Automatic Fingertip Exchange System for Robotic Grasping in Flexible Production Processes

Object handling in automated manufacturing processes lacks the flexibility to adapt to rapid production changes on the workshop floor typical for small and medium enterprises. Introduction of new grasping solutions represents a time-consuming process. Therefore in this paper, we present a flexible and cost-efficient grasping solution for adaptation to rapid changes in the production processes. The solution consists of a mechanical fingertip exchange system, which can be installed on various grippers and a fingertip design procedure, for rapid development and testing of tailored fingertips for handling multiple parts. The versatility of the approach was benchmarked during the World Robot Summit 2018 where the proposed solution was applied on several use cases in an automated assembly where precision is of the essence to the manufacturing process.