seat, made saddling up a snap. Large 17-inch wheels could tackle the worst roads without sacrificing comfort or stability. The engine made impressive power for its size, a semiautomatic gearbox ditched the clutch lever, and the plastic fairing gave riders some protection from the wind. It was an immediate hit. The motorbike has received a few updates over the years, and today’s models sport anti-lock brakes and LED headlamps. Honda has moved more than 100 million of them, making the Cub the best-selling motor vehicle in history.

Leica M-Series (Gregory Reid/)

Leica M-Series

Born 1954

The M3 found immediate success with photojournalists because of its speedy shooting. Instead of using two viewfinders—one for focusing and another for composing—the M3 featured a large, bright eyepiece to handle both. The “bayonet” lens mount let photographers save still more time by swapping glass with a twist and click rather than screwing it on and off. Leica employs the same system today, and modern M bodies work with almost any lens from the line’s history. The M3 also ditched the finicky film-advance knob of the era in favor of the simple thumb lever you now find on almost every camera that uses that wonderful medium. Leica still offers a 35mm film version that’s entirely mechanical and capable of enduring conditions that would brick most digital devices. It sells replacement parts too, because most people who shoot with one see no need to “upgrade.”

Porsche 911 (Gregory Reid/)

Porsche 911

Born 1963

The engine in a Porsche 911 sits at the very back, a design that eschews the conventional wisdom that most of a vehicle’s mass should sit between its axles. And yet Porsche not only made the unconventional design work, it created one of the best sports cars of all time. Oh, sure, the 911 had a nasty habit of punishing inept drivers by spinning like a Matchbox car thrown across the kitchen floor. But in the hands of a skilled pilot, the layout provides excellent traction and improved braking. That’s helped make this iconic automobile one of the most successful racing machines ever, even as it has grown larger and more luxurious. As always, that unusual drivetrain architecture is still wrapped in a sleek fastback body that’s impossible to mistake for anything else.

Swiss Army Knife (Gregory Reid/)

Swiss Army Knife

Born 1891

The first Swiss Army knife featured a blade, a screwdriver, a can opener, and an awl—everything a soldier could need to maintain a rifle, prepare a meal, or repair a saddle. (A later model for officers added a corkscrew, because officers were fancy.) When Karl Elsener started producing them for the Swiss military, he sandwiched the carbon-steel components in a hardwood handle. Its dark color made the original multitool difficult to spot if dropped, so he began painting the grip bright red in 1908. Another upgrade came in 1927 with the switch to rust-resistant stainless steel. Just two companies—Victorinox and Wenger—have manufactured the official tool, adding implements and colors over the years but never straying from the original goal of packing the greatest utility into the smallest space.

This story appears in the Spring 2020, Origins issue of Popular Science.

[dorcasrempel]

Flexible yet sturdy robot is designed to “grow” like a plant

In today’s factories and warehouses, it’s not uncommon to see robots whizzing about, shuttling items or tools from one station to another. For the most part, robots navigate pretty easily across open layouts. But they have a much harder time winding through narrow spaces to carry out tasks such as reaching for a product at the back of a cluttered shelf, or snaking around a car’s engine parts to unscrew an oil cap.

Now MIT engineers have developed a robot designed to extend a chain-like appendage flexible enough to twist and turn in any necessary configuration, yet rigid enough to support heavy loads or apply torque to assemble parts in tight spaces. When the task is complete, the robot can retract the appendage and extend it again, at a different length and shape, to suit the next task.

The appendage design is inspired by the way plants grow, which involves the transport of nutrients, in a fluidized form, up to the plant’s tip. There, they are converted into solid material to produce, bit by bit, a supportive stem.

Likewise, the robot consists of a “growing point,” or gearbox, that pulls a loose chain of interlocking blocks into the box. Gears in the box then lock the chain units together and feed the chain out, unit by unit, as a rigid appendage.

The researchers presented the plant-inspired “growing robot” this week at the IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) in Macau. They envision that grippers, cameras, and other sensors could be mounted onto the robot’s gearbox, enabling it to meander through an aircraft’s propulsion system and tighten a loose screw, or to reach into a shelf and grab a product without disturbing the organization of surrounding inventory, among other tasks.

“Think about changing the oil in your car,” says Harry Asada, professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. “After you open the engine roof, you have to be flexible enough to make sharp turns, left and right, to get to the oil filter, and then you have to be strong enough to twist the oil filter cap to remove it.”

