A novel robot of manufacturing space solar cell arrays

The Robotics Institute, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, P.R. of China Corresponding author E‐mail: yzh‐[email protected], [email protected] Abstract: This paper presents a novel robot employed to manufacture space solar cell arrays. First of all including the mechanical configuration and control system, the architecture of the robot is described. Then the flow velocity field of adhesive in the dispensing needles is acquired based on hydrodynamics. The accurate section form model of adhesive dispensed on the solar cells is obtained, which is essential for the robot to control the uniformity of dispensing adhesive. Finally the experiment validates the feasibility and reliability of the robot system. The application of robots instead of manual work in manufacturing space solar cell arrays will enhance the development of space industry.