International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056

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A Desktop SCARA Robot using Stepper Motors

Pranav Shevkar1, Sayali Bankar2, Akash Vanjare3, Pranita Shinde4, Vaibhav Redekar5,
Shubham Chidrewar6
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Abstract – The paper describes the development and
testing of 3 degree of freedom (DOF) desktop SCARA that is The focus is to bring robots for day to day applications for
capable of picking and placing objects with high speed and household and educational use. This SCARA robot is ideal
precision. Using Autodesk inventor, the initial modelling of for applications involving the manipulator to travel fixed
SCARA robot is created. The rotational inertias of the two coordinates. The robotic arm can be operated in manual as
links are calculated from the software and using parallel well as auto mode. The user can enter the sequence of
axis theorem. Using the considered values of peak speed and operations into the HMI along with the desired speed and
acceleration, torques of stepper motors are calculated. The dwell time. The MATLAB program calculates the angles
inverse kinematics calculations are carried out in MATLAB and instructs the stepper motor to attain the required
software since the processing power of microcontroller is coordinates. The vacuum pump and vacuum cup enable
limited. MATLAB is so programmed to convert the angles the robot to be used for pick and place operations. It is
into number of steps and sent to the microcontroller by necessary to do referencing of the robot every time it is
serial communication. To enable the robotic arm to operate started [3]. The focus is to attain accuracy at high speed
at high speed the inter-step delays for stepper motors are keeping the cost as low as possible. The methodology
calculated using Taylor's series to provide constant followed for development of the proposed SCARA robot is
acceleration and deceleration. A graphical user interface is shown in fig – 1.
designed using MATLAB. Finally, the electronic circuitry and
mechanical parts are assembled, and the robot is tested for
Design Specification
repeatability.

Key Words: SCARA, 3-DOF manipulator, Pick-n-place,

MATLAB, Inverse kinematics, Stepper motor.
Conceptual Design
1. INTRODUCTION

The use of robots in industries is proliferating due to the

necessity of automation, reducing worker fatigue and
faster productivity. Robots applications in industries is Assembly
primarily in four fields viz. material handling, operations,
assembly and inspection. Apart from industries, robots are
also deployed in home sector, health care, service sector,
agriculture and farms, research and exploration. The Trials
applications of robots are only limited by the need and
imagination of the developer and the end user. Robots
have a potential to change our economy, health, living Fig – 1: Methodology
style, and the world we live in [1].
2. REQUIRED SPECIFICATIONS
The SCARA acronym stands for Selective Compliance
Articulated Robot Arm. It is selective compliant since the In order to meet the requirements, SCARA robot is
arm is fully compliant in the horizontal plane while it is expected to have specifications as mentioned in table 1.
rigid in the vertical axis. Also, the two-link arm layout Considering the application and the workspace, a robotic
imitates the human arm thus making it articulated. One arm with R-R-P (Revolute, Revolute, Prismatic)
joint acts as a shoulder joint and the second as an elbow configuration is selected. Fig – 2 shows the schematic
joint [2]. SCARA robots are the first choice of industries diagram of the robotic arm. The end effector consists of a
due to high speed and accuracy. These robots are used vacuum cup which will enable to pick and place objects.
generally for assembly, pick and place, sorting, soldering
and painting. This work presents the design and
fabrication of desktop robotic arm that can do its
programmed movements with speed, accuracy and
precision.

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Table -1: Required Specifications

Required specifications
Specification Value

Degrees of Freedom 3

Maximum payload 100 g

Maximum reach 300 mm

Peak planar speed 200 deg/sec

Peak vertical speed 50 mm/sec

Repeatability 0.05 mm

Fig - 3: 3D Model of Robotic arm.

Fig -2: Schematic diagram of Robotic arm.

