An egg is a perfect experiment, although I think a hardboiled one makes more sense. A raw egg can be tough to grasp correctly without breaking it by a human hand attached to a human paying close attention (I speak from experience...).
,,,or an egg. They would even impress me if it were a hard-boiled egg. You'd still see a shell crack if the grip was too abrupt. Regardless, the devices all do seem quite well-engineered. I guess the wisdom in this is for us all to continue to mimic nature, which has countless perfect designs. Thanks for the chat.
Thanks, Jim. That's the one I'd guessed. You're right, a better illustration would have been if the grippers were shown closing on an actual object, instead of air.
This is great engineering for robot end of arm tooling. The gripping motion seems smooth and solid. I have seen many times where a company will put in a 100,000 dollar robot cel, but the end of arm tooling looks like an Erector set.
Ann, the point I specifically admired was in the 2nd video, (Festo Power Gripper) during the first video segment of the 3-piece mechanical claw. This device was constructed with (3) grippers, radially spaced at 120° and showed the grasping motion while closing. Unfortunately the vide showed the gripper closing onto nothing (no target object; only air) but that gave a clear view of the effect I described as first snapping, then slowing to a controlled pressure grasp. Apparently, a very natural mimicry.
Nice to see designers looking to nature for inspiration. Who knows how many design iterations had to take place to end up with the various functional forms of birds' beaks? As a designer, I've often turned to nature to get some insight into some difficult mechanical structures. Thanks for the article.
Festo is definitely the leader of biomimicry based robotic systems as evident by this article and past ones written. I can see why animals are used as the inspirational force behind their designs because of their agility and speed. Manufacturing processes need to be lean and efficient. By using robots with the animal agilities, parts assembly processes,for example, can be expedited with ease. The Festo product videos are great to look at as well. Great article.
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
The 3D printing revolution seems to have a knack for quickly moving technology ahead by way of collaborative effort and even a little friendly competition -- all of course in the name of scientific advancement.
Advantech has launched a new series of motion-control I/O modules to meet the increased demands that come with more distributed industrial systems that require control of a growing number of axes and devices.
Using almost 200 light-emitting diodes in the front and back of the new 2014 CTS, Cadillac designers are showing how LEDs can change the character of a vehicle.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
4 
