Robot End-Effectors 4.1 INTRODUCTION The robot end-effector or end-of-arm tooling is the bridge between the robot arm and the environment around it. Depending on the task, the actions of the gripper vary. What is the ideal gripper? Should it be like a human hand with fingers that have 22 degrees of freedom? The most striking thing about the human hand is that it can adapt to the task as it is a sensory and communicating organ. A human being decides the global position of his hand based on the analysis of his eye and memory and then determines his choice of grip and the necessary manipulation with the aid of sensors on his skin, arm and wrist (Fig. 4.1). A robotic end-effector which is attached to the wrist of the robot arm is a device that enables the general-purpose robot to grip materials, parts and tools to perform a specific task. The end-effectors are also called the grippers. There are various types of end-effectors to perform the different work functions. The various types of grippers can be divided into the following major categories: * Mechanical grippers * Hooking or lifting grippers * Grippers for scooping or ladling powders or molten metals or plastics * Vacuum cups « Magnetic grippers * Others: Adhesive or electrostatic grippers. The grippers may be classified into: Part handling grippers * Tools handling grippers and © Special grippers The part handling grippers are used to grasp and hold objects that are required to be transported from one point to another or placed for some assembly operations. The part handling applications include machine loading and unloading, picking ‘parts from a conveyor and moving parts, etc. There are grippers to hold tools like welding gun or spray painting gun to perform a specific task. The robot hand may hold a deburring tool. The grippers of the robot may be specialized devices like Remote Centre152 Robotics Technology and Flexible Automation ' SHOULDER SENSORY P; = Y PATHWAY pant FINGERS Coos SLIP AND: TORQUE CONTROL FIG. 4.1 Choice of grip Compliance (RCC) to insert an extemal mating component into an internal member, viz. inserting a plug into a hole. The other types of end-effectors employ some physical principle like magnetism or vacuum technology to hold the object securely. , 4.2 _ CLASSIFICATION OF END-EFFECTORS An end-effector of a robot can be designed to have several fingers, joints and degrees of freedom. Any combination of these factors give different grasping modalities to the end-effector. The general end-effectors can be grouped according to the type of grasping , modality as follows: * Mechanical fingers Special tools * Universal fingers Mechanical fingers are used to perform some special tasks. Gripping by mechanical type fingers is less versatile and less dextrous than holding by universal fingers as the grippers with mechanical fingers have fewer number of joints and lesser flexibility. However, they economize the device cost The grippers can be subgrouped according to finger classifications, for example, the number of fingers, typically two-, three-, and five-finger types The two-finger gripper is the most popular al ———Robot End-Effectors 153 Another classification is accordin: mounted on the wrist. Multigripper systems shown in Fig. 4.2 enable effective sit execution of more than two different jobs. Design meth gripper in a multigripper system are subject to those ig to the single Gripper and multiple grippers imultaneous 1ods for each individual of single grippers, FIG. 4.2 Multiple grippers Robot end-effectors can be classified on the basis of the mode of gripping ripping. The intemal gripping system shown in Fig. 4.3(a) Grips the internal surface of objects with Open fingers whereas the extemal gripper shown in Fig. 4.3(b) Grips the exterior surface of objects with closed fingers, Robot end-effectors are also classified according to the number of degrees of freedom (DOF) incorporated in the gripper structures, Typical mechanical Srippers belong to the class of 1 DOF. A few grippers can be found with more than 2 DOFs. Using some special tooling action, robot objects by electromagnetic action or Electromagnets and vacuum cups are typici the objects to be handled are too large and ferromagnetic in nature, electromagnetic Grippers may be employed. In some applications where the objects are too thin to be handled, they can be held by vacuum grippers, ee grippers can be designed to retain under the action of vacuum, ‘al devices in this class. Usually, if154. Robotics Technology and Flexible Automation FIG. 4.3 Internal and extemal grippers (a) intemal gripper (b) External gripper Universal fingers usually comprise multipurpose grippers of more than three fingers and or more than one joint on each finger which provide the Capacity to perform a wide variety of grasping and manipulating assignments. 4.3 DRIVE SYSTEM FOR GRIPPERS 'n typical robot gripper systems, there are three kinds of drive methods: © Electric * Pneumatic © Hydraulic In electric drive system, there are typically two kinds of actuators, 4 aes and stepper motors, In general, each motor requires appropriate cece font Systems to provide proper output force or torque. i stem, a servo pow mple actuation system Power amplifier is also needed to provide a comp! he pneumatic ther methods, which i Ne main ge, Met of being less expensive than 0 s the main reason for it bein the industrial robots. 