Topology optimizastion and hybrid production of a robotic arm gripper with AlSi10Mg alloy

Automation has spread to almost every industry with the developments in robot technology. The increasing demand for robotic production in the industrial sector brings with it the need to improve robotic arm structures. The main criteria for the development of robotic arm connections are to reduce the cost and time spent in production as well as to reduce the mass in a way that provides sufficient strength. Therefore, in this study, a robotic arm gripper was lightened using topology optimization and manufactured with additive manufacturing. Then, column drilling and grinding processes were utlized as hybrid production, where additive and subtractive manufacturing were used together. While topology optimization was performed with the solid isotropic material with penalisation (SIMP) method in the ANSYS program, the static analysis results performed by simulating the loadings in the working conditions of the part before and after the optimization were interpreted. In additive manufacturing, parts were manufactured from AlSi10Mg alloy using selective laser melting (SLM) technology. Before manufacturing, residual stress analyses were performed with Simufact Additive to prevent permanent deformation in the part due to manufacturing. After production, annealing was applied to the part for the same purpose. As a result of optimization, it was simulated that the obtained part would be exposed to 36 MPa equivalent stress and 0.0109 mm total deformation under working conditions, and these values showed that the part would not be failed statically. As a result of optimization, the part with a 65% mass reduction compared to the part produced with traditional production techniques was successfully produced.