Quantitative Evaluation of Energy Savings in a 3-DOF Manipulator via Lightweighting with Plastic Structural Parts

This research quantitatively evaluates the energy-saving effects of lightweighting the structural parts of industiral robots by substituting conventional aluminum alloys with plastics. We prototyped three types of 3-DOF vertically articulated robots with structural parts made of A5052 aluminum alloy, a carbon fiber non-woven composite (Feltcarbon), and a 3D-printed composite (Onyx+CF). We then measured the energy consumption of each joint and the total manipulator during a 10-cycle pick-and-place task. The results show that replacing the aluminum alloy with Feltcarbon and Onyx+CF reduces the manipulator’s total energy consumption by 25% and 30%, respectively. At the single-joint level, maximum energy savings reached 44% for Feltcarbon and 53% for Onyx+CF compared to the A5052 baseline.