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How much pneumatic / hydraulic force does it take to pick up different objects with a robotic hand?

6-2575

6th Grade

Nativity Catholic School

Archdiocese of San Francisco

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2024 San Mateo County Office of Education STEM Fair

Abstract

I wanted to do this project because I am interested in robots and I want to be a Mechanical Engineer when I grow up. I am trying to discover the force a robotic hand needs to apply to pick up different objects. The results of my experiment will show scientists how to make a proper mechanical hand by showing them the force needed to pick up common items. The measurement of the force helps them calibrate the strength of the robotic hand. This information will help people make mechanical hands to help people who lost their hands.

My first hypothesis was that for balls of similar weight and different size, the smaller ball will make the piston move up farther which means it would take greater force to pick up. My second hypothesis was that the pistons will need to go up all the way to generate enough force to crack the egg.

For the first experiment, my independent variables were the weight and size of the balls. The dependent variable was the force needed to pick up an object. The control variable was the amount of air and water in each pair of pistons that control each finger and thumb. For my second experiment, the independent variable was the temperature of the eggs. The dependent variable was the force needed to crack an egg between the thumb and finger. Finally, the control variable for the second experiment was the amount of air and water in each pair of pistons that control each finger and thumb.

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Abstract

I measured the pneumatic and hydraulic force by measuring how far (in centimeters) the pistons went up. The pneumatic and hydraulic force depends on the movement of the pistons.

In the first experiment, the pistons moved farther as the ball size increased because the thumb and finger moved farther apart. In the second experiment, the finger had to go up higher by adjusting the dial (D), and the finger had to have metal attached to be hard enough to crack the egg. The distance of the finger from the egg also affected the cracking of the egg. As the finger moves farther from the egg, the finger is able to generate more speed at contact with the egg generating greater force. Greater force was needed to crack the colder eggs.

These results provide information on how to program the hand to pick up different size objects and crack eggs depending upon their temperature.

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Purpose Statement

I want to do this project because I am interested in robots and I want to be a Mechanical Engineer when I grow up. I am trying to discover the force a robotic hand needs to apply to pick up different objects. The results of my experiment will show scientists how to make a proper mechanical hand by showing them the force needed to pick up common items. The measurement of the force helps them calibrate the strength of the robotic hand. This information will help people make mechanical hands to help people who lost their hands.

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Hypothesis

Question #1: If there two balls of different sizes and similar weights, which one would take more force to pick up?

Hypothesis #1: I think the smaller ball will make the piston move up farther which means it would take greater force to pick up.

Question #2: How much force would it take to crack an egg at different temperatures using a robotic hand.

Hypothesis #2: I think the pistons will need to go up all the way to crack the egg.

( The pistons compress the water and air that make the fingers move. )

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Experimental Procedures and

Materials

Materials:

Thumb: Pistons TA & B Golf Ball 18 Large Grade A Eggs Ruler w/ 1 mm markings

Finger 1: Pistons 1A & B Baseball Medium Size Bowl Thermometer

Finger 2: Pistons 2A & B Tennis Ball Water Ice

Finger 3: Pistons 2A & B Softball sized whiffle ball plate ¼ measuring cup

D: Dial for range of motion Double Sided Tape Small Piece of Metal

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Materials

Experiment #1

Experiment #2

Experimental Procedures and

Materials

Experiment 1:

• Gather all of the materials (for both experiments)
• Put on the Mega Cyborg Hand
• Adjust the index finger and thumb so they can pick up each ball
• Place one of the balls on a flat surface
• Pick up and hold the ball
• Measure the distance of the pistons TA, TB, 1A, and 1B moved with the ruler
• Record the results
• Repeat steps 2-7 with each of the balls 3 times

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Experimental Procedures and

Materials

Experiment 2:

• Take the eggs out of the refrigerator
• Fill the bowl with 3/4 full with room temperature water
• Measure the temperature of the water and record the value
• Place one of the eggs in water for 20 minutes
• Remove the egg from the bowl and place it on a flat surface
• With the Mega Cyborg Hand grab the egg widthwise, and record the distance the pistons moved to crack the egg
• Repeat steps 2-6 two more times
• Fill the bowl 3/4 full with ice and water and repeat steps 3-6 for a total of 3 times, refilling the bowl with ice and water for each test run
• Fill the bowl 3/4 full with hot water from water faucet
• Repeat steps 3-6 for a totals of 3 times, refilling the bowl with hot water for each test run

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Experimental Results - Experiment #1

Experimental Results - Experiment #2

Eggs did not crack by grabbing with fingers. Modifications included adding a metal piece to finger and increasing distance from finger to thumb by adjusting dial (D).

Analysis of Experimental Results - Experiment #1

Analysis of Experimental Results - Experiment #2

Distance of stroke helps with cracking the egg. Adjusted yellow nob so finger can go up faster.

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Conclusions

• Experiment #1
• Pistons moved farther as the ball size increased because the thumb and finger moved farther apart.

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• Experiment #2
• The fingers had to go up higher using dial (D), and the finger had to have metal attached to be hard enough to crack the egg.
• The distance of the finger from the egg affected the cracking of the egg.
• As finger moves farther from the egg, finger is able generate more speed at contact with the egg generating greater force.
• Greater force was needed to crack the colder eggs.

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Egg

Finger

Distance from egg

Acknowledgements

Thank you Dad for helping me with this project and taking your free time to help.

Bibliography and

Sources

Authors: Osama A. Gaheen, Ernesto Benini, and Mohamed A. Khalifa�Date: July 25, 2022

Title: Pneumatic Cylinder Speed and Force Control Using Controlled Pulsating Flow.

URL: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215098622001227

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Authors: Sho Maeda, Nobutaka Tsujiuchi, and Hiroyuki Kojima�Date: January 1, 2012

Title: Development and Control of a Pneumatic Robot Arm for Industrial Fields.

URL: Development and Control of a Pneumatic Robot Arm for Industrial Fields - Sho Maeda, Nobutaka Tsujiuchi, Takayuki Koizumi, Mitsumasa Sugiura, Hiroyuki Kojima, 2012 (sagepub.com)

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Bibliography and

Sources

Authors: Ajinkya A. Korde, AKshay S. Kolhe�Date: February, 2019

Title: Pneumatic Robot Arm and its Controlling for Automation.

URL: IRJET-V6I2108.pdf

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Author: Quincy Compressor�Date: February 12, 2020

Title: How a Pneumatic Robot Arm Works

URL: www.quincycompressor.com/how-a-pneumatic-robot-arm-works/

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