Model #RB3-065/035 Product Manual ©Empire Robotics, Inc.
Table of Contents 1. Overview ........................................................................................ 1 2. Safety Information ......................................................................... 2 3. Packing List and Terminology..................................................... 4 4. Technical Specifications ................................................................ 5 5. Operating Requirements .............................................................. 6 6.
1. Overview Thank you for purchasing a VERSABALL® Gripper from Empire Robotics. VERSABALL® utilizes Empire’s proprietary granular jamming technology to achieve flexible and adaptive gripping through rapid hardness modulation. For video demonstrations of the gripping abilities of this technology visit www.empirerobotics.com. This product manual contains important safety, installation, and usage information to help you get the most out of your VERSABALL® Gripper.
2. Safety Information This model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® Gripper is a research development unit, and therefore has no expressed or implied safety guarantee. Specific safety risks may include but are not limited to the following: General hazards: A. Your model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® Gripper contains rigid aluminum components. The green spherical head of the gripper also becomes very hard when its vacuum-jammed state is induced.
Granular material hazards: F. Your model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® Gripper contains redundant filtering mechanisms to prevent dust particles from entering the atmosphere. In normal use, the model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® Gripper emits trace amounts of dust into the atmosphere. These levels have been measured to be well below the OSHA recommended limits for respirable dust and nuisance dust, as documented in the material’s MSDS.
3. Packing List and Terminology Your model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® gripper is shipped fully assembled and ready to be installed. The gripper has four primary parts as shown in Figure 1 (adapter plate, base, large head, small head). Figure 1 Four #10-24 x 1/2" cap screws attach the adapter plate to the base, and four draw latches attach the base to the head. The draw latches can be released to disengage the head (this is only necessary if the gripper head needs changing or replacement).
4. Technical Specifications This model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® Gripper is a research development unit. Some technical specifications listed in this section only represent expected values based on testing with earlier prototypes. No expressed or implied guarantee of these technical specifications can be made at this time. For best practices on how to achieve maximum performance with your gripper, see Section 8. Small Head Large Head Head diameter 3.5 in 6.5 in Base weight 2.1 lb Head weight 1.4 lb 5.
5. Operating Requirements The most critical aspect of the installation process is air. Without proper air supply and valving, your VERSABALL® can still be configured to function, but operation speeds will be significantly reduced and you’ll have to contact our customer support for some help optimizing the performance of the gripper with the available air supply. Your model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® Gripper has three pneumatic ports as shown in Figure 2, and requires two pressurized air inputs.
port size of 3/8" NPT is recommended. Empire Robotics uses Clippard p/n MME-33WES for internal testing. Best practices for timing the opening and closing of the valves are provided in Section 8. At the release port: We recommend installing tubing with 1/4" outer diameter and 3/16" inner diameter. Other configurations are not recommended; larger diameters may result in rupture of the gripper and smaller diameters adversely affect the inflation speed of the gripper.
Clippard p/n MMF-4W-F5 if you have no other filtering or moisture separation equipment in place. Testing your air supply: Test your air supply to ensure proper pressure and flow rate are available for the gripper. Simply checking the rating on your compressor is often insufficient due to restrictions, distance, and other losses as mentioned previously. Utilizing a pressure gauge and flow meter is recommended.
6. Installation Make sure that your robot is powered down and in a safe position before installing your gripper. Also turn off the air supply at an upstream shut-off valve during installation. Your model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® Gripper comes with an adapter plate and mounting screws in order to easily interface with a variety of industrial robot arms. During shipping the adapter plate is attached to the gripper.
Figure 4 Align the adapter plate with your robot’s wrist and install using the M4, M5, or M6 screws provided (see Figure 5). Figure 5 Reattach the base to the adapter plate using the four #10-24 x 1/2" cap screws (again see Figure 3). This step is a bit easier if you can flip the robot’s wrist to face upward. Be sure to align the base so that the pneumatic ports are well situated for connection to your air source.
Cut the provided air tubing to an appropriate length, making sure to leave enough length to allow full range of motion of the robot. Install the tubing with the push-to-connect fittings as shown in Figure 6. Figure 6 If you separated the base and head pieces prior to installation, reconnect them now. A fully installed gripper is shown in Figure 7.
7. Performance Confirmation & Diagnosis Your model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® Gripper comes with a diagnostic vacuum gauge installed at the auxiliary port. We recommend the following procedure to confirm your gripper’s performance immediately following installation. We recommend using the large head for this test. Repeat the process below whenever you change to a different head size. However, repeating this process is not necessary when simply replacing a worn head with a newer head of the same size. 1.
