Pick it up and put it down – gripping with suction
Using a vacuum gripper end of arm tooling helps when stacking items on pallets or moving parts to different machines. The vacuum gripper cups are soft and gentle enough to prevent any damage. The robot arm is able to accommodate the pressure based on the needs of the system.
With all the different robotic grippers on the market -- like claw, bag and vacuum grippers -- it may be difficult to decide which one is right for your specific application.
So, how does one decide on what gripper to use? Many times, the item your robot is handling will be the deciding factor: how much does it weigh? What is the size of the item? The shape?
By asking these questions, manufacturers can decipher whether they need a claw gripper, a bag gripper or a pneumatic gripper, all of which work with claw or jaw type actuators. For some items though, like panes of glass and other flat objects, there is only one gripper to choose – the vacuum gripper.
A vacuum gripper is attached to the wrist of an industrial robot. It is made of a series of plastic or polyurethane suction cups fashioned into several rows. The robot arm lowers the gripper onto the item and applies pressure. Then, a vacuum is activated to secure the suction cups to the piece. Once the piece is moved, the vacuum is deactivated and the suction cups release the item.
Vacuum robotic grippers are useful when stacking items on pallets or moving items in and out of different machines. The softness of the cups does not damage the integrity of the piece, the way a claw-like gripper might. Their accuracy and speed when operating on a line are beneficial to manufacturers as well. The increase in production saves costs on production and labor.
Interested in automating your material handling application with a vacuum robot gripper? Robots.com has the answer for you! Robots.com is a certified integrator for many end effector companies, including several gripper models. Our staff will help you determine which gripper will be the best for your facility’s process.
For more information, contact Robots.com today online or at 877-762-6881. Learn more about a Pick and Place Robot here.
Related Articles
You might be also interested in:
- Safety & Regulations
Top Reasons to Automate Your Foundry with Robotics
Foundry robots excel in harsh environments bringing their power, safety, increased savings, accuracy, and flexibility. Foundry robots have an IP 67 rating and can endure harsh conditions with ease and work without fatigue. They can also handle heavy payloads and reduce the injuries of human workers by taking care of the repetitive and back breaking labor.
- Safety & Regulations
Building an Effective Welding Cell: A How-To Guide
It is important to plan a welding workcell out to optimize your production line. You must consider a positioner, safety package, and other key elements in order to complete the perfect welding cell.
- Safety & Regulations
Collaborative Robot Safety
Collaborative robots are becoming more enticing to manufacturers as they the perfect bridge for manual work and automation. These collaborative robots provide increased productivity and added value while also being incredibly safe. There are a variety of factors that help provide a safe environment for the workers who interact with them such as vision and sensors.
- Safety & Regulations
International Robot Safety Conference
The International Robot Safety Conference (IRSC) dives deeper into robotic safety and industrial machine and robot standards. Robots.com sends a few employees to attend the conference and stay up to date on all of the trending safety issues. The IRSC helps people from all different applications and backgrounds to stay safe and competitive in the automation world.
- Safety & Regulations
Innovative Safety Solutions with ABB's SafeMove2
ABB has provided customers with an updated software solution titled SafeMove2. SafeMove2 will increase the flexibility, greater space savings, numerous cutting edge commissioning tools, and improved safety functions. The safety function of SafeMove2 include safe speed limits, standstill monitoring, axis ranges and position, and orientation supervision. This helps to decrease the overall need for fences and cages.
- Safety & Regulations
Tool Changers Provide Strength, Safety, and Effectiveness
If your industrial line requires a tool change during your manufacturing process, than you may want to consider a robotic tool changer. A robot tool changer provides flexibility for automation processes to automatically change tools, end-effectors, or other secondary tooling quickly and effectively. ATI Industrial Automation is an industrial leader in robotic end-effectors and robot arm tooling. They have created a Robotic Tool Changer that is a coupling device that locks and unlocks pneumatically.
Let's talk!
Request your quick quote today.