Innovative Automatic Tool Changing Mechanism for Robotic Arms

This paper presents the development and implementation of an automatic tool-changing mechanism for industrial and collaborative robotic arms. The primary objective is to enable integration with a variety of end effectors, both active and passive, allowing the robot to autonomously switch tools without manual intervention. The system comprises three key components: a universal end-effector connector, various tools, and a customized toolbox. The universal connector will be screwed to the end of the robotic arm. It features a mechanical lock mechanism and accommodates electrical and pneumatic inlets for diverse tools. A dedicated toolbox, situated within the robot's workspace range, houses all tools for easy access. The study focuses on the design, 3D printing, and testing of two tools - an active and a passive tool - along with the innovative mechanical lock mechanism, which has been successfully developed and tested. Additionally, two industrial tasks have been defined to demonstrate the mechanism's functionality in real-world scenarios, emphasizing non-singular path trajectories between tasks. Future work includes the integration of additional sensors for enhanced automatic robot control. Overall, this research will contribute to the advancement of fully autonomous robotic systems in industrial settings.