1g used in most of bots, Another advantage of the pneumatic system is the low-degree ° stiffn ‘ ale 7 drive system. This feature of the pneumatic system can 9 ant ienev® Compliant grasping which is necessary for ON achi the most important functions of Stippers; to grasp objects with delicate surfacesRobot End-Etfectors 155 carefully. On the other hand, the relatively limited stiffness of the system makes precise control difficult Hydraulic drives used in robot gripping systems are usually electrohydraulic drive systems. They have almost the same configuration as pneumatic systems, though their features are different from each other. A typical hydraulic drive system consists of actuators, control valves and power units. There are three kinds of actuators in the system: piston cylinder, swing motor, and hydraulic motor. To achieve positional control using electric signals electrohydraulic conversion drives are used. Designing Piston-Cylinder in the Pneumatic Gripper The gripper shown in Fig. 4.4 is used for holding cartons. A piston which can supply the actuating force F may be chosen. It is logical to orient the piston device in the gripper such that this force is supplied on the extension stroke of the piston. PNEUMATIC VALVE FACTORY AIR PRESSURE FL) [> PISTON CYLINDER (b) FIG. 4.4 Pneumatic gripper for handling cartons (a) Drive system (6) Gripper for cartons Suppose the factory air pressure is P,. It is necessary to determine the required diameter of the piston in order to provide the desired actuating force, F. Now, 2 FaP.x 22 where Dz = Piston diameter, mm > P, = supply pressure, kgf/mm’ axF or, ‘ Do = oe56 Robotics Technology and Flexible Automation 1 4.4 MECHANICAL GRIPPERS nd-effector that uses mechanical fingers actuate A jase as Geen object. The fingers are the appendages of he ae er thal actually makes contact with the object. The fingers are either ee to the mechanism or are an integral part of the mechanism. The use eile nlaceable fingers allows for wear and interchangeability. Differents sets of pias for use with the same gripper mechanism can be designed to accommodate different parts models. A gripper with interchangeable fingers is shown in Fig. 4.5. WORKPIECE INTERCHANGEABLE FINGERS, GRIPPER FIG. 4.5 Mechanical gripper with interchangeable fingers Several kinds of gripper functions can be realized using various mechanisms. From observations of the usable pair elements in the gripping device, the following kinds are identified: (i) linkage (ii) gear-and-rack (iii) cam, (iv) screw (\) cable and pulley and so on. The selection of these mechanisms is influenced 2 the kind of actuators to be employed and the kind of grasping modality to used. Another method of classifying the mechanical grippers is according to the type of finger movement used by the gripper. In this classification, the grippers can actuate the opening or closing of the fingers by one of the following motions; . Pivoting or swinging movement * Linear or translational movement In most applications, two fingers are sufficient to hold the workpiece. Grippers with three or more fingers are less common.al Mechanical Grippers with Two Fingers pivoting or Swinging Gripper Mechanisms is is the most popular mechanical gripper for industrial rol Trgned for limited shapes of an object, especially sean sere er detarors that produce linear movement are used, like pneumatic piston- oplinders, the device contains a pair of slider-crank mechanisms. In the slider crank mechanism shown in Fig. 4.6, when the piston 1 i shed by pneumatic pressure to the right, the elements in the cranks 2 oa 3, rotate counter clockwise with the fulcrum Fj and clockwise with the fulcrum Fy respectively, when 6 < 180°. These rotations make the grasping action at fe extended end of the crank elements 2 and 3. The releasing action can be pbiained by moving the piston to the left. An angle 6 ranging from 160° to 170° is commonly used. Fy Fe A a G.4.6 Schematic diagram of a gripper using slider-crank mechanism on 4.7 is another example of swinging gripper that uses the piston- a This is the swing-block mechanism. The sliding rod 1, actuated by aren opin piston transmits motion by way of the two symmetrically object by swing-block linkages 1-2-3-4 and 1-2-3'-4’ to grasp or release the Divots F ear of the subsequent swinging motions of links 4 and 4’ at their 1 ani A ne ‘gure 4.8 illustrates a typical example of a gr f the actuator, respectively. e a a movernent directly produces grasping and releasing actions Which ig sh actuated gripper includes a variety of possible designs, one of SPringloaded in Fig. 4.9. A cam and follower arrangement, often using 2 Stipper. The follower, can provide the opening and closing action of the accommod; advantage of this arrangement is that the spring action would ure aa different sized objects. Tipper dexjae, indicates an example of screw-type actuation