DESIGN AND OPERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS OF A NONCONTACT ROBOTIC HANDLING-SYSTEM FOR NONRIGID MATERIALS

The application of automation for handling non-rigid products is limit ed due to the lack of suitable end effecters. The majority of end effe cters used for handling electromechanical parts in industry an not eas ily applicable, because non-rigid products (particularly food products ) have a somewhat unpredictable and unstable behaviour which arises fr om their individual physical properties. End effectors based on multip le fingers are difficult to control in real time when dealing with non -rigid materials, whose behaviour under dynamic and gravitational forc es needs to be accommodated. This paper introduces a new material hand ling system for use in industry. This system consists of a novel non-c ontact end effector, which has been developed and applied at the Unive rsity of Salford. The end effector operates on the principle of genera ting a high-speed fluid Row between the nozzle(s) and product surface, thereby creating a vacuum which levitates the product. Guidelines wil l be provided for the design of a non-contact end effector that is sui table for the handling of a specific material in a practical handling application. A design and development procedure and the concept of a n on-contact end effector handling system will be explained. Conclusions drawn from the experimental results will be discussed. (C) 1998 Elsev ier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.