Contact Engineering Team:
- Greg Pasienski (Project Manager)
- Jessica Watkins
- Jason McPeak
- William Mann
The project consists of an endeffector with force feedback, the Digital Panel Meter (DPM-3) supplied by Transducer Techniques, and an automatic control circuit designed by Cutting Edge Robotics Engineers. The endeffector is capable of clutching objects weighing up to 2 lbs. The DPM-3 has a high speed micro processor that can be used for a variety of monitoring and control applications. The desired endeffector gripper force can be easily dialed into the DPM-3. The control circuit uses relays and ladder logic to control the endeffector. The system is fully automatic. A momentary contact activates the circuit. The fingers synchronously close until an object is encountered or the inside microswitch is tripped. Once the dialed in force has been established a relay in the DPM-3 shuts off power to the motor. To release an object clutched by the grippers, a momentary contact switch is pushed. The fingers then move synchronously outward until the outside microswitch is tripped which in turn shuts down the circuit. The endeffector can easily be controlled by an industrial robot using two momentary contact switches and alarm relays on the DPM-3. Special thanks to the following companies for donating machine work
Special thanks to Transducer Techniques for helping us fund the DPM-3.
The picture below shows the DPM-3, the control circuit, and the end-effector. The DPM-3 has a high-speed microprocessor that can be used for a variety of monitoring and control applications. The desired end-effector gripper force can be easily dialed into the DPM-3. The control circuit uses relays and ladder logic to control the end-effector. The system is fully automatic. A momentary contact activates the circuit. The fingers synchronously close until an object is encountered or the inside microswitch is tripped. Once the dialed in force has been established a relay in the DPM-3 shuts off power to the motor. To release an object clutched by the grippers, a momentary contact switch is pushed. The fingers then move synchronously outward until the outside microswitch is tripped which in turn shuts down the circuit. The end-effector can easily be controlled by an industrial robot using two momentary contact switches and alarm relays on the DPM-3.
Rendered view of the redesigned end-effector base. The base shall be reduced to half of its original height and six holes will be drilled to reduce weight.