We have already discussed how to choose the correct fixture for automation projects. An important choice is the type of actuation. In most applications, you will have to choose between electric and pneumatic drive for the end effector gripper. In this article, we have introduced five reasons why you may consider switching from a pneumatic gripper to an electric gripper.
Five Main Problems of Pneumatic Manipulators
1. The gripper is always at full stroke
When using pneumatic grippers, it can be opened or closed, fully opened or fully closed. If you need to use the same gripper to handle parts of different sizes, you will waste some time fully manipulating certain parts. This also means that your gripper will require a lot of space around small parts. In narrow spaces, claws may interfere with the surrounding environment.
2. Limited gripper force control
You can control the force of the grip by controlling the pressure, but this is difficult to program. Similarly, obtaining smaller forces is also challenging, as static friction prevents the gripper from moving under very low pressure. Therefore, if the same robotic arm is used to handle fragile parts and parts that require strong grip, it will be difficult to adjust the pneumatic gripper.
3. Limited gripper speed control
For most pneumatic grippers, you will hit the parts at full speed. If the part is not fixed in place before picking, it may move to an unpredictable position.
4. Common problems with compressed air
Pneumatic grippers can damage air quality. For certain applications, air pollutants from pneumatic systems are unacceptable, such as considering the manufacturing of certain electronic components. The maintenance requirements for the power and pneumatic grippers required to operate the compressor may also represent significant costs.
5. No built-in grip detection
Checking whether you have selected a part may be useful as it allows you to perform online error prevention. Feedback from the gripper can also be used to program robots using grab events instead of timers for more efficient programming. In most pneumatic grippers, this feature is not built-in, and if needed, you need to add a sensor.