Most industrial robots must work in enclosed work stations to keep people out. If someone does come in, an interlock shuts the robot down to prevent it from harming anyone. An alternative has been to use light screens and sophisticated proximity and motion detectors—again, to prevent a robot from striking anyone while it is performing its task.
The newest robots are collaborative robots, also known as cobots. They are designed to work (collaborate) with humans. Rather than stop working, they use sophisticate sensing systems to work alongside humans. So even though the robot itself may work safely around humans, gripping a workpiece can still be a challenge. That’s one reason why vacuum grippers are widely used with cobots: Vacuum avoids pinch points that otherwise occur between a gripper’s fingers and a work piece.
Piab, Hingham, Mass., recently introduced piCOBOT system, an end-of-arm vacuum tool designed specifically for use with cobots. It uses Piab’s vacuum multi-stage vacuum generators and industry-certified plug-and-play extensions to the latest cobots. And Piab officials say the piCOBOT’s end-of-arm-tool is designed to fit any type of cobot arm.
Offered as a development kit, piCOBOT comprises a vacuum pump unit, a gripper unit, and vacuum suction cups. The standard kit includes four different sets of suction cup models suitable for a variety of tasks, but users can also choose freely from the company’s extensive range of suction cups for more specific setups.