3. DESIGN

The proposed design of SCARA robot developed using

Autodesk Inventor is shown in fig - 3 and the implemented
design is shown in fig - 4. The robot comprises of two links
in a parallel axis joint layout which are capable of
movement in horizontal plane and a lead screw nut
arrangement for movement in the z-axis. To ensure
smooth movement in the vertical axis, four linear bearings
are used along with guide rods to support the platform
that supports the stepper motors. Aluminium extrusion
beam is used as a substructure for rigid support of vertical
axis stepper motor. Each of the links, as well as the lead
screw, is driven by a separate stepper motor. The shaft of Fig - 4: Actual model of Robotic arm.
the second link is connected to the stepper 2 using belt
and pulley arrangement to reduce the load on the arm. The workspace of the SCARA arm forms a cardioid shape
This enables selecting a motor with lower torque which with outer diameter 600mm & inner diameter 100mm.
eventually reduces cost. A 40 teeth pulley is used at output Angular reach is 240 º. When the link 1 reaches ±120º the
and 20 teeth at the motor shaft. This gives a speed ratio of link 2 can be further extended to 120º.
0.5 for link 2. The end effector is introduced in such a way
that it allows various user requirements [4]. The materials
are selected such that the rotational moment and the
weight of the assembly are minimized. Motor supports and
links are manufactured from acrylic material by laser
cutting which also helps to reduce cost [5].

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θ1 = ( ) ( ) (2)
√

The function ( ) can be defined as:

( )=

Fig – 5: Working Envelope. {

4. INVERSE KINEMATICS Consider an end effector position P(184,206)

The inverse kinematics determine the angles θ1 and θ2 of Since both the links are 150 mm each,
joint 1 and 2 respectively to bring the end effector to the
l1 = l2 = 150
desired position (PX,PY) [6]. Cartesian coordinates of the
desired end effector position are entered in MATLAB Substituting the values in above equation,
which calculate the angles and convert to number of steps.
θ2 = ( )

θ2 = 0.801 rad = 45.943 deg

θ1 = ( ) ( )
√

θ1 = 0.441 rad = 25.257 deg

The calculations are verified using Inventor software.

Fig – 6: Inverse Kinematics diagram.

If the Cartesian coordinates of desired end-effector

location are given by (PX,PY) and l1 and l2 are link lengths
which are 150 mm each, the shoulder angle θ1and elbow
angle θ2 is given by equation (1) and (2).

θ2 = ( ) (1)
Fig - 7: Verification of inverse kinematics.

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5. MOTOR SELECTION Τj = 5.01x10−6x0.15

Due to high accuracy and repeatability, stepper motors are = 7.515x10−7

selected for the application. To ensure proper working,
steppers having torque greater than the joint torque of τa = 7.515x10−7 + 0.1 = 0.1N-m = 1kg cm
each joint are to be selected. The lagrange-euler
formulation is used to calculate the joint torque [7]. The z- Hence a stepper motor of 1.4 kg-cm is selected for vertical
axis motor is selected on the basis to the torque required axis movement.
to overcome gravity and torque to overcome inertia.
6. NUMBER OF STEPS PER DEGREE
Rotational Inertia at Joint 1= 20.88x10-3 Nm2
Since the input to stepper motors is given as number of
Rotational Inertia at Joint 2= 4.36x10-3 Nm2 steps instead of angle, it is necessary to convert angle into
number of steps. As the configuration of all the three
The peak angular velocity is considered to be 200 deg/sec. steppers is different from each other, number of steps per
and this angular velocity is achieved in 0.33sec degree is also different. Stepper 1 is directly coupled to
link 1, Stepper 2 is connected to link 2 via belt pulley
For Joint 1, arrangement with reduction ratio of 0.5, while the stepper
3 is connected to the lead screw having 4 starts directly
α= 10.577 rad/sec2 using a flexible coupling. The stepper motor driver
DRV8825 supports six micro stepping modes viz. M0, M1,
τ=0.22Nm M2, M3, M4 and M5 for full step, half step, step,
step, 1/16 step and 1/32 step respectively. To achieve
=2.2kg cm
maximum possible accuracy, M5 mode is selected with
For Joint 2, 1/32 step.

α= 10.577 rad/sec2 For stepper motor 1 (Link1):

τ=0.093Nm I revolution (360˚) = 200×32 = 6400 steps

=0.93 kg-cm 1˚ = 6400/360 = 17.778 steps.

