Versatile Gripper as Key Part For Smart Factory

摘要

This paper discuss about physical resources level of the smart factory, which represent a system of intelligent units combined together to perform multiple tasks. A reconfigurable manufacturing unit consist of cluster different intelligent devices such as mobile platform with robotmanipulator equipped with a universal grasping device. Since physical resources level is a base of the smart factory, special attention must be paid to developing a versatile gripper which would help to ensure fast reconfiguration and adaptation, and reduce manual intervention in workshop. In order to provide such achievements, a concept of the versatile gripper to grasp objects with different physical parameters such as sizes, shapes, materials and firmness through using different modes to perform both precision and power grasps is presented in this paper. The ability of the gripper to perform different types of a grasp allows to implement highly automated smart factory. The concept of a reconfigurable manufacturing unit, the design of the gripper finger mechanism, and first results of simulation and experiments are presented.