Festo Markets Latest Innovation: A Flat Parallel Gripper for Tight Spaces

The newest gripper from Festo, the HPPF, offers some promising advantages for automating the electronics assembly industry. With a narrow profile, light weight, and low copper content, the HPPF is an attractive alternative for machine upgrades.

 

Contaminants like copper, nickel, and zinc can negatively impact the quality of batteries during production. Image used courtesy of Festo

 

What Makes a Good Parallel Gripper?

Parallel grippers should be strong enough to apply the appropriate load to the sides they grip without damaging the component. The advantage of parallel grippers is that they have a larger surface area for distributing a load as compared to two and three-finger grips. 

As with any robotics component, lighter components use less energy and can be more precisely controlled than heavier components. Therefore, a parallel gripper that is light can be more easily manipulated and is more energy efficient. 

For battery cell production, grippers should contain as few contaminants as possible, like copper, nickel, zinc—or any other electrically conductive or non-conductive particle—that can reduce a battery's quality. Therefore, a gripper that will not contaminate the process is always advantageous. 

 

The Festo HPPF is a parallel gripper with a flat design. Image used courtesy of Festo

 

Festo's Flat Gripper: The HPPF

The Festo HPPF is a thin, lightweight gripper designed for tight spaces. Several models are available, ranging from 8 mm to 80 mm in grip width and 60 N to 377 N in gripping force. For all of these options, the height of these grippers is only 19 mm to 41 mm, which means they will fit in the smallest of spaces.

Many electronics manufacturers need a large but narrow gripper. One such application would be to place batteries in phone or tablet manufacturing. Parallel grippers are a good choice because they can hold the battery securely during movement yet slide into a narrow gap between the phone's body and other assembly robots, such as one mounting the camera lenses or other components. 

The HPPF is low-maintenance and has a high repetition accuracy, thanks to an integrated ball bearing guide. Furthermore, the HPPF has less than 1% copper, nickel, and zinc, reducing its likelihood of contaminating sensitive operations such as battery production. The bottom line is that Festo HPPF is small, has low maintenance and contamination, and can serve multiple manufacturing industries.

 

The HPPF is a compact, low-contaminant alternative to bulkier gripping options. Image used courtesy of Festo

 

Compact Gripper Technology

Festo’s HPPF, with its narrow profile and lack of copper, nickel, and zinc, will see use in the electronics industry. Parallel grippers are always in demand, and the potential for this one to have a flat design and very few sources of contamination will make it a preferred choice over bulkier grippers on the market.