ChiKit Au, Joshua Barnett, Shen Hin Lim and Mike Duke
This paper aims to investigate if a Cartesian robot system for kiwifruit harvesting works more effectively and efficiently than an articulated robot system. The robot is a key…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate if a Cartesian robot system for kiwifruit harvesting works more effectively and efficiently than an articulated robot system. The robot is a key component in agricultural automation. For instance, multiple robot arm system has been developed for kiwifruit harvesting recently because of the significant labor shortage issue. The industrial robots for factory automation usually have articulated configuration which is suitable for the tasks in the manufacturing and production environment. However, this articulated configuration may not fit for agricultural application due to the large outdoor environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The kiwifruit harvesting tasks are completed step by step so that the robot workspace covers the canopy completely. A two-arm, Cartesian kiwifruit harvesting robot system and several field experiments are developed for the investigation. The harvest cycle time of the Cartesian robot system is compared to that of an articulated robot system. The difference is analyzed based on the workspace geometries of these two robot configurations.
Findings
It is found that the kiwifruit harvesting productivity is increased by using a multiple robot system with Cartesian configuration owing to its regular workspace geometry.
Originality/value
An articulated robot is a common configuration for manufacturing because of its simple structure and the relatively static factory environment. Most of the agricultural robotics research studies use single articulated robot for their implementation. This paper pinpoints how the workspace of a multiple robot system affects the harvest cycle time for kiwifruit harvesting in a pergola style kiwifruit orchard.
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Keywords
Janaka Chandraguptha Rajaguru, Mike Duke and ChiKit Au
This paper aims to investigate the layer of material deposited on a sample of acrylic resin by electroless nickel plating process. Acrylic resin is a popular material in rapid…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the layer of material deposited on a sample of acrylic resin by electroless nickel plating process. Acrylic resin is a popular material in rapid prototyping (RP) which uses the additive manufacturing technique to build prototypes for visual inspection, assembly, etc. Metallization of the RP materials can extend application envelop of RP techniques, as they can be used in decorative or functional applications.
Design/methodology/approach
Unlike electroless nickel plating on a metal substrate, the plating process for an acrylic resin substrate is different, as there is no metal ion for the auto-catalytic electroless reaction. Pre-treatment processes are performed on an acrylic resin sample to initiate electroless nickel plating. The morphology, chemical composition and structure of the layer deposited on the sample are examined using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction.
Findings
The investigation shows that a nickel phosphorous alloy layer is plated on to the substrate surface of the acrylic resin sample.
Originality/value
Plating a layer of nickel phosphorous alloy layer on an acrylic resin RP material can widen the application of RP technology. An application of nickel plated acrylic resin sample to rapid tooling for low-volume production plastic parts is presented.