When humans and machines work together, companies have to meet strict safety requirements. At the same time, they can gain advantages from human-robot collaboration (HRC), such as ergonomics and relief for employees. If robots are used in strategically clever places where workers can be relieved, the number of sick days can be reduced, which, among other things, increases productivity. This is where Fluidtechnik Bückeburg comes in and introduces the Unigripper Co-Light: The vacuum area gripper was developed by the Swedish company Tepro Machine & Pac System and is distributed in German-speaking countries by Fluidtechnik Bückeburg.

Predecessor versions of the area gripper have been proving their worth for years in various applications. The valve technology was patented back in 1997: The vacuum is generated by means of an ejector or side channel blower. It is then fed to the product via individual suction holes in the gripper, allowing it to be sucked in. The system automatically recognizes the areas in which a product is located under the gripper; the full vacuum flow is only released at these points. This means that the area gripper can be used to handle goods of different sizes - even products made of porous materials such as cardboard or wood.

Now, with the Unigripper Co-Light, a variant is on the market that is particularly suitable for cooperation between man and machine with a low payload. The additional installation of a vacuum regulator with improved vacuum flow ensures that the risk of crushing for the worker is reduced. This allows the vacuum to be regulated depending on the respective requirements. This contributes to a lower risk of injury and also results in lower compressed air and energy consumption.

In order to meet safety requirements for HRC, the manufacturer has rounded all corners of the gripper. As it is manufactured from a plastic-metal-sinter mixture using an additive printing process, the Unigripper Co-Light is 30 percent lighter than its predecessor model, the Light Weight Gripper. The low weight offers advantages at high cycle rates. The integrated tool change function makes it possible to remove the module within a very short time and replace it with another robot attachment so that there is no downtime during the production process. Installation is also simple: in addition to being connected to the robot, the area gripper only needs to be supplied with compressed air. pb