Adaptive Gripping Mechanism

Adaptive Gripping Mechanism


Malte Ahlers from Germany lucked into some FESTO hardware, and used it to build a robotic gripper (site is in German):

I was intrigued by the FESTO FinGripper mechanism which they use for their “Bionic Handling Assistant” so I asked the guys from FESTO if they would give me three samples of the FinGripper fingers — I was lucky, they did :-). These FinGripper fingers are interesting because of their bionic “Fin Ray Effect” which is inspired by the tail fin of teleost fishes. I developed a simple mechanism for actuation of the FinGripper fingers. The result is a very simple, robust, flexible and adaptive robotic gripper which works well with many different kinds of objects. I also did some experiments on force feedback from the gripper. I chose a very simple approach and continuously measure the current of the actuating motor. The current is of course depending on the “mechanical resistance”!

12 thoughts on “Adaptive Gripping Mechanism

  1. Corwin Harris says:

    I would love to see someone add a flex sensor the the fingers so an accurate pressure can be measured/controlled.

    1. Anonymous says:

      Depending on the gearing, you might be able to get it just from the current sink of the motor, without a direct flex sensor.  Of course, if you’re looking for a very sensitive response, that might not be ideal…

      1. malte ahlers says:

        Measuring the motor surrent sink ist exactly what I do to get a “qualitative” measure of the gripping force. It works quite well, as you can see here: http://youtu.be/UHhlX49JooA

  2. Le Khoa says:

    what is the meterial of the mechanical hands??

  3. malte ahlers says:

    The FESTO fingers are made of polyamide. They were fabricated by selective laser sintering. The parts I constructed, i.e. everthing except the fingers are made of PVC. The base plate is of aluminum.

  4. malte ahlers says:

    The FESTO fingers are made of polyamide. They were fabricated by selective laser sintering. The parts I constructed, i.e. everthing except the fingers are made of PVC. The base plate is of aluminum.

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My interests include writing, electronics, RPGs, scifi, hackers & hackerspaces, 3D printing, building sets & toys. @johnbaichtal nerdage.net

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