Hence, motor selected for Joint 1 is NEMA17-4.2kg cm & For stepper motor 2 (Link2):
for joint 2 is NEMA17-1.4kg cm.
Reduction ratio = 0.5
Peak lead screw nut speed is considered to be 50mm/sec.
1 revolution (360˚) = 2×200×32 = 12800 steps
A lead screw with four start and 2mm pitch is selected to
1˚ = 12800/360 = 35.556 steps.
minimize the stepper revolution.
For stepper motor 2 (Vertical axis):
Peak lead screw speed = = 39.26rad/sec
Lead screw pitch = 2 mm
Assume lead screw efficiency =86%
Number of starts = 4
Polar moment of inertia of lead screw (JS) =38.8 x 107kgm2
Lead = 8 mm
JL= 1.134x10-6 kg m2
Thus, 1 mm = 1/8 revolution = 6400/8 = 800 steps.
JS+JL=5.01 x10-6
7. INTER-STEP DELAY
For vertical axis
To make sure that the stepper motor operates smoothly it
Acceleration is considered to be 0.15m/sec2 is necessary to accelerate and decelerate the stepper
motor while starting and stopping.
α =117.92rad/sec2
It can be seen from fig-8 that a linear speed increase can
Torque to overcome gravity = be obtained using constant acceleration or deceleration
[8].
= 0.1N-m
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where,

Φ= rad

ω=

Owing to the limited computational power of

microcontrollers, it is necessary to simplify the equations
since it may take some time to compute two square roots.

Hence, using Taylor series approximation,

√ ( )

Therefore,

(√ √ ) ( )
(√ √ ) ( ( ))
Fig - 8: Acceleration, Speed and Position.

Stepper motor speed is controlled by the time delay δt

between each stepper pulse. It is essential to calculate
these delays to make the speed of the stepper motor to The expression for counter delay can be approximated as:
follow the desired speed slope [6].

The time required by the microcontroller for this

calculation is much less than the double square root, but
when n = 1, an error of 0.44 is introduced. To compensate
this error, co can be multiplied by 0.676.

5. ELECTRONICS
Since the objective of the research is to make robots
available for day to day use, an open source, easily
reprogrammable and is readily available microcontroller
is needed. Arduino UNO meets all the requirements. A CNC
shield is used along with three DRV8825 motor drivers to
drive the stepper motors individually. This CNC-shield can
be mounted directly over the Arduino board. The motor
driver enables to micro step the stepper motor down to
1/32-step [9]. This helps in increasing the accuracy. Three
limit switches are used for referencing the robotic arm.
This eliminates the need for rotary encoders. The Arduino
Fig - 9: Speed profile against stepper pulses board is powered by 5V DC power supply while the
stepper motors are powered by 12V DC power supply. The
The first counter delay co is given as,
Arduino board is connected to a computer via serial
communication [10].
co = √ ̇

and the nth counter delay cn is given as

cn = co ( √ -√ )

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should be referenced again. A status bar at the bottom of

the GUI shows the current state of the robotic arm. Fig - 11
shows the graphical user interface that is used to
communicate with the microcontroller.

Fig - 9: Block diagram of SCARA robot

Fig - 11: Graphical User Interface

7. TRIALS
The precision of the robotic arm is tested with the help of
a dial gauge having least count of 10 microns. The gauge is
placed in such a way that the probe of dial gauge touches
the arm [11, 12]. Subsequently the gauge was preset to
zero. The setup is shown in fig 12.

Fig - 10: Electronic Circuit of SCARA robot

6. SOFTWARE
The graphical user interface required to control the robot
is designed using MATLAB. Since the processing power of
microcontroller is limited, all the calculations are
performed using MATLAB software. It converts the
Cartesian coordinates (Px, Py) into link angles θ1 and θ2.
Further, these angles are converted into steps. These
number of steps are sent to the microcontroller using
serial communication. The robotic arm can be operated in
manual or auto mode. To use the manual mode, the user
enters the desired cartesian coordinates. After entering
the coordinates and clicking update, it will move the end
effector to the desired location. Vacuum pump can be
switched on and off using the provided buttons. In the
Fig - 12: Setup for repeatability trials
auto mode, the user is required to record the sequence of
operation by entering the coordinates, the dwell time, and After performing series of movements, the arm was
the speed as 0-100%. In auto mode, this recorded brought to the same coordinate and the dial gauge
sequence can be executed either in a loop or wait after readings was noted. Ten such trials were conducted, and
execution. Since rotary encoders are not used, it is the average repeatability of 0.1 mm was observed. Fig – 13
necessary to reference the robotic arm every time it is a and b demonstrate a sample reading.
started using the special function in the software.
Whenever the auto mode is interrupted or stopped, it

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can be developed to compute faster and thereby increase

the speed of the SCARA robot [15].

REFERENCES

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