Types of End Effectors

Rajesh Mallela
Can Robots perform its task without End
effectors????
LO3 Describe the key elements of industrial
robots and be able to program them with
straightforward commands to perform a given
task.

P7 Describe the types of robot end effectors

available and their applications
Learning Objective
After end of the session trainees will be able to know

What is end effector

Types of end effector
Grippers
mechanical gripper
magnetic grippers
vacuum gripper
adhesive gripper
Tools
Welding tool
Painting tool
Drilling tool
Grinding tool
Video
 End effector
A robotic end-effector is any object attached to the robot
flange (wrist) that serves a function.
 Inrobotics, an end effector is the device at the end of a
robotic arm, designed to interact with the environment.
 Device that attaches to the wrist of the robot arm and
enables the general- purpose robot to perform a specific
task.
Classification of End Effectors
 Impactive – jaws or claws which physically grasp by direct
impact upon the object.
 Ingressive – pins, needles or hackles which physically penetrate
the surface of the object (used in textile, carbon and glass
fiber handling).
 Astrictive – suction forces (includes magnetic) applied to the
objects surface.
 Contigutive – requiring direct contact for adhesion to take place
(such as glue, surface tension or freezing).
Basic types

 Grippers– to grasp and manipulate objects (e.g.,

parts) during work cycle
 Tools– to perform a process, e.g., spot welding,
spray painting
 Grippers
 Grippers are the end effectors used for holding the parts or objects.
 They include what you might call mechanical hands and also anything
like hooks, magnets and suction devices which can be used for holding
or gripping.
 Grippers take advantage of point-to-point control (exact path that
the robot takes between what it is picking up and where it is
placing it.
 Grippers should be designed so that it requires the minimum
amount of directional in order to grip the work piece
 Applications of grippers :- Machine Loading and unloading, picking and
placing of parts on conveyor, material handling, bottle handling,
arranging parts onto pallets, etc.
Types of Grippers

 Mechanical Grippers
 Magnetic gripper
 Vacuum Grippers
 Expandable Bladder Type Grippers
 Adhesive Grippers
Mechanical Grippers
 We can think of a mechanical gripper as a robot hand. A basic
robot hand will have only two or three fingers
 A mechanical hand that wraps around an object will rely on
friction in order to secure the object it is holding.
 Friction between the gripper and the object will depend on two
things,
 First is the type of surface whether it be metal on metal, rubber
on metal, smooth surfaces or rough surfaces and the
 second is the force which is pressing the surfaces together.
 Mechanical grippers are often fitted with some type of pad usually
made from polyurethane as this provides greater friction. Pads are
less likely to damage the work piece. Pads are also used so to have
a better grip as the polyurethane will make contact with all parts
of the surface when the gripper is closed
 Mechanical grippers can be designed and made for specific purposes
and adjusted according to the size of the object.
 Holding of Part by Mechanical Gripper
1. Using the finger pads as like the shape of the work part:
 Here, the contact surfaces of the fingers are designed according to
the work part for achieving the estimated shape. It will help the
fingers to hold the work part for some extent.
 2. Using soft material finger pads:
 In the second method, the fingers must be capable of supplying
sufficient force to hold the work part. To avoid scratches on the work
part, soft type pads are fabricated on the fingers. As a result, the
contact surface of the finger and co – efficient of friction are
improved. This method is very simple and as well as less expensive. It
may cause slippage if the force applied against the work part is in the
parallel direction. The slippage can be avoided by designing the
gripper based on the force exerted.
 Application
Mechanical grippers used in many applications in the
industry. Here is in the figure one of the common
application of the mechanical grippers is used to sort
the boxes as per the color in the warehouse. Also
used for pick and place of the many objects in the
industry.

Application:
1) Use in plant to shift hot material
2) Use to shifting chemical material
3) Use in packing
4) Arranging the boxes
5) Use in finalize line product
Video
 Magnetic Grippers
 Magnetic grippers obviously only work on magnetic objects
and therefore are limited in working with certain metals.
 For maximum effect the magnet needs to have complete
contact with the surface of the metal to be gripped.
 Any air gaps will reduce the strength of the magnetic
force, therefore flat sheets of metal are best suited to
magnetic grippers.
 If the magnet is strong enough, a magnetic gripper can
pick up an irregular shaped object. In some cases the
shape of the magnet matches the shape of the object .
 A disadvantage of using magnetic grippers is the
temperature. Permanent magnets tend to become
demagnetized when heated and so there is the danger that
prolonged contact with a hot work piece will weaken them
to the point where they can no longer be used. The effect
of heat will depend on the time the magnet spends in
contact with the hot part. Most magnetic materials are
relatively unaffected by temperatures up to around 100
degrees.
 Magnetic Grippers
 Electromagnets can be used instead and are operated by a DC
electric current and lose nearly all of their magnetism when the
power is turned off.
 Permanent magnets are also used in situations where there is an
explosive atmosphere and sparks from electrical equipment
would cause a hazard.
Application of magnetized gripper end effector:
These type of electromagnetic grippers are used many applications in
the industry. Here in this figure the robot is used magnetic gripper in
the steel factory to shifting the Iron beam and material from one side
to another side. And also this type of grippers are used for separating
magnetic and iron material from waste.

Other application:
 
1) Bahrain steel factory.
2) To remove metallic waste
3) Metallic factory
Video
Vacuum grippers/ suction gripper
Vacuum grippers use the difference between atmospheric
pressure and a vacuum to lift, hold and move objects.

