Development of a suction gripper network based on the biological role model of an octopus

The handling of fragile, sensitive or flexible components in assembly technology and production requires grippers that are designed for gentle handling of the objects to be gripped. Suction grippers are still a widespread standard solution for this purpose. However, rising energy prices are making pneumatic grippers, which work with a central upstream compressed air supply, increasingly unattractive. The generation of the compressed air itself, the mostly leaky transmission and the relatively inefficient vacuum generation are cost drivers that many users would like to avoid. Consequently, vacuum-based gripper means are required for industrial production, which work without externally generated compressed air. At the Fraunhofer IWU, a compressed-air-free suction pad composite has been developed that enables gripping of components with a wide variety of shapes. The underlying concept is inspired by the function of the suction arms (tentacles) of an octopus. By evacuating several small volume areas, which can be individually mechanically actuated, safe and sensitive gripping of objects is possible. For the generation of the vacuum, a piston system and a principle of an artificial muscle were developed, which is controlled based on shape memory alloys.