HANNOVER MESSE: SCHUNK Opens New Fields of Application in Handling With Bio-Inspired Adhesion Mechanisms
April 21, 2021
The bionic inspired gripper technology ADHESO is based on the principle of adhesion, using the intermolecularly acting Van der Waals forces for handling. The patented surface architecture is made of special polymers and is optimized by numerical simulation. The result is a structure of extremely finely structured legs, which adheres to the different materials and objects. The structure is gently pressed onto the workpiece during the gripping process, thus increasing the contact surface, and the Van der Waals forces can start acting on the workpiece. This effect can be reversed by applying a slight pressure/rotary movement so that the gripper can be loosened residue-free from the handling object. The alternative use of a wiper ensures that the object is gently put down.
The respective adhesive forces and removal of ADHESO depend on the variation of material, topography, and miniaturization, and is customized to the different requirements of the relevant environment. Therefore, the adhesive structures can be adapted application-specific to the required size and the loading condition (horizontal/vertical), and can be designed transparent, translucent or opaque. This is the big advantage: the high degree of individualization ensures that components with dimensions of a few hundred micrometers can be handled as reliably as those measuring several meters. Experienced application specialists of the SCHUNK team support the users during the design and planning phase. If desired, users can have their application tested under realistic conditions.
Effort and costs for installation and commissioning are minimal, since the adhesive technology is gentle to the components, low-noise, and doesn’t require compressed air, vacuum or current. Neither for gripping nor for maintaining the gripping force an external energy supply is necessary.