“Now we have a robot that can potentially accomplish such tasks,” says Tongxi Yan, a former graduate student in Asada’s lab, who led the work. “It can grow, retract, and grow again to a different shape, to adapt to its environment.”

The team also includes MIT graduate student Emily Kamienski and visiting scholar Seiichi Teshigawara, who presented the results at the conference.

The last foot

The design of the new robot is an offshoot of Asada’s work in addressing the “last one-foot problem” — an engineering term referring to the last step, or foot, of a robot’s task or exploratory mission. While a robot may spend most of its time traversing open space, the last foot of its mission may involve more nimble navigation through tighter, more complex spaces to complete a task.

Engineers have devised various concepts and prototypes to address the last one-foot problem, including robots made from soft, balloon-like materials that grow like vines to squeeze through narrow crevices. But Asada says such soft extendable robots aren’t sturdy enough to support “end effectors,” or add-ons such as grippers, cameras, and other sensors that would be necessary in carrying out a task, once the robot has wormed its way to its destination.

“Our solution is not actually soft, but a clever use of rigid materials,” says Asada, who is the Ford Foundation Professor of Engineering.

Chain links

Once the team defined the general functional elements of plant growth, they looked to mimic this in a general sense, in an extendable robot.

“The realization of the robot is totally different from a real plant, but it exhibits the same kind of functionality, at a certain abstract level,” Asada says.

The researchers designed a gearbox to represent the robot’s “growing tip,” akin to the bud of a plant, where, as more nutrients flow up to the site, the tip feeds out more rigid stem. Within the box, they fit a system of gears and motors, which works to pull up a fluidized material — in this case, a bendy sequence of 3-D-printed plastic units interlocked with each other, similar to a bicycle chain.

As the chain is fed into the box, it turns around a winch, which feeds it through a second set of motors programmed to lock certain units in the chain to their neighboring units, creating a rigid appendage as it is fed out of the box.

The researchers can program the robot to lock certain units together while leaving others unlocked, to form specific shapes, or to “grow” in certain directions. In experiments, they were able to program the robot to turn around an obstacle as it extended or grew out from its base.

“It can be locked in different places to be curved in different ways, and have a wide range of motions,” Yan says.

When the chain is locked and rigid, it is strong enough to support a heavy, one-pound weight. If a gripper were attached to the robot’s growing tip, or gearbox, the researchers say the robot could potentially grow long enough to meander through a narrow space, then apply enough torque to loosen a bolt or unscrew a cap.

Auto maintenance is a good example of tasks the robot could assist with, according to Kamienski. “The space under the hood is relatively open, but it’s that last bit where you have to navigate around an engine block or something to get to the oil filter, that a fixed arm wouldn’t be able to navigate around. This robot could do something like that.”

This research was funded, in part, by NSK Ltd.

Flexible yet sturdy robot is designed to “grow” like a plant syndicated from https://osmowaterfilters.blogspot.com/

[seimitsu]

SEIMITSU Factory Automation is an Authorized distributor of Makishinko and deals into its various products such as Precision Planetary Gearbox, Precision Planetary Speed Reducer, Worm gearbox, Screw Jacks, Bevel Gearbox, Geared Motor and many other products across India. SEIMITSU is a pioneer in Distribution of Bevel and Servo Gearbox which can be used in various applications such as Agricultural, Robotics, Pharmaceutical, Automation, Manufacturing, Cnc machines etc. Makishinkos Gearbox are considered to be of High quality for Industrial Machinery and Agricultural equipment applications.

FEATURES OF MAKISHINKO GEARBOX :-

1)      High Quality.

2)      Compact and light weight.

3)      Powerful and Tough.

4)      Wide range of Lineup.

 For More Information :-

Imgur reference - https://imgur.com/gallery/6eTFwAj

Website – https://www.seimitsu.in/Makishinko-Bevel-Gear-Boxes.html

Contact No. – 020-46212700/9028121211

[seimitsu]

SEIMITSU Factory Automation Pvt Ltd is an Authorized Distributor of KHK gears and distributes its various products Such as Spur gears, Worm gears, Bevel Gears, Gear Rack, Helical Gears, Miter Gears Plastic Gears, Screw Gears, Bevel Gearbox and Other Products across India. We have all the Gears in stock for quick delivery. SEIMITSU with the help of KHK distributors high reliability japan made products in India and is a pioneer in Distribution of Automation products.

 For More Information, Visit:-

Website - https://www.seimitsu.in/KHK-gear-products.html

Mail id – sales@seimitsu.in

Contact No – 020-46212700,9028121211