Testing Flexible Grippers for Geometric and Surface Grasping Conformity in Reconfigurable Assembly Systems

Abstract

The ongoing development in manufacturing technology facilitates flexibility in production and faces challenges of product handling. Flexibility was required in the form of adaptable grippers for robotic arms in pick-and-place procedures for reconfigurable assembly systems. A conceptual system was designed and tested according to the surface geometric conformity of grasped objects. The system proposed was a biologically inspired Fin Ray Effect ® gripper. Grasping occurs due to the deformation of the rib structure of the appendage. The appendages were simulated for conformity by means of a finite element analysis, and performance was analysed by means of a physical sample mass test and a force test. OPSOMMINGDie deurlopende ontwikkeling in vervaardigingstegnologie fasiliteer buigsaamheid in produksie en word blootgestel aan uitdagings aan met betrekking tot produkhantering. Buigsaamheid word vereis in die vorm van aanpasbare robot gryp gereedskap vir robotarms in optel-en-plaas prosedures vir herkonfigureerbare monteringstelsels. 'n Konseptuele stelsel is ontwerp en getoets aan die hand van die oppervlak meetkundige gelykvormigheid van gegrepe voorwerpe. Die voorgestelde stelsel was 'n biologies geïnspireerde Fin Ray Effect ® gryper. Gryp vind plaas as gevolg van die vervorming van die ribstruktuur van die ledemaat. Die ledemaat is gesimuleer vir ooreenstemming deur middel van 'n eindige element analise, en verrigting is geanaliseer deur middel van 'n fisiese monster massa toets en 'n krag toets.

A Deep Learning Method for Vision Based Force Prediction of a Soft Fin Ray Gripper Using Simulation Data

“…One such technique is to use a FEA approach. In terms of gripper optimisation, this is a well explored topic, with many successful examples of its application (Crooks et al, 2016 ; Basson et al, 2018 ; Emerson and Elgeneidy, 2020 ; Sun et al, 2020 ). Generally however, FEA is a computationally intensive process that is often time consuming, which makes its difficult as a means of providing real-time feedback control.…”

Flexible Gripper, Design and Control for Soft Robotics

“…This article exposes a midpoint of rigidity in the design of a flexible gripper by 3D printing, obtaining a base structure like the one exposed in [9] but having greater dimension and internal separation area per finger allows greater flexibility. Other flexible gripper models can be found in [10], [11], and [12].…”

Structural Optimization of Adaptive Soft Fin Ray Fingers with Variable Stiffening Capability

“…The FRE enables the structure to conform to an external force, whilst maintaining rigidness out of its grasping plane. This has encouraged the utilization of the FRE structure as a highly adaptive gripper finger that is capable of grasping a variety of objects [13][14][15][16][17]. Despite being an excellent candidate for delicate grasping and soft manipulation applications due to their unique shapeadaptation, limited work has been directed towards optimizing their morphology for this application area.…”

“…Despite being an excellent candidate for delicate grasping and soft manipulation applications due to their unique shapeadaptation, limited work has been directed towards optimizing their morphology for this application area. Previous work has been conducted on characterizing and improving the grasping performance of FRE inspired fingers with rigid ribs that do not significantly deform [16][17][18]. Our previous work has highlighted the benefits of an entirely flexible and soft FRE fingers for delicate grasping applications, with deforming ribs that can passively jam together to stiffen the finger and enhance force generation when needed [19].…”