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Robot Hand Mechanics

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CHANGING THE FUTURE ONE FINGER AT A TIME

CFP Finger Assembly

Actuator Assembly Boot

Team Robot Hand Mechanics

Team members are (from left to right) Bryan Adams, Evan Coombs, Tyson Skinner, Rob Poulsen.

Project Advisor: Dr. Mascaro

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Problem Statement

• Design an effective interface for applying SMA wire to a mechanical finger.
• Reduce the current interface dimensions to allow for the combination of multiple mechanical fingers.
• Allow safe operation of the robotic hand in and around humans.
• Explore the application of the robotic hand as a prosthetic device.

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Project Summary

• The purpose of this project is to replicate the muscle tendon system in a human hand by using Shape Memory Alloy (SMA). To model the motion of muscle fibers contraction or extension the SMA length must be changed. In order to change the length of the SMA wire, it must be heated or cooled. There are two possible ways of heating the wire, applying an electric current or submerging the wire in hot water. The previous senior design team had determined that the wire could not be controlled accurately by heating the wire with electrical current, so a system was devised to heat the SMA wire using hot water. The next issue that needed to be addressed was the return of the SMA wire to its original length. The previous design team had not researched an adequate solution to this issue.
• The focus of this design team will be to refine and improve the specific application of the previous design teams’ contributions. These include performing additional dynamic analysis of individual phalange motion, designing and constructing a new and improved robot finger to be incorporated into a fully developed hand assembly, and incorporating extension and flexion into the muscle finger interface. The interface and the SMA actuator used to introduce hot water to the SMA wire, designed by the previous team, will be further refined. The goal of this refinement will be to increase the range of motion, redesign the current finger design, combine multiple fingers into a full hand assembly and refine the actuating system.
• Some potential problems that may arise during the duration of the project could include: maintaining an accurate and consistent muscle and finger interface, further reducing the overall size parameters and developing proper joint relation. Considering the many difficulties associated with designing a robotic hand, the project will be consistently modified and revaluated to achieve the project goals.

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Project Report

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