Robotics & Automation News

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gripper

Robotic grippers 3D-printed for packaging machines

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Plastic grippers made from 3D printing and tribofilaments from Igus are 85 percent and 70 percent cheaper than the majority of competitors in the packaging industry.

3D printing is one of the most important trends in the industry today. It allows single batches to become a reality, allowing for personalized serial production of watches, furniture, and shoes. Additive manufacturing can also be a benefit to the packaging industry.

Metal grippers can be expensive and take a long time to produce.A certain company, after trying to 3D-print grippers using standard plastics like ABS and PLA with poor results, turned to igus. [Read more…] about Robotic grippers 3D-printed for packaging machines

Pickit unveils its first gripper with integrated vision and software aimed at forging and automotive sectors

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Robot vision specialist Pickit has unveiled its first gripper. Aimed at the forging and automotive sectors, the end-of-arm-tool has integrated vision and software.

“The bin picking revolution is happening now,” says Pickit. “With matured 3D vision and software, the implementation risks for bin picking revolve around the gripper design. We have integrated gripper, vision, and software to achieve unprecedented reliability. Here’s our new Billet Picker for forging and automotive applications.”

The company’s new product is called the “Billet Picker”, and is a combination of Pickit EOAT + Pickit 3D vision + Pickit software. [Read more…] about Pickit unveils its first gripper with integrated vision and software aimed at forging and automotive sectors

OnRobot launches advanced new magnetic gripper for robots

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OnRobot has launched the MG10, which it describes as “a versatile, high-performance, easy to use magnetic gripper” for material handling, assembly and machine tending applications in manufacturing, automotive and aerospace environments.

Fully compatible with all major robot brands through OnRobot’s One System Solution, the MG10 offers unique adjustable force and grip detection features that provide users with unprecedented levels of control.

Standard magnetic grippers only provide simple on/off functionality. To adjust the force applied, users have to add rubber ‘feet’ to create space between the magnet and the part. [Read more…] about OnRobot launches advanced new magnetic gripper for robots

Piab introduces soft gripper range for industrial robots

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Piab has introduced a soft gripper – or end effector – for industrial robots. The company says its piSoftGrip range is developed for the automation of the food and chocolate industry.

Piab once again extends the pi-SoftGrip family with a new pinch gripper developed for the automation of the food/chocolate industry. The vacuum-based soft gripper can grip sensitive and lightweight oblong objects with odd geometries and/or objects with an unusual surface.

piSoftGrip has two gripping fingers and a sealed vacuum cavity, all made in one piece, resulting in a simple and robust product. [Read more…] about Piab introduces soft gripper range for industrial robots

MassRobotics chooses Festo as winner of its GM Gripper Challenge

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MassRobotics has chosen Festo, a MassRobotics partner, in collaboration with Magswitch, is the winner of the 2020 GM Gripper Challenge.

Festo’s design concept was selected for its ability to handle a variety of parts, in addition to avoiding occluding a part when gripped.

Joseph Cyrek, Magswitch CEO, says: “The technology challenge hosted by MassRobotics provided an excellent platform for collaboration and rapid development of innovative solutions.” [Read more…] about MassRobotics chooses Festo as winner of its GM Gripper Challenge

OnRobot launches new gripper for demanding applications

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OnRobot has launched a new gripper for demanding applications.

OnRobot’s cleanroom-ready, IP67-certified, collaborative 2FG7 parallel gripper is the latest addition to OnRobot’s range of all-electric gripper products.

OnRobot describes the 2FG7 as “a complete, low cost, easy to use, out-of-the-box, cleanroom-ready parallel gripper”. [Read more…] about OnRobot launches new gripper for demanding applications

Grote automates sandwich production using Stäubli robot to make one per second

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US-based company Grote specializes in automating production lines that slice, fill and cut sandwiches. Until recently, the upper and lower halves of the sandwich were put together manually. Now, Grote has managed to automate this process as well, using a Stäubli TX2-60 HE six-axis robot with wash-down capability.

Filling a sandwich is not a particularly arduous task. That is, unless it is being done on an industrial scale with a throughput of thousands of sandwiches per hour.

The raw materials – slices of sausage, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce – can be difficult to handle and the assembly process consists of many steps that can vary for each product. [Read more…] about Grote automates sandwich production using Stäubli robot to make one per second

OnRobot launches new gripper for handling cylindrical objects

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OnRobot, the makers of robotics tools for collaborative applications, has released a compact, large-stroke three-finger gripper.

OnRobot says its 3FG15 makes previously hard-to-automate precision handling of cylindrical parts “easy to program and deploy, and provides flexibility for a wide range of part sizes”.

CEO of OnRobot, Enrico Krog Iversen, says: “Our new 3FG15 three-finger gripper was developed as a response to existing pneumatic three-finger grippers that are bulkier and less flexible. [Read more…] about OnRobot launches new gripper for handling cylindrical objects

OnRobot unveils compact Gecko gripper for smaller jobs

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OnRobot, a global leader in robotic end-of-arm tooling, has launched a compact, single-pad version of its innovative Gecko no-mark adhesive gripper.

The new Gecko Single Pad (SP) gripper brings the previous model’s revolutionary adaptability to more varied applications with smaller payloads.

It is available in three sizes, SP1, SP3 and SP5, indicating the different grippers’ lifting capacities in kilos. [Read more…] about OnRobot unveils compact Gecko gripper for smaller jobs

Swiss scientist developing robot that ‘grips without touching’

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A scientist at the Swiss university ETH Zurich is developing a robot that “grips without touching”.

The technology is based on sound waves, or “ultrasound waves”, to be more precise.

ETH pioneer fellow Marcel Schuck is responsible for the invention, and has a small version of the robot on his desk. [Read more…] about Swiss scientist developing robot that ‘grips without touching’