applications must be made from or coated with FDA-approved materials. There is wide variability in the ratio of the handled part size and weight — with lightweight yet bulky items often posing the greatest gripper design challenges. Part geometry: Handled objects with complex geometries can often necessitate pneumatic grippers with three instead of two fingers. That’s especially true where a series of workpieces may have slightly varying geometries. But where workpieces are consistent, two-finger grippers can incorporate customized surfaces and shapes to accommodate
specific gripping points on these objects. The cost savings of two-finger grippers can often justify their use wherever this solution satisfies the operation’s requirements. Operating environment: Pneumatic gripper bearings, internal mechanical elements, and housings abound to satisfy clean and contaminated operating environments. Especially important are pneumatic gripper temperature ratings (that stipulate ranges within which a gripper will optimally function) as well as IP ratings that define the level of particulate matter and moisture a given gripper can resist before ingress.
Conclusion Pneumatic grippers are robotic end effectors that are essential to material handling on production lines. These grippers hold, orient, and place workpieces and other objects for processing, assembly with other parts, or rejection — as off a conveyor through a quality-control station. Despite the drawbacks of compressed-air systems necessary for pneumatic gripper operation, these are often the cleanest, fastest, and most suitable choice for parts handling.
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