Setting up of Industry Accelerator by IIT Madras

Setting up of Industry Accelerator by IIT Madras

AMTDC, a CoE setup under IIT Madras was sanctioned with the setting up of an Industry Accelerator in the phase II of the CG Scheme. In this industry accelerator, AMTDC focuses on the development of indigenous industrial robots. India ranks among the top 10 countries that deploys more industrial robots in manufacturing sector. With an annual deployment of more than 8000+ robots in India, there are no indigenous development of industrial robots. AMTDC in phase I of the CG Scheme developed industrial robots with a payload range of 6kg and 10kg collaborating with MTAB as an industry partner. However in this project, 80% of the critical elements in an industrial robot were to be imported as there were no Indian manufacturers for these technologies. These critical technologies are listed as below: a) single stage gearbox with high reduction ration, b) high torque motors & drives c) multi-axis motion control system d) kinematic software e) end-effector technology software AMTDC made a synergistic collaboration with teams including IMTMA, iCAT and end-user companies identified in the automotive industry and built the proposal to develop indigenous industrial robots under this consortium of industry partner mode. AMTDC partners with Prerana Engineering Works & M2NXT Solutions Pvt. Ltd., both based in Bengaluru, to develop the above mentioned critical technologies collaboratively through the industry accelerator setup. Payload: The critical specification for any industrial robot is its weight carrying capability. In this project, three different payloads of 15kg, 35kg & 165/210kg. These payloads are chosen carefully to cater industries including automotive, aerospace etc. End applications: These robots are targeted primarily for welding (spot & arc), material handling, glue dispensing with an initial focus on the automotive industry.

Financial Progress
MHI Cost (INR)
12.72 Cr.
Industry Cost (INR)
3.18 Cr.
Project Cost (INR)
15.9 Cr.
Brief

The industry accelerator focuses on the development of critical technologies for an industrial robot. Gearbox: With payload target ranging from 10kg to 210kg, single stage high reduction gearbox are mandate for the effective functioning of an industrial robot. In this project, the team is developing cycloidal and plano-cycloidal design type. Also the team is including hypoid gear trains in the portfolio of transmission elements. A total of 11+ variants of gearbox will be developed to cater all the payload requirements. These gearbox can be individually deployed in critical motion transmission systems in other industrial applications including precision tilt & turn tables, precision positioning devices etc. In addition to gearbox development, the team is parallely working on gearbox quality assessment test benches - an offshoot that is mandate for critical quality control of such precision gearboxes Motors & drives: For robots with higher payload capability, the development of motors and drives are pertinent. The motors and drives are sourced from indigenous manufacturer - Pragati Automation, parent organization of Prerana Engineering Works. Control system: The control system being the heart of an industrial robot is a prime technology that needs to be developed indigenously. Prerana Engineering Works and AMTDC focus primarily on this developmental activity to provide a control system that will match the performance of state of the art systems available in the market, in terms of both ease of learning and usage. Kinematics: Being a mechatronic system, the motion control programming for an industrial robot is second only to the control system. So development of kinematic software is another prime focus area and the team is developing the kinematics with the latest methodology that aids in quicker and swifter motion control system. End-effector technology software: The team is focusing on the development of end-effector applications for welding and material handling to begin with, followed by other solutions including material dispensing and other specific manufacturing applications.