New Scale Robotics launches its latest gripper for Universal Robots e-Series

New Scale Robotics has launched its newest gripper for the Universal Robots e-Series collaborative robot.

The company says its new technology “harnesses UR’s new high-speed communications interface to increase measurement precision and control multiple grippers on one robot”.

New Scale Robotics describes the new peripheral as “a precision electric parallel gripper for Universal Robots e Series cobots”.

The new NSR-PG-10-20-URe Precision Parallel Gripper takes full advantage of the e-Series robots’ new high-speed RS-485 digital communications interface to bring a number of new benefits to users.

Measurement precision of 2.5 µm (0.1 in/1000) when using the gripper’s fingers as an automated gauge for small parts. This is four times better than the original NSR-PG gripper, and 20 to 80 times better than similar grippers from Robotiq, OnRobot and Zimmer.

The e-Series interface allows New Scale to use the full resolution of the gripper’s internal position sensor and pass that information to the UR robot controller.

The measurement data can be used for in-process decisions, for example part sorting or pass/fail inspection. Users can also log the data to a PC for statistical process control. Data logging instructions and example code are available.

The ability to control multiple grippers on one robot. High-speed communications enable the UR e-Series controller to manage more data in real time.

New Scale Robotics takes advantage of this to control multiple grippers on one robot. The company demonstrated three of its new NSR-PG-10-20-URe grippers performing a sequence of five tasks on a UR3e cobot at Eastec May 14-16.

The NSR-PG electric gripper is also “the smallest and lightest gripper available for UR robots”, claims the company. This allows manufacturers and research labs to deploy cobots in new ways, especially manipulating small parts in tight spaces.

Combined with their unmatched measurement precision, it makes the grippers uniquely suited for automated metrology of small parts, intricate part handling and assembly tasks, and lab automation involving small and close-spaced trays of lab ware.