End of Arm Tooling: The Right Tool for the Job

The end-of-arm tooling, or EOAT, is one of the most important parts of your physical robot system. The tooling spends the most time interacting directly with your parts and a well-designed tool/part interface can save both time and effort when programming a precision task.

There are several types of EOAT that the TaskMate supports:

- pneumatic 2 and 3 finger grippers

- electric 2 finger grippers

- suction grippers

- pneumatically actuated magnetic grippers

Each of these categories has its own benefits and drawbacks. For example, suction grippers come in a wide variety of sizes and material applications, but usually require a flat and non-porous surface for best results. Magnetic grippers are very powerful but have limited material applications. Multi-finger grippers can provide precise placement but sometimes require extra fixturing for material presentation.

Let’s explore some of these grippers to better understand how they can best be used.

2 and 3 Finger Grippers

Multi-finger grippers most commonly come in two types: 2-finger (parallel) grippers and 3-finger (centric) grippers. Parallel grippers have two fingers that open and close along a single axis, whereas centric grippers have three fingers that open and close around a center point.

Multi-finger grippers are ideal for tasks that require a lot of gripping strength and repeatability and for parts that can be presented individually to the gripper, such as in a part grid or an auto-feeder. Multi-finger grippers are often large and require plenty of clearance for grabbing parts and introducing them to a machine.

Both types of grippers often come with machineable or replaceable fingers, allowing you to create custom fingers suited for the job. Taking advantage of this can reduce the need for precise fixturing in part presentation. For example, you can machine the fingers to have a flat interior surface that presses against the top of the part. Using this surface in conjunction with a force sensor allows you to program a motion that picks up the parts by bottoming the part against the interior surface of the gripper finger, meaning parts of varying height will always be positioned in the same place in the gripper.

The TaskMate supports pneumatic multi-finger grippers and electric Robotiq grippers. From the System Loadout Screen, select the Air Gripper or Robotiq to configure the system to work with the appropriate multi-finger gripper.

Suction Grippers

Suction grippers use the flow of air to create a negative pressure area inside of a suction gripper. Based on the amount of air flow, suction can be increased or decreased. However the versatility of suction gripping doesn’t come from the suction force but from the variety and flexibility of suction cups.

Suction grippers are ideal for tasks where precision is not needed or else is handled by other means, such as gravity-feed trays or alternative alignment surfaces. Suction grippers are also great for applications where parts have unconventional geometries and require custom EOAT.

Many companies such as Piab and Schmalz make a wide array of suction cups for different applications. Cups may have a low-profile rubber interior for added grip against oily sheet metal or extra bellows and surface flexibility to increase contact against porous cardboard. Selecting the appropriate suction cup can mean the difference between a strong, repeatable grip and plenty of frustration with missed grabs.

Because the TaskMate does not include an internal vacuum generator, the negative pressure inside a suction gripper is created through a generator on the EOAT. Generators can either be mounted directly above the suction cup or inline with the air supply. Direct generators are larger but generate more suction than inline generators. Inline generators enable much greater flexibility in designing custom gripping tools, such as low-profile gripping heads for tight spaces.

Magnetic Grippers

Pneumatically actuated magnetic grippers provide superior strength and rigidity in applications with ferrous (containing iron) materials. Magnetic grippers designed for EOAT applications often have a low-profile magnetic field, enabling the gripper to pick parts from a stack without disturbing any parts below the top of the stack.

Despite the limited material applications of magnetic grippers, their strength and repeatability are worth taking advantage of. Magnetic grippers are good for applications where the robot arm may need to hold the part in place while it is being processed. They also work well in applications that seem suited for suction grippers but require more gripping strength due to the high weight of ferrous materials.

Pneumatically actuated magnetic grippers use an air supply to activate or deactivate the magnetic field by moving the magnet toward or away from the working surface of the gripper. On the TaskMate, this means using an End Effector Air node to supply and remove air from the magnet through the TeachMate. Based on the manufacturer of the gripper, some magnetic grippers will be activated when air is applied, while others will be deactivated when air is applied.