Typically, the vacuum (or 'vacuum flow') is generated by a

miniature electromechanical pump or a compressed air-driven
pump.

The vacuum flow must be uninterrupted to ensure that your robot

can safely hold on to the object it has picked up.

Compressed air-type grippers produce between four and ten times

more power than their electromechanical counterparts, which
makes them a good fit for lifting heavy weights.

However, electromechanical-driven vacuum grippers shine in

applications requiring a high degree of mobility.
You will find vacuum grippers being used to automate a wide
range of tasks, but one of the most popular applications for this
type of gripper is packaging and palletizing.
Advantages of vacuum grippers include the ability to
handle many different types of items (even when
those items are imperfectly positioned) and a lower
price compared to other types of grippers.

Disadvantages include added electricity costs to

power compressed air or vacuum pumps and
sensitivity to dusty conditions.
Application of Vacuum gripper end effector:
This type of vacuum grippers ae used in many applications in the
industry. Here in this figure the robot is attached with vacuum gripper
is providing a lifting service to arranging and sorting the products
based one specification and model. Also used for picking and placing
all type of objects including metal and not metal and wood.

Other application:
•Using to lift packing.
•Material handling
•Conveyers
Labelling
Video
 Adhesive Grippers
 Adhesive Substance can be used for grasping action in
adhesive grippers.
 In adhesive grippers, the adhesive substance losses its
tackiness due to repeated usage. This reduces the
reliability of the gripper. In order to overcome this
difficulty, the adhesive material is continuously fed to
the gripper in the form of ribbon by feeding
mechanism.
 A major asset of the adhesive gripper is the fact that it is
simple. As long as the adhesive keep its stickiness it will
continue to function without maintenance, however, there
are certain limitations, the most significant is the fact that
the adhesive cannot readily be disabled in order to release
the grasp on an object..
 Applications:
 The adhesive grippers are used for handling fabrics and
other lightweight materials. In this figure the adhesive
grippers are used to separate various types of tools in the
industry.
Tools as end effectors

 Inrobot applications, the most commonly used

three tools as end effectors are listed below:
1. Spot welding tools
2. Spray painting nozzle
3. Grinding tool
4. Drilling tool
 Tool – Arc welding tool
Arc welding end effector use an electric arc between an
electrode and a metal base using either consumable or
non-consumable or electrodes, arc welding is most
common application for robots.

It has many advantages including improve consistency

in welds and cycle time, efficiency become more also no
break in production, and better weld quality.

Arc End effector will handle the welding torch and wire
holding inside coming from welding machine, robot
control is connected to welding machine
Application
Application of Arc end effector:
This arc welding tools are used for many applications in
the industry. As you can see in this photos welding by Arc
end effector in the lane of vehicles, process will take less
time in safer work environment the welder is more
consistent and accurate and can easily move to another
weld task quickly, that leads to increase the speed of
producing process.

Other application:
•Heavy equipment manufacturing
Airplane manufacturing.
Pipeline manufacturing
space vehicles manufacturing
Grinders tool
Operation of grinders end effector tool: it consist of
grander machine in end effector by programming
grinding robot is performed fine grinding tasks which is
very much harmful to human it will affect in their eyes
and lugs. by using the grinding robot end effector will
control the force of grinding and make a perfect and
professional finishing in safer work environment .

Grinding end effector will remove excess material from

the surface of machine parts and product quickly and
efficiently.

This type of grinding end effector can be fix wire

brushing for steel metal sheet or to clean material from
corrosion and rust
Application
Application of grinders end effector:
This tools is used for many applications in the industry. In this figure
the robot which is having grinding tool to clean the welding surface
to remove any slags or rust. This way very useful in factories.

Other application :
1) Cutting steel material
2) Brushing work
3) Cleaning the corrosion and rust
4) Steel pipe line cutter
 Drilling tool
Drilling and tapping end effectors provide the best
alternative safe solutions for drilling. It mainly
reduces the health hazards for the worker. By the
way, the robot is not a human so it will not have
any problems of flying debris during the drilling
process.

It consists of drill end effector arm tooling that is

fully customizable to meet customer drilling needs

By using this end effector will improve the whole

process. The drilling robot system can be easily
integrated into the production process to speed up
cycle time and minimize waste
Application
Application of drill end effector: it is used for many
applications in the industry. Here in this picture drilling process
on the surface of the steel beam that will use in the new railway to
prepare the accurate hole foundation to fix in the new project road.
Also used for drilling the holes on the various assembling
equipment's.

Other application:
•Medical equipment manufacturing.
•Electronics board manufacturing.
Furnitures and aluminium manufacturing.
Spray painting
Operation of Spray gun end effector tools:

The spray coating method increases the health hazards for the
human worker during the painting operation. But using a robot
with spray gun end effector operation will have more facilities
it’s become a high consistency and better productivity,
increased labors safety minimizes the use of paint.

Spray gun end effector can perform both straight line and
contentious path motions.

The robot attaches a spray on its wrist and acts as an end

effector, by programming a spray-painting robot is performed
by the best human operation.

Painting by Spray gun end effector will give genuinely nice

finishing work with perfect paint thickness
Application
Mainly this tool is used for painting various
equipment's where painting is difficult for humans.
Here in this figure the robot is having spray
painting tool for painting automobile parts. It is
having high accuracy and less wastage. It can do
painting for 100 cars in a day.

Other application:
1) Wood and furniture factories
2) New building construction
3) electrical and electronics device.
2)
Thank
You!!!