Design and Analysis of a New Compliant Gripper for Microgripper Applications

Abstract

The compliant gripper is used for gripping, handling, and assembling objects in the micro-manipulation system. Micro displacement with high gripping force is required in the design of the microgripper. In this paper, a new compliant gripper based on the miniaturizing mechanism is proposed, studied, and verified. The micro displacement is achieved by using a double inverted 2D pantograph with a guiding mechanism. The advantage of the proposed gripper is the capability to achieve both large and micro griping displacement with a fixed orientation. The proposed micro gripped can miniaturize the input displacement by miniaturizing factors based on the mechanism links. Moreover, the actuation of the proposed gripper can be achieved by a mechanical or pneumatic actuator. The kinematic analysis and velocity of the proposed gripper are studied in detail. The simulation results are carried out using ANSYS software to validate the feasibility of the conceptual design. The results of the finite element analysis (FEA) are shown to be consistent with the results of the derived analytical model. An experimental test was carried out through a 3D printed prototype, the results of which verified the excellent performance of the proposed compliant gripper.