CAD/CAE based Methodology for Optimising Robot Mechanical Design

This report outlines the work done at University College Dublin under the General heading “Mechanical Design and Optimisation”. The main part of the work outlined here is the development of a design and optimisation strategy for industrial robots, integrating the various Mechanical Computer Aided Engineering (MCAE) methods. The strategy, once formulated, was demonstrated using design data for the KUKA IR 160/60 robot. Also in relation to this work, robot simulation software was written to investigate trajectory control in the case of robots requiring redundant degrees of freedom.