Automation grippers are the tools at the end of the robot arms where all the work gets really done in manufacturing automation. The robot is placed into an automation work cell to get a special task done that will benefit the outcome of what production is required. The automation gripper that is on the end of the robot arm for a given work cell is usually specially designed to do the special task. As you might imagine there are probably as many different types of automation grippers as there are companies that use them in automation. In some cases a manufacturer will buy automation grippers from third party suppliers and use them for their automation needs. In other cases the grippers are bought then modified by the purchasing company to do what needs to be done. In still other cases the engineering staff of manufacturers will create the automation grippers in-house for whatever automation needs that the company has. When you are obtaining grippers for your automation it is a good idea to try to get as much utility out of the device as possible. This means that if a gripper is designed in a certain way it might be able to be used in the automated production of more than one product, thus cutting the cost of creating a second gripper for a second application.
Palletizing is one of the areas that automated grippers are used quite effectively in production. Products that are of similar shape and size can possible use the same gripper when it is used in the palletizing operation for different products. A good example of the multiple use of grippers is seen in a manufacturing operation that creates products that are packaged in bags of different sizes. The bags come down a production conveyor to the point where they are to be moved to a pallet for shipping. The gripper that moves them from the conveyor to the pallet is a mechanical gripper that has fingers that are used to lift and place each bag onto the waiting pallet. The changeover of the palletizing work cell from one product type to another is zero due to the fact that the same mechanical gripper works the same with each type of bag the company produces.
Another company may be involved in the manufacture of products that are placed in rectangular boxes before being put onto pallets for shipment to retail outlets. In this case the automated gripper that could be effectively used might be a robot with a stationary plate that is placed on each side of a case and lifted with slight pressure. Another type of gripper that can be used for this would be the vacuum gripper that lifts the packages by using vacuum force applied through a rubber suction cup that is placed on the top of each case. The changeover for different production requirements for these devices would also be minimal, cutting the cost of set up and the time needed to transition the production line for new products. The transition for vacuum cup grippers would simply amount the variation of the vacuum applied to the cases. More force would lift a heavier case. Plates with several vacuum cups on the bottom can be used to lift and place entire layers of cases for a pallet. There has to be a very precise pattern of cases so that the gripper will be able to contact and be able to lift all the cases when this method is used.
Combining automation devices can result in optimum results. This is the case when sensors are combined with grippers to accomplish a task. A mechanical gripper that is used to lift packages that are to be placed on a pallet can have the amount of pressure that is applied to the package be influenced by a sensor which will make the gripper aware when enough pressure has been applied. This same sensor can optimize the opening of the gripper to an optimum width for the nest lifting process that is to be done. The actual “sensing” that is done is sent to the controller which sends a message to the gripper that it has either opened or closed as far as it should for the moment. These kinds of cooperative interplays between automation devices can take the entire production operation to a higher optimum level.
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