Schmalz has released its new mGrip finger gripper which the company says was constructed in hygienic design, and “fulfils the highest cleanliness standards”.
Thanks to its unique geometry, it picks up delicate products such as vegetables or baked goods precisely and gently. This enables food manufacturers to automate their handling tasks with process reliability.
Sensitive surfaces, sometimes soft and sometimes fragile, rather spherical or flat – food products have many different shapes and are therefore a challenge for automated solutions. They only have one thing in common: handling must be absolutely hygienic and therefore safe.
With the mGrip finger gripper and its wide range of configuration options, Schmalz always offers the right solution. Thanks to circular or parallel finger modules, strong gripping is easy to realise.
In contrast to mechanical systems, the pneumatically controlled mGrip also handles sensitive products extremely sensitively. For example, baked goods, fruit and vegetables can be placed in trays without damage or removed for quality control.
Thanks to the wide range of configuration options, the gripper can safely pick up food with different shapes and forms, such as chicken drumsticks.
However, companies outside the food industry that want to pick up nets or bags full of small parts also benefit. This means that fast picking can be realised around the clock without having to keep staff on hand for order picking.
Excellent process stability
The closed system ensures maximum process reliability. The new finger gripper also fulfils the highest hygiene standards. It is easy to clean from the outside and fulfils the requirements of CIP (Cleaning in Place) and COP (Cleaning out of Place).
Schmalz has dispensed with additional drives in the design and the pneumatic circuit is closed. This hygienic design minimises the risk of contamination. The lightweight design predestines mGrip for use on cobots and other lightweight robots.
Thanks to the modular design with several finger sizes and variable positions, opening angles and forces, the gripper can be easily adapted to any task. This gives companies maximum flexibility when handling different foods – especially for use in high-speed processes.
This allows them to deploy their staff more efficiently, as monotonous tasks are automated. This saves costs and improves the efficiency and quality of the application.
