Magnetic gripper allows flexible workpiece handling
25 October 2012
The EGM magnetic gripper from Schunk is the new powerhouse for flexible handling of ferro-magnetic workpieces without interfering contours. In contrast to most of the magnetic grippers, the permanent magnets of the SCHUNK EGM are not actuated pneumatically but are actuated electronically.
As only a short electrical pulse is required to activate and deactivate the EGM range, the gripper is very energy efficient. The EGM magnetic gripper guarantees that components stay reliably gripped, even in the case of an