Hardware for Industrial Gripping at SCHUNK GmbH & Co. KG

Abstract

The process of handling component parts in production is often underrated as technically simple or even trivial. Also from a production point of view, it is clear that the handled workpiece does not increase in value during the handling process. Nevertheless, handling is the key of automation allowing machines to operate on workpieces automatically, i.e., making changes to the workpiece and therefore enhancing its value. Humans, having one of the most flexible gripping technologies, combined with superior sensors and data processing, tend to underestimate such handling tasks. The automated gripping of an object largely depends on the characteristics of the workpiece, e.g. its shape, weight, and stability. The focus of the following chapter will be on actual gripping. Solutions using suction or magnetism are not discussed. An overview of the necessary components of successful gripping will be given, followed by a brief history of gripping at SCHUNK. A range of different gripper types and future functionality will be presented and some unusual examples of applications involving gripping shown. The last part describes robotic hands with several degrees of freedom and several fingers.