Glossary · Robotics
Articulated arm robot
Also known as: Jointed-arm robot, Vertical articulated robot
German: Knickarmroboter
In industrial robotics, an articulated arm robot is a serial robot whose arm is built from a chain of links connected by rotary joints, typically with a vertical base axis followed by shoulder, elbow and wrist axes. The six-axis version is the most common general-purpose industrial robot.
- Robotics
- Standards
In one sentence
An articulated arm robot is a serial robot with rotary joints in a chain, usually six axes, used for handling, welding, painting and assembly.
Example
A six-axis articulated arm robot takes car doors from a rack, turns them through 90 degrees and places them in a hemming fixture.
How it applies
- Engineering: The number of axes, the Reach and the Payload curve decide whether an articulated arm robot fits a cell. Six axes allow any tool orientation within the Workspace (robot), but wrist and shoulder configurations can run into a Singularity.
- Commissioning: Axis limits, the robot base frame and the tool data are set and checked before automatic operation; the reachable envelope determines where guards and protective devices must go.
- Documentation: Operating manuals show the working envelope as a side and top view with dimensions, list axis ranges and speeds, and describe the Hazardous zone around the arm. The documentation team should take these values from the manufacturer's data sheet of the exact model and variant.
Articulated arm robot vs. SCARA robot
An articulated arm robot can orient its tool freely in space. A SCARA robot has parallel vertical axes and is rigid in the vertical direction, which makes it faster and stiffer for planar pick-and-place and insertion, but it cannot tilt the tool.
The list uses both articulated arm robot and Articulated robot for the same German term Knickarmroboter; in practice the two names describe the same robot type.