What are soft grippers and where do we use them!

SoftGripping technology has been around for quite some time, but rather in the research environment. Good thing that this technology has finally proven itself in many factories around the world. We are SoftGripping, a company from Germany ready to bring you the latest developments in this field all for a reasonable price while having all FDA certification you might need in your automation setups.

So what exactly is a soft gripper?

That's an easy answer: Usually, mechanical and pneumatic grippers are stiff and do not wrap around objects. With soft grippers made out of silicon and rubber compounds that can move and wrap around objects when actuated, we can simulate a human hand. Everything that can be gripped by a human hand, can be gripped with a SoftGripper as well. This comes in handy, when you have to move stuff fast, reliable, position agnostic and safe! Safe not only from process standpoints but regarding something like cobot or even educational applications! 

What processes can be automated with a SoftGripper?

The first application that comes in mind is moving foodstuff. You have a lot of applications where foods are harvested, picked up and placed into crates, sorted and packaged. Perfect for a FDA certified tool. But to be honest, this technology comes in handy, when you do not care about exact positioning of your robot. It just needs to grab the object somehow. Here, our grippers adjust to the object, wrap around it and carefully carry it from A to B. 

How to get the latest information to the SoftGripping technology used?

Of course, there is a newsletter you can subscribe to, but here are some topics you might be interested in. We distinguish between industrial robotics applications like food handling and scientific ones like training new AI to catch throws. We publish whitepapers that are dealing with one topic at a time. Here are some examples:

• Lets say you are dealing with handling bakery products! Yes, we have you covered. Here is an article and a whitepaper that focus on processes to automate starting from local bakeries, moving to SMEs and at last to large factories. 
• But how about custom grippers that are not presented on the portfolio in the RobotShop? Well, besides our online page you can contact us and we will make sure to help you with your project. This is what Projx Automation LTD has done, so we came up with a special gripper to handle large lettuces and salads using our gripping fingers and our knowledge in rapid prototyping for the food industry. Are you interested in seeing how engineering a full project can be done in just a couple of weeks? Take a look at the article and whitepaper we have prepared.

You are from a university or school and on a budget? We have you covered!

Yes, we know about the struggle that the education system faces in many countries. But besides the standard industrial models we offer, there is a more cost sensitive line of products you can take a look at: The educational SoftGripper. Developed for the Dobot, we recognized that the educational system needs the most basic grippers, not for high-speed tasks, not for primary food handling 24/7, but for a good grip! First, we developed the Dobot Magician SoftGripper but realized, that a lot of you have more sophisticated cobot variants in use. So a kit to fit them all together with the basic grippers you need was the best way to move forward: The Educational SoftGripper Kit.