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ROBOTIC END EFFECTORS - PAYLOAD VS GRIP

FORCE
PostedbyMathieuBlangerBarretteonJan29,201411:05:00AM
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Thedifferencebetweenpayloadandgripforceisoftenmisunderstood.Since
theselectionofthesetwoparametersforrobotsandendeffectorsisreally
important,itiscrucialtounderstandthedifferencebetweenthem.Itisalso
importanttocalculatethemproperlyinordertomakeaccuratechoicesand
decisionsforyourapplications.Thisarticlegivesyoutheopportunityto
clarifytheseconcepts.

PAYLOAD
Thisparameteristhemaximummassthatcanbeattachedorsupportedbythewrist
oftherobotarm(J6axisforFanuc,TaxisforMotoman,etc.).Apayloadisusually
expressedasaweightunit(kilograms[kg]orpounds[lbs]).Thisparameterwill
includethemassoftheendeffectoranditsbracketandwillalsoincludethemassof
theobjectthatmustbemovedbytheroboticarm.Roboticweldingapplications
shouldalsoconsiderthepayloadasaparameterforrobotselection.Forexample,an
arcweldingtorchislighterthanaspotweldinggun,whichwillresultinadifferent
payloadtotal.Therefore,therobotselectionmightbedifferentforthesetwo
applications.Generally,thepayloadisgivenbytherobotmanufacturer.Makesure
youconsidereverysinglepartthatcanbeattachedtothewristoftherobotarmin
yourcalculations.Itisalsoagoodideatoaddasupplementarysecurityfactorto
ensurethatthetotalmassthatmustbemovedisslightlylighterthanthemaximum
payload.Noticethatanendeffectorcanalsohavearecommendedpayload,which
shouldguideyouinselectingthistool.

GRIP FORCE
Grippingforceisthemaximumeffortapplicablebytheendeffector.Asrobotgrippers
arenotallalike,differenttermsexist.Gripforceisnormallyusedforclawgrippers,
representingtheforcethatthefingerscanapplyonapart.Inothercases,magnetic
orsuctionforcecanbeusedforapplicationsrequiringpneumaticormagneticend
effectors.Thisparameterisnormallyexpressedasaforceunit(Newtons[N]or
poundforce[lbf]).Thegripforceisusuallygivenbytherobotgrippermanufacturer.
Atthispoint,thedifferencebetweenpayloadandgripforceshouldbenoted.Infact,a
robotarmcannothaveagrippingforce,itistherobotgripperitselfthatisapplyinga
forceontheobjecttoretainitfromslipping,especiallyduringmovement.

HOW TO CALCULATE THE MINIMAL GRIPPING FORCE

Thecalculationoftheminimalgrippingforcethattherobotgrippermustapplywill
includethemassofthepartthatmustbemoved,thefrictioncoefficientbetweenthe
fingermaterialandthepartmaterialandthegravitationalaccelerationconstant.Here
isashortpresentationofthecalculation(expressedinmetricunits)thatcanbemade

toapproximatethegrippingforceneededforanapplication.Noticethatthegripping
forceisthesumofallthefingersforce.
F:Grippingforce[N]
u:Coefficientofstaticfriction
m:Massofthepart[kg]
g:Gravitationalacceleration[9.81m/s^2]
a:Acceleration(ifitissignificant)
Tomakesurethepartdoesntslipduringstaticprehension,thegrippingforceshould
behigherthantheweightofthepartitself.
F>m(g+a)/u*(safetyfactor)
Sinceeachapplicationhasitsownfrictioncoefficient,thesafetyfactorshouldbe
enhancedrespectivelyforalowfrictionorhighfrictionuse.Thesafetyfactorshould
likewisebeenhancediftherobothasastrongacceleration/decelerationorthe
possibilityofimpactduringmovement.

2 MORE TIPS ABOUT HOW TO CALCULATE THE

MINIMAL GRIPPING FORCE
Byimprovingthecoefficientforstaticfrictionbetweenthepartandtherobotic
gripper'sfingersyoucanreducethegrippingforceneededonanobject.
ByusingarobotgripperthatcanencompassapartsuchastheRobotiqend
effectoryoucanliftmorethanthesumoftheaboveformula(butkeepin
mindyoustillneedtorespectthepayloadoftheendeffectorandtherobot).
Withthesefewtipsyoushouldnowbeabletodifferentiatebetweenpayloadandgrip
force.Calculatingeachoftheseparameterscorrectlycanalsobecrucialinthe
selectionoftherobotthatyouareconsideringforimplantationinyourworkshop.
Makingtherighttoolchoiceisalwaysimportantandshouldhelpyousavetimeand
moneyattheendoftheday.

Topics:gripper,endeffector,roboticgrippers,2fingergripper,materialhandling,
grippercontrol

Subodh Sarkar
1/30/2014,8:36:15AM

ExcellentandwellwrittenengineeringarticleonRobotics.
Welldone.Thanks!
SubodhSarkar
ReplytoSubodhSarkar

Speedy OBOT
8/22/2014,9:58:18PM

Thanksverymuchfortheinformationprovidedonhowtocalculatethe
minimumgrippingforcerequiredandtheformula.ButpleaseIneedmore
detailsabouttheformula(likeaprove)andprobablythesourceorreference
ReplytoSpeedyOBOT

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