Grippers

Getting the right grip

Grippers are essential end of arm effectors that enable robots to grasp and manipulate objects for tasks like picking, packing, or assembly in automation systems. As the critical interface between robots and materials, they handle diverse items, from small parts to heavy loads, across industries like manufacturing and logistics. Grippers transform robotic arms into functional tools, ensuring precise and efficient workflows. In a marketplace, they offer clear pricing and brand-agnostic options to meet varied automation demands.

The many kinds of Grippers

Grippers encompass several types, each tailored to specific materials or tasks while sharing the core function of secure object handling. Mechanical grippers use jaws or fingers to grasp varied shapes, ideal for tasks like palletizing. Vacuum grippers employ suction for smooth or porous surfaces, such as glass or packaging. Pneumatic grippers leverage compressed air for fast, repetitive actions, and magnetic grippers handle ferrous materials in metalworking, addressing a wide range of industrial needs.

Collaborative robots need collaborative grippers

Grippers are designed with specific uses in mind, often with distinct models for industrial robots and collaborative robots (cobots) to suit their operational needs. Industrial grippers support high-speed, high-volume tasks like assembly or material handling in structured manufacturing environments, built for durability and precision - but might be too sharp, heavy, hot, etc. to work around people. Collaborative grippers, designed for safety and compatibility with cobots, enable secure handling in shared workspaces, but a cobot can only work collaboratively if equipped with a gripper suitable for safe human-robot interaction.