Figure 8 4. While watching the included vacuum gauge installed at the gripper’s auxiliary port, open the valve connected to the gripper’s grip port and observe the vacuum generation speed. You should be able to observe performance very similar to Figure 9. Figure 9 5. Switch back and forth between opening the grip and release ports several times to make sure performance similar to Figure 9 is achieved. Detailed measurements are not necessary.
If the ultimate vacuum level does not reach at least 22 inHg, either the upstream air supply is restricted or there is a problem with the device. The included vacuum gauge is only capable of ±3 inHg accuracy, which is sufficient for simple install verification. 6. Adjusting the flow-control valve on the release port will require some tuning. A tradeoff exists between inflation (object release/ejection) speed and overinflation protection.
8. Programming and Operation Recommendations VERSABALL® Grippers utilize a technology known as granular jamming to grip and release objects through rapid hardness modulation. You can see this same effect if you buy vacuum-packed coffee at the grocery store – hard as a brick until you release the seal, whereupon the particles will flow more like a fluid.
Figure 11 Your model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® Gripper does not contain any electrical components. The gripper is controlled with usersupplied valves at the gripper’s grip and release ports. This section proceeds with recommendations based on a typical installation (with the VERSABALL® Gripper mounted on a robot arm and controlled by two independent solenoid valves). Modifying these recommendations for other setups should be straightforward.
include: size, shape, weight, hardness, and surface texture. In general though, the gripping capabilities of your VERSABALL® Gripper will correlate with how well the gripper can conform to the target object. The gripper’s versatility does allow it to operate well outside these optimum guidelines, however the farther from optimum any operation is, the less predictable the performance will be. Be careful not to sacrifice optimal performance by forgoing careful programming.
Figure 13 Approach the target object from above as shown in Figure 14. The gripper should be oriented vertically downward (so the logos and labels read horizontal left-to right). Whenever possible, approach in the direction perpendicular to the work surface. Not only does this prevent unintentional movement of the target object, but it also minimizes the force required to deform the gripper.
Figure 15 For more complex target objects, as shown in Figure 16, the optimal alignment may be away from the object’s center. If there are prominent features on the target object that are conducive to good grips, then it may be preferable to center the gripper on these features instead. Figure 16 When objects extend outside of the gripper’s diameter in one dimension, as shown in Figure 17, it is typically preferable to align the center of the gripper with the center of mass (CoM) of the target object.
Conforming to the target object: When the gripper is on approach about 3” above the target object, begin applying positive pressure in order to soften the gripper (i.e. open the valve connected to the gripper’s release port). The pulse should last approximately 1 second and can occur while the gripper is moving. You may find that it is advantageous to continue applying positive pressure as the gripper is pressed onto the target object to aid in gripper deformation.
Figure 18 When choosing the appropriate contact depth for a target object, be careful to use only the minimum depth needed to achieve reliable grips. Driving an object deeper into the gripper to generate unnecessarily high grip forces will serve to decrease the life of the balloon membrane. Vacuum-hardening to grip the object: After contact and deformation of the gripper is complete, vacuumharden the gripper (open the valve connected to the gripper’s grip port).
gripped object directly at a camera also affords the opportunity to locate and orient the object within the grasp. Estimating maximum accelerations: Your model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® Gripper behaves slightly differently for three different types of acceleration – vertical, horizontal, and rotational. Begin by assessing the maximum vertical acceleration, as this limit will be used to obtain estimates for the other two accelerations as well.
edge by some distance d as shown on the right, then for an object of mass m and width w, the maximum acceleration can be estimated as: amax,h ≈ wamax,v 2d which in the limit where w is very small and d is very large, can scale down to a very small value. Figure 19 Releasing the object: Once a successfully gripped object is moved to the desired placement location, application of positive pressure at the release port is required to release the object.
object as well as the gripping routine you have programmed. You can maximize the life of your VERSABALL® heads by slightly varying the gripper’s location and/or orientation as it contacts an object. Gripping objects in exactly the same location and orientation every time will adversely affect gripper head life. Let’s say for example you are programming a routine to grip a small steel cube.
operator during continuous use (approximately every 5,000 grips). During this inspection, the operator should check for signs of wear or damage on the gripper and that it is still functioning properly. Especially if the gripper is operating in a dusty environment, an occasional wipe-down with a damp cloth is recommend. 10. Troubleshooting Because the model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® Gripper is a new technology, some troubleshooting may be expected for first-time users.
12. Warranty As a customer, you are our number one priority, and we pride ourselves on providing you with excellent service and an excellent warranty program. Our approach is simple: (x) if there’s a problem in the design or workmanship in your VERSABALL® Gripper, or (y) if your VERSABALL® Gripper fails when used for the tasks it’s designed for in accordance with the product manual provided along with it, we'll fix it or replace it in order to solve the problem as quickly as possible.
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