Additively Manufactured Robot Gripper Blades for Automated Cell Production Processes

The automation of cell production processes demands strict requirements with regard to sterility, reliability, and flexibility. Robots work in such environments as transporting devices for a huge variety of disposables, e.g., cell plates, tubes, cassettes, and other objects. Therefore, the blades of their grippers must be designed to hold all of these different materials in a stable, gentle manner, and in defined positions, which means that the blades require complex geometries. Furthermore, they should have as few edges as possible, so as to be easy to clean. In this report, we demonstrate how these requirements can be met by producing stainless steel robot grippers by additive manufacturing.