ROBOTICS ENGINEERING AND APPLICATIONS

Department of Mechanical Engineering

1. INTRODUCTION
An end effector is a device that attaches to the wrist of the robot arm and enables
thegeneral-purpose robot to perform a specific task. It is sometimes referred to as
the robot's "hand."Most production machines require special purpose fixtures and

tools designed for a particularoperation, and a robot is no. exception. The end
effector is pan of that special-purpose tooling fora, robot. Usually, end effectors
must be custom engineered for the particular task which is to beperformed. This
can be accomplished either by designing and fabricating-the device fromscratch, or
by purchasing a commercially available device and adapting it to the application.
Thecompany installing the robot can either do the engineering work itself or it can
contract for theservices of a firm that does this kind of work.Most robot
manufacturers have special engineering groups whose function is to designend
effectors and to provide consultation services to their customers. Also, there are a
growingnumber of robot systems firms which perform some or all of the engineering
work to installrobot systems. Their services would typically include end effector
design.
1.1 TYPESOF END EFFECTORS
There are wide assortmentsof end
e
ff
ec
tors
required to performthe
variety
of
d
i
ff
erent work functions.Thevarious typescanbedivided
i
n
t
o
two
major categories:1.

Grippers
2.

ToolsGrippers are end effectors used to grasp and hold object. The objects are
generally work parts that are to be moved by the robot. These part-handling
applications include machine loading and unloading, picking parts from a conveyor,
and arranging parts onto a pallet. In addition to work parts, other objects handled
by robot grippers include cartons, bottles, raw materials, and tools. We tend to think
of grippers as mechanical grasping devices, but there are alternative ways of
holding objects involving the use of magnets, suction cups, or other means.

2Grippers can be classified as single grippers or double grippers although this

classification applies best to mechanical grippers. The single gripper is distinguished
by the fact that only one grasping device is mounted on the robot's wrist. A double
gripper has two gripping devices attached to the wrist and is used to handle two
separate objects. The two gripping devices can be actuated independently. The
double gripper is especially useful in machine loading and unloading applications.
With a double gripper, the robot can pick the part from the incoming conveyor with
one of the gripping devices and have it ready to exchange for the finished part.
When the machine cycle is completed, the robot can reach in for the finished part
with the available grasping device, and insert the raw part into the machine with
the other grasping device. The amount of time that the machine is open is
minimized. The term multiple gripper is applied in the case where two or more
grasping mechanisms are fastened to the wrist. Double grippers are a subset of
multiple grippers. The occasions when more than two grippers would be required
are somewhat rare. There is also accost and reliability penalty which accompanies
an increasing number of gripper devices on one robot army definition, the tool-type
end effector is attached to the robots wrist. One of the most common applications
of industrial robots is spot welding, in which the welding electrodes constitute the
end effector of the robot. Other examples of robot applications in which tools are
used as end effectors include spray painting and arc welding.
1.2 TYPES OF GRIPPER MECHANISMS
There are various ways of classifying mechanical grippers and their actuating
mechanisms. One method is according to the type of finger movement used by the
gripper. In this classification the grippers can actuate the opening and closing of the
fingers by one of the following motions.

1. Pivoting movement
2. Linear or translational movement
In the pivoting movement the fingers rotate about fixed pivot points on the gripper
toopen and close. The motion is usually accomplished by some kind of linkage
mechanism. In thelinear movement the fingers open and close by moving in parallel
to each other. This isaccomplished by means of guide rails so that each finger base
slides along a guide rail duringactuation. The translational finger movement might

also be accomplished by means of a linkagewhich would maintain the fingers in a

parallel orientation to each other during actuation.

Mechanical grippers can also be classed according to the type of kinematic device
used toactuate the finger movement. In this classification we have the following
types:
1. Linkage actuation
2. Gear-and-rack actuation
3. Cam actuation