A Study of the Design, Manufacture and Remote Control of a Pneumatic Excavator

In this study, a CAD/CAE/CAM and remote control integrated system for a pneumatic excavator mechanism was developed. The vector loop method and Visual C++ language were used to build the position analysis module. Pro/ENGINEER (Pro/E) was used to construct the parametric solid models. Pro/Mechanica was used to simulate the kinematic analysis. MasterCAM was used to implement the cutting simulation, and then the prototype was manufactured on a milling machine. An FB −28MC Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and Visual Basic (VB) language were used to remote control the excavator. A demonstration example is presented to verify the design, analysis and control results. The project was useful as a supplementary teaching tool for practical computer-aided mechanism design and mechatronics courses. It was designed for educational purposes; it made use of low-cost and easy programming, and avoided the use of expensive industrial equipment.