Grippers for an Unmanned Forging Cell.

摘要

The following report describes the design and construction of two grippers for use in a flexible unmanned forging operation. The forging operation employs two large industrial robots, one to load and unload billets from a furnace at over 2000 deg F and a second to remove the forged pieces from a forging machine and present them to a gaging station for inspection. The gripper for the first robot uses special materials and a water cooled shell to withstand the very high temperatures it encounters. It employs a number of sensors to monitor temperatures and loading conditions. The second gripper is an especially flexible design, suited to a wide variety of irregular shapes. The gripper jaws are articulated to conform to the rough forgings produced by the cell. Once the jaws are fully closed they are locked in a place so that the orientation of the part is preserved. (Author)