Schunk Makes a Gripping Debut at IMTS

A particle-free gripping process enables Schunk’s Adheso grippers to be used in hygienically sensitive environments such as electronics and medical manufacturing. Photos courtesy of Schunk.

From Velcro being inspired by the hooks on burdock burrs or the design of new bullet trains taking inspiration from kingfisher birds, sometimes the most sophisticated technology solutions come straight from Mother Nature. Joining this list is Schunk’s Adheso adhesive gripper, a robot end-of-arm tool that uses the same principles of adhesion found on the feet of gecko lizards.

Gecko skin contains small hairs called setae, and these setae can form an adhesive bond to any surface through the Van der Waals forces that occur at a molecular level when the hairs come in contact with a surface. Schunk’s Adheso acts on these same principles to grip workpieces and materials in advanced manufacturing settings.

When placed on the end of a robot or cobot arm and pressed onto a surface, the polymer fibers on Adheso form a bond through the Van der Waals forces created between each fiber and the surface. Collectively these bonds are strong enough to lift up to 35 pounds of nearly any material without leaving a trace of residue.

Adheso gripper technology uses a distinctive surface architecture made of special polymers. The result is a structure of extremely fine legs that adhere residue-free to materials and objects.

To pick up the workpiece, gentle pressure is placed on the structure, which increases the contact surface area and applies the effects of these naturally occurring gripping forces. Releasing the gripper can be achieved by quickly sliding, pressing, tilting or rotating it. The ability to grip a variety of surfaces and shapes, including smooth curved shapes, make the Adheso ideally suited for the medical and electronics industries, says Michael Gaunce, Schunk’s vice president of sales for tooling and workholding.

“The Adheso is a really exciting product and a problem solver that speaks to the principles of innovation as well as ease-of-use and flexibility,” Gaunce says.