Product manual

Model #RB3-065/035 24 R20140519
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. If you use just one pick position/orientation, where the
edges of the cube contact the gripper membrane in the same exact spot
on each grip, then you will dramatically decrease the life of the head.
If however you cycle through five different orientations of the gripper
(which is easy because the gripper is rotationally symmetric), each still
gripping the cube at the center but rotated 72° apart, you should then
achieve lifetimes in the range listed in Section 4. If your object is
rotationally symmetric, like a soup can for example, you’ll need to use
slight variations in the gripper’s pick location (2-3 mm difference)
instead of rotational variations.
In addition, as mentioned previously, 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 also serve
to decrease the life of the balloon membrane.
9. Maintenance
Your model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® Gripper does not require
any regular or preventative maintenance except for brief inspections
by an operator and replacements of worn heads. Without sensors, the
model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® Gripper cannot alert the operator
when head replacement is required. The operator must keep an
approximate count of the number of attempted grips, and should not
exceed the values reported in Section 4. The maximum number of
grips will depend on the specific use-case and objects being gripped,
so regular inspections of the gripper should be conducted in any new
use-case. Because the model #RB3-065/035 VERSABALL® Gripper is
a research development unit, we recommend a brief inspection by an