The Co-act EGL-C is the first gripper for collaborative applications in which the gripping force acting on the finger exceeds the safe 140 N limit. As with the SchunkCo-act EGP-C collaborative small parts gripper, Schunk has also placed great value on the support provided by the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) during the product development process for the Co-act EGL-C. This cooperation enabled an early exchange and efficient monitoring and compliance with the standards. In addition, experience was gained on how a safety assessment and certification can be designed in a user-friendly way without compromising on quality in terms of safety. "The safety concept of this gripper is extremely demanding," explains Schunk's Head of Development Prof. Dr. Markus Glück. "Through early coordination during the development of the gripper, we were able to ensure that the safety electronics, safe control technology and the safety concept as a whole paid particular attention to compliance with the standards and relevant legal regulations right from the start," emphasizes Glück.

Gripping in three phases
A safety intelligence system specially developed by Schunk (patent pending) divides the gripping process of the Co-act EGL-C into individual phases: As long as there is a risk of human hands or fingers being trapped, the integrated logic limits the gripping force to a harmless 30 Newtons. The gripper fingers only close with a freely definable gripping force of up to 450 Newtons when the workpiece distance is less than 4 millimetres, i.e. when jamming is no longer possible. If the system detects yielding during this closing phase, for example because a workpiece is gripped that is too small and the operator is about to remove it by hand, this movement also stops automatically. The same applies if the expected workpiece dimensions are exceeded by 2 mm, for example because no part is present. Finally, in the third phase, the gripper detects whether the workpiece is securely gripped and applies the brake. The SCHUNK EGL-C thus fulfills the requirements for safe human-robot collaboration and ensures that gripped parts, which can weigh up to 2.25 kilograms in force-fit mode, are not lost even in an emergency stop situation and the associated emergency braking. Even up to 8 kilograms are possible in positive locking. dsc