Mechanical Design of a Novel Robotic Gripper for Fixed Automation Applications

Abstract This paper presents an industrial robotic gripper for high-volume, fixed automation applications. The gripper is unique in that it can both grasp an object and retract the object using a single electric motor. Once the object is grasped and retracted, it can also be extended and released by reversing the direction of the motor. The new gripper is driven by a single cam mechanism with two cam profiles that control both the extension and retraction of the mechanism as well as the opening and closing of the gripper fingers. The cam driven approach includes an extension spring that allows the gripper fingers to automatically grasp and release different sized objects. This paper presents the new robotic gripper, including a discussion of its design principles. The advantage of this mechanism is that it only needs one actuator to complete a high-volume fixed automation task that usually requires two actuators. Thus, the proposed gripper design has the potential to have lower power consumption and improved energy efficiency when compared to conventional approaches that use some combination of pneumatic and electric actuators.