used in the ign. The screw is turned by a motor, usually accompanied by a Ee.158 Robotics Technology and Flexible Automation uy FIG. 4.7. Schematic diagram of a gripper using swing block mechanism FINGERS ROTOR \ HOUSING FIG. 4.8 Gripper with a rotary actuator FOLLOWER: e-2 CAM PROFILE FIG. 4.9 Cam actuated gripper led speed reduction mechanism. Due to the rotation of the screw, the eed block moves, causing the opening and closing of the fingers depend! the direction of rotation of the screw. Translation Gripper Mechanisms Translational mechanisms are widely used in grippers of industrial robots- al Theee TOR ” REDUCING GEAR BOX screw type gripper simplest translational gripper uses the direct motion of the piston cylinder, se in Fig. 4.11. The finger motion corresponds to the piston movernent without any connecting mechanisms between them. The drawback is that sometimes itis difficult to design the desired size of the gripper, because here the actuator size decides the gripper size. [J ECT]. ° a teal __. FIG. 4.11 Translational gripper using cylinder piston Figure 4.12 shows a translational gripper using a hydraulic or pneumatic piston-cylinder, which includes a dual-rack gear mechanism and two pairs of symmetrically arranged parallel closing linkages. ‘The pinion and sector gears are connected to the elements Ly and L2 respectively. When the piston rod moves towards left, the translation ‘of the rack causes the two pinions to otate clockwise and anticlockwise respectively and produces the grasping ao keeping each finger direction constant. The release action occurs When the piston rod moves to the right in the same way. fiG.4.10 PARALLEL CLOSING/OPENING160 Robotics Technology and Flexible Automation Rotary actuators can also be used for translational gripper mechanisms as shown in Fig. 4.13. FIG. 4.13 Translational gripper using rotary actuators 44.2 Mechanical Grippers with Three Fingers The increase of the number of fingers and degrees of freedom will greatly aid the versatility of grippers. The main reason for using the three-finger gripper is its capability of grasping the object in three spots, enabling both a tighter grip and the holding of spherical objects of different size keeping the centre of the object at a specified position. Three point chuck mechanisms are typically used for this purpose. Figure 4.14 gives an example of this gripper. Each finger motion is performed using ball-screw mechanism. Electric motor output is transmitted to the screws attached to each finger through bevel gear trains which rotate the screws. When each screw is rotated clockwise or anticlockwise, the translational motion of each finger will be produced, which results in the grasping-releasing action. GUIDE BAR BEVEL GEAR 7 A H By a FIG. 4.14 Gripper using three point chuck mechanismPETre apa etE ELEC ate eat eae ae Robot End-Etectors 161 4.5 MAGNETIC GRIPPERS Magnetic grippers are used extensively on ferrous materials. In general, magnetic grippers offer the following advantages in robotic handling operations: 1. Variations in part size can be tolerated 2. Pickup times are very fast 3. They have ability to handle metal parts with holes 4. Only one surface is required for gripping The residual magnetism remaining in the workpiece may cause problems. Another potential disadvantage is the problem of picking up one sheet at a time from a stack. The magnetic attraction tends to penetrate beyond the top sheet in the stack, resulting in the possibility that more than a single sheet will be lifted by the magnet. Magnetic grippers shown in Fig. 4.15 can use either electromagnets or permanent magnets. Electromagnetic grippérs (Fig. 4.15 (b)) are easier to control, but require a source of de power and an appropriate controller. When the part is to be released, the control unit reverses the polarity at a reduced power level before switching off the electromagnet. This procedure acts to cancel the residual magnetism in the workpiece ensuring a positive release of the part. The attractive force, P of an electromagnet is found from Maxwell's equation given by = (IN)? P= SEAAR, + Ro) where IN = Number of amp-tums of coil A, = Area of contact of an object with magnet Ra, Rm = Reluctances of magnetic paths through air and metal respectively P2(a+g)mx FS where a = gripper acceleration g = gravitational constant m = mass and FS = Factor of safety Permanent magnets do not require an external power and hence they can be used in hazardous and explosive environments, because there is no danger ‘of sparks which might cause ignition in such environments. When the part is to be released at the end of the handling cycle, in case of permanent magnet grippers, some means of separating the part from the magnet must be provided. One such stripping device is shown in Fig. 4.15(a). 4.6 VACUUM GRIPPERS Large flat objects are often difficult to grasp. One solution to this problem is the use of vacuum gripper. Vacuum grippers are used for picking up metal162 Robotics Technology and Flexible Automation AIR LINE AIR CYLINDER ROBOT ARM PUSH OFF PIN STEEL PLATE (@) PERMANENT MAGNET (b) FIG. 4.15 Magnetic grippers (a) Permanent Magnet type (b) Electro- magnet type plates, pans of glass, or large lightweight boxes. Since the vacuum cups are made of elastic materials, thes ’y are complaint. The gripper is tolerant of errors in the orientation of the part and is especially suited for pick-and-place work. For handling softer materials, cups made of harder material are used. A typical vacuum cup gripper is shown in Fig. 4. 16(2). It is used extensively for lifting fragile mate rials. A compressed air supply and a venturi are used to Create a gentle vacuum that lifts the part. The lift capacity of the suction cup (Fig. 4.16(b)) depends on the effective area of the cup and the negative air pressure between the cup and the object. The relationship can be shown by the equation: F = KPA, = KA, (P, — Pra) force or lift capacity, N P = negative pressure, N/cm? 2 = total effective area of the suction cup(s) used to create the vacuum, cm where F = K = a coefficient depending on atmospheric Pressure and conditions of Pa = the atmospheric Pressure and Pres cup. The negative air Pressure and the outside of the vacuut = residual pressure in vacuum- is the pressure differential between the inside Im cup.Robot End-Effectors 163 AIR OUT cur PART FIG. 4.16 Vacuum gripper (a) Ventury device for flat surface gripping (6) Gripper for contoured surface Instead of a venturi, a vacuum pump powered by an electrical motor may also be used. 4.7 ADHESIVE GRIPPERS An adhesive substance can be used for grasping action in gripper design. The Tequirement on the items to be handled are that they must be gripped on one side only. The reliability of this gripping device is diminished with each164 Robotics Technology and Flexible Automation successive operation cycle as the adhesive substance loses its tackiness on repeated use. To overcome this limitation, the adhesive material can be loaded in the form of a continuous ribbon into a feeding mechanism attached to the robot wrist. 4.8 HOOKS, SCOOPS AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS DEVICES Hooks can be used as end-effectors to handle containers and to load and unload parts hanging from overhead conveyors. The item to be handled by a hook must have some sort of handle to enable the hook to hold it. Ladles and scoops can be used to handle certain materials in liquid or powder form. One of the limitations is that the amount of material being scooped by the robot is sometimes difficult to control. Other types of grippers include inflatable devices, in which an inflatable bladder is expanded to grasp the object. The inflatable bladder is fabricated out of some elastic material like rubber, which makes it appropriate for gripping fragile objects. In contrast to the typical mechanical grippers where a concentrated force is applied on the object, the gripper applies a uniform grasping pressure against the surface of the object. An example of this type of gripper is shown in Figs 4.17(a) and (b). 4.9 GRIPPER FORCE ANALYSIS AND GRIPPER DESIGN The purpose of the gripper mechanism is to convert input power into the required motion and force to grasp and retain an object. So the gripping force required must be calculated first. When the gripping force is established, po required actuator force or torque can be computed for a given gripper lesign. There are two ways of constraining the part in the gripper. In the first way, the gripper fingers may enclose the part to some extent, thereby constraining the motion of the part. This is accomplished by designing the contacting surface of the fingers to be in the approximate shape of the part geometry as shown in Fig. 4.18. The second way of holding the part is by friction between the fingers and the object. In this approach, the fingers must apply a force that is sufficient for friction to retain the part against gravity, acceleration as oe other force that might arise during the holding portion of the working The friction method of holding the parts results in a less complicated and therefore less expensive gripper design and it tends to be readily adaptable to a oe variety of workparts. However there is a problem with the friction aes {het is avoided with the physical constriction method. If a force of in- ies ee is applied against the part in a direction parallel to the aelanla aces of the fingers as shown in Fig. 4.19, the part might slip out te gripper © resist this slippage, the gripper must be designed to exert ‘ce that depends on the weight of the part, the coefficient of frictionRobot End-fffectors 165 EXPANDABLE BLADDER WITH AIR INSIDE (b) FIG. 4.17 Expanding blaader tor gripping internal surface (a) Bladder fully expanded (b) Bladder inside the container between the part surface and the finger surface, the acceleration of the part and the orientation of the direction of motion during acceleration with respect to the direction of the fingers. This may be demonstrated through the analysis of several examples given below. Example 4.1 Consider the gripper and load illustrated in Fig. 4.20(a). The~ 166 Robotics Technology and Flexible Automation gripping surface applies a force Fy along an axis that passes right through the centre of gravity of the load, in this case a rectangular block. Figure 4.20(b) shows the cube at different orientations in gripping condition. The force that must be applied to prevent slippage due to gravity depends on two things: 1. The angle, @ that the gripping surface subtends to the horizontal. 2. The coefficient of friction, w between the gripping surface and the load surface. The gripping force that must be applied is FIG. 4.18 Gripper enclosing partly the envelope of a part _ mg sin 8 un where m = mass, kg g = acceleration due to gravity, m/s? b= coefficient of friction angle subtended with the horizontal n = number of pairs of contact surfaces When this force has been determined, it represents only the static force. The » = COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION HF, wry I f FRICTION FORCE A —. — -F (GRIPPING FORCE) (a) Ww mF, Fy <—F||F, — PART VACUUM 4 tc) {d) FG. 4, ir 419 eee mechanism working with mechanical friction (a) Free- if lagram (b) Friction in mechanical gripping (c) Friction in Plug type gripper (d) Friction in suction gripperRobot End-Effectors 167 static force is the minimum force that must be applied to the stationary load. When the load moves, it accelerates up to some designated operating speed The worst case would be if it had to move vertically upwards as illustrated in Fig. 4.20(c). F, (b) DIRECTION OF MOTION WITH ACCELERATION (ce) HG. 4.20 Gripping the rectangular block (a) Forces acting (b) A cube in different orientations during gripping (c) Gripping when the object is moving vertically Example 4.2 A 5 kg rectangular block is gripped in the middle ard lifted vertically at a velocity 1 m/s. If it accelerates to this velocity at 27.5 m/s? and the coefficient of friction between the gripping pads and the block is 0.48, calculate the minimum force that would prevent slippage. Considering the free body diagram (Fig. 4.21) 2 uFy-mg = ma [considering two fingers} where a is the acceleration upward or,168. Robotics Technology and exible Automation ‘ a (ACCELERATION) »F, oF, —— es mg ( WEIGHT) FIG. 4.21. Figure of example problem 4.2 m(a+g) 2u ~ 5 (27.5 + 9.8) 2x 0.48 =194.1N This is the minimum amount of force. To be absolutely sure of lifting the block without slippage, a safety factor should be introduced. The following example illustrates the analysis that may be used to determine the magnitude of the actuator force and the required input power in order to obtain a given gripping force. For this analysis, it is assumed that a friction type grasping action is being used to hold the part. Fy Example 4.3 A simple pivot-type gripper is used to hold boxes as illustrated in Fig. 4.22. The gripping force, F, required is 20 kgf. The gripper is to be actuated by a piston device to apply an actuating force, F,. The corres- ponding lever arms for the two forces are shown in the diagram Taking moments of the forces on one arm and summing them to zero, we get, = 20220 | 20 kgf Therefore, the piston device would have to provide an actuating force of 80 kaf to close the gripper with a force against the boxes of 20 kgf. i . f FIG. 4.22 Pivot type gripper o! ‘example problem 4: 3Robot End-Effectors 169 i shown imple 4.4 A block of weight having 1400 N is to be gripped as eee 7123. Find the clamping force assuming a safety factor of 2. Assume coefficient of friction u = 0.2. The centre of gripping does not coincide with the centre of gravity. FIG. 4.23 Figure of example problem 4.4 Assuming acceleration a T upward, Resolving vertical forces 1400 + 2Fp = 2A, - a Resolving moments about P, 50 Fp = (1400 x 250)/2 = 1400 x 250 _ or, Fo= to x2 7 3900N Therefore, F, = 5600 N [assume a = 2g] Clamping force = Fit Fd x a factor = 9100 x 2 . 20. = 91000 N This is greater then the value for gripping at the C.G. If the block is to be lifted by holding it at the C.G. of the block, the gripping force will be less, 4.10 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE GRIPPERS Most of the industrial robot end-effectors are passive in the sense that they do not have any ‘feeling’. They work on open loop system. In a variety of cases, @ robot needs feedback sensors. The sensors may be on the wrist or on fingers. Then the robot end-effector becomes active. There are experimental universal grippers with many degrees of freedom like the human hand. They170 Robotics Technology and Flexible Automation are called adaptable grippers. Okada described a novel design of versatile gripper with three fingers namely a thumb, an index finger and a middle finger. The tubular phalanges can be bent +45° in each joint. The hand has active wire-line drive to actuate the links. A five-finger hand has also been developed for prosthetics. However there are two-finger servoed gripper with sensors at different positions. To conform to the periphery of the objects of any shape, soft grippers with grip and release wire have been developed by S. Hirose et al. Depending on the situation, industrial tasks can be accomplished using either active wrist with passive fingers or passive wrist with active fingers and in some cases, active wrist with active fingers. evenciere