Prediction of part orientation error tolerance of a robotic gripper

  • Authors:

  • Matthew Wagner;John Morehouse;Shreyes Melkote

  • Affiliations:

  • The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA;Manufacturing Research Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA;The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

  • Venue:
  • Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing
  • Year:
  • 2009

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Abstract

This paper presents a model which predicts the part orientation error tolerance of a three-fingered robotic gripper. The concept of ''self-alignment'' is introduced, where the gripper uses the grasping process to bring the workpiece into its final state of orientation. The gripper and part are represented mathematically, and initial contact locations upon grasp closure determined. This information is used to solve for the contact forces present, and criteria are developed to determine if beneficial part motion resulting in self-alignment is expected. The results are visualized via a boundary projected on a reference plane below the part. The model is validated experimentally with a number of part configurations with favorable results. This method presents a useful tool by which the mechanical designer can quantitatively predict the performance of an intuitively designed gripping system.