Soft robotic gripper is a form of end effector, which is an additional device installed on the robot wrist for some operation or operation. There are many kinds of robot end effectors to meet the different requirements of robot operation. The end actuator can be divided into carrying, processing and measuring. The end effector of handling refers to various clamping devices, which are used to grasp or absorb the transported objects. The end actuator for machining is an additional robot device with machining tools such as spray gun, welding gun, grinding wheel and milling cutter, which is used for corresponding machining operations. A kind of the end actuator for measurement is an additional device equipped with a measuring head or sensor, which is used for measurement and inspection.
When designing the robot end actuator, the following problems should be paid attention to
1. The robot end actuator is designed according to the requirements of robot operation. With the appearance of a new end effector, a new application field of robot can be added. Therefore, new robot end effectors created according to the needs of work and people's imagination will continue to expand the application field of robots. 2. The sum of the weight of the robot's end actuator, the weight of the object to be grabbed and the operation force, the allowable load force of the robot. Therefore, the robot end actuator is required to be small in size, light in weight and compact in structure. 3. The omnipotence and specificity of the robot end actuator are contradictory. The structure of universal end effector is very complex, even difficult to realize. For example, the human like universal robot dexterous hand has not yet been applied. At present, the robot end effectors with simple structure and weak omnipotence can be used in production. Starting from the practical application in industry, we should focus on the development of all kinds of special and high-efficiency robot end actuators, in addition to the quick replacement device of the end actuators, so as to realize various operation functions of the robot, instead of advocating to use a universal end actuator to complete various operations. Because the structure of this universal actuator is complex and expensive. 4. Universality and omnipotence are two concepts. Omnipotence refers to one machine with multiple functions, while universality refers to a limited end actuator, which can be applied to different robots. This requires that the end actuator should have a standard mechanical interface (such as flange), so that the end actuator can be standardized and built. A kind of
5. The robot end actuator shall be easy to install and maintain, and easy to realize computer control. The most convenient way to control by computer is electric actuator. Therefore, the mainstream of industrial robot actuator is electrical type, followed by hydraulic type and pneumatic type (the electric hydraulic or electric pneumatic conversion link needs to be added in the driving interface)