Mechanical performance analysis and experimental study of soft-bodied bird-billed pneumatic gripper
ISSN: 0143-991x
Article publication date: 11 January 2022
Issue publication date: 30 June 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Flexible mechanical gripper has better safety and adaptability than a rigid mechanical hand. At present, there are few soft grippers for small objects on a millimeter scale. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to design a soft pneumatic gripper for grasping millimeter-scale small and fragile objects such as jewelry and electronic components.
Design/methodology/approach
By simulating the clamping action of the bird’s mouth and combining the high flexibility of the soft material, the bird’s beak soft pneumatic gripper is designed. First, the internal cavity of the gripping end of the gripper is determined by bending deformation calculation, and the brief manufacturing process of the gripper is outlined. Then, the single finger of the soft gripper is modeled mechanically, and the relationship between air pressure and bending deformation of the single finger is obtained. Finally, the experimental platform of the soft mechanical gripper is built, and the gripping performance of silicone rubber material is tested by comparison test, bending deformation test, stability test, adaptability test and gripping accuracy test.
Findings
The designed gripper has the advantages of simple structure, convenient operation, easy grasping of different small objects of millimeter-scale and good adaptability. It can grasp the precise dispensing needle with a minimum diameter of 0.19 mm, and its accuracy meets daily use.
Originality/value
A new type of soft pneumatic, the mechanical gripper is proposed and manufactured. According to the shape of the bird’s beak and the calculation of bending performance, a hollow finger gripper with better bending performance is designed. Various test results show that the gripper has a significant clamping effect on millimeter small objects, which supplements the research field of millimeter small object gripper.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work is supported in part by Zhangjiagang Zhongtian Precision Molding Co. Ltd. and Suzhou Institute of Technology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology.
Citation
Cai, L., Dong, S., Huang, X., Fang, H. and She, J. (2022), "Mechanical performance analysis and experimental study of soft-bodied bird-billed pneumatic gripper", Industrial Robot, Vol. 49 No. 5, pp. 924-933. https://doi.org/10.1108/IR-10-2021-0229
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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