Description
Universal handling systems are getting more and more relevant nowadays. Their unique ability to adapt to different objects and their various shapes enable cost savings by minimizing the number of handling systems and reducing set-up times. Furthermore, the mentioned aspects are advantageous for the hybrid forging manufacturing process, where the objects change their geometry several times. However, this work deals with the discrepancy between universal gripper, consisting mostly of polymer materials and the high temperature of the forging objects. Universal grippers are predominantly made of monolithic elastic material to achieve high functionality. However, the material has the disadvantage of only being applicable in a small temperature range, whereby the forging process reaches temperatures of up to 1200 °C. One type of monolithic grippers are so called Fin Ray grippers that use fingers based on the Fin Ray effect to close around objects when they encounter them. This adjustment takes place passively, requiring a minimum of actuation, which is advantageous for use at high temperatures. Therefore, we have designed a Fin Ray finger made of heat-resistant bulk material to close the mentioned gap. Our design consists of rigid links connected with joints providing shape variability. The thermal condition was taken into account as the temperature of the objects reaches up to 1200 °C. Thereby, temperature-related effects occur, such as thermal expansion, which strongly influence the design of the finger. To investigate this, a thermal simulation is used. Furthermore, an investigation of the adaptability is carried out based on a multi-body FEM simulation. In this process, the finger is specified in an iterative process based on hybrid demonstrator components.
