Robotic claw designs impressed the 2- and 3-finger grippers which are so widespread with customers of collaborative robots. The claw-like design precept has additionally impressed quite a lot of mushy gripper designs.
We’ll have a look at particular examples of those grippers in motion beneath, however first let’s briefly discover the variations between robotic claws and mechanical claws.
How does a mechanical claw work?
Mechanical claws are sometimes used for gripping/clamping gadgets in manufacturing environments. The 2 most typical varieties of claws and clamps used are mechanical and hydraulic. Hydraulic clamping/gripping techniques are greatest suited to excessive quantity functions and to functions the place essential tolerances have to be maintained. Utilizing electrical pumps and digital strain switches, hydraulic claws present round 1% accuracy in clamping pressure.
Mechanical clamping and claw techniques are an excellent match for small manufacturing batches and in conditions the place vast tolerances are acceptable. Mechanical techniques are normally adjusted manually utilizing a wrench, which produces round 10% accuracy in clamping pressure. Cheaper than their hydraulic counterparts, but additionally extra time consuming to function, mechanical claws and clamps are generally utilized in excessive manufacturing environments similar to throughout excessive temperature operations, the place hydraulic techniques wouldn’t be protected to make use of.
Mechanical claws use numerous strategies to shut their pincers. For instance, in some designs when a piston within the center is lifted, the pincers shut. In different mechanical claw designs, an electromagnet is used to convey the pincers collectively. The precept is at all times the identical, nevertheless with the gripper utilizing jaws to know an object.
There are numerous claw-like finish effectors discovered on collaborative robots, from mushy grippers to 2- and 3-finger grippers. These ‘robotic claws’ present ranges of intelligence and autonomy which are approach past the capabilities of their mechanical counterparts. For instance, a robotic claw (or a robotic clamp) can present helpful suggestions to your cobot and PLC. This knowledge can then be used to finetune your manufacturing processes. Cobot grippers are additionally smaller and extra exact than mechanical claws.
Let’s check out a number of the claw-like and claw-inspired grippers accessible by means of UR+,a worldwide ecosystem of elements, software program, and utility kits which have been validated and licensed to be mechanically, electrically, and digitally suitable with cobots from Common Robots.
Cobots with robotic claws
Parallel grippers (typically known as 2-finger, or 2-jaw grippers) contain two pincers closing parallel to the workpiece to be able to obtain grip. From this straightforward claw-like design, ingenious engineers have developed a variety of versatile gripper applied sciences which have discovered makes use of in manufacturing functions from materials dealing with and meeting by means of to packaging & palletizing. Parallel grippers are both electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic. One limitation of parallel grippers is that they’ll solely accomplish a pinch-type grasp, which does restrict their versatility. Adaptive grippers convey new ranges of performance to parallel gripper design. Adaptive grippers are in a position to adapt themselves to totally different product shapes with out having to be reprogrammed each time.Â
Gimatic’s KIT-UR-G, for instance, is an electrical, 2-finger parallel gripper that may be immediately related to your UR cobot’s wrist. Suitable with UR3 by means of UR10e cobots, this gripper is used for materials dealing with, meeting and machine tending functions.
