Start with the part and grip physics
Record mass, center of gravity, surface, temperature, porosity, stiffness and allowed contact zones. Friction gripping, form closure, vacuum, magnetic or custom tooling each responds differently to acceleration and variation.
- Worst-case part and surface
- Permitted grip areas
- Acceleration and orientation
Protect payload and wrist moments
Add gripper, fingers, adapters, valves, sensors, tool changer, cables and hoses to the workpiece. Use the combined center of gravity in critical poses when checking the robot load diagram.
- Complete EOAT mass
- Center-of-gravity offset
- Cable and hose forces
Design for failure and confirmation
Decide what happens after air or power loss, a missed part, double pick or damaged finger. Add part-present, grip-pressure or jaw-position sensing where the process risk justifies it.
- Fail-safe or retained grip
- Part and grip confirmation
- Reject and recovery sequence
Include changeover and maintenance
High-mix production may justify adjustable fingers, quick-change plates or automatic tool changing. Define wear parts, cleaning, inspection access and replacement time so EOAT remains productive after launch.
- Manual or automatic changeover
- Wear-part and spare strategy
- Cleaning and preventive inspection
Decision checklist
Use the same inputs when comparing supplier proposals.
| Decision area | Inputs to confirm |
|---|---|
| Start with the part and grip physics | Worst-case part and surface; Permitted grip areas; Acceleration and orientation |
| Protect payload and wrist moments | Complete EOAT mass; Center-of-gravity offset; Cable and hose forces |
| Design for failure and confirmation | Fail-safe or retained grip; Part and grip confirmation; Reject and recovery sequence |
| Include changeover and maintenance | Manual or automatic changeover; Wear-part and spare strategy; Cleaning and preventive inspection |
Move from research to a commercial review
Send the workpiece, robot and motion requirements for a gripper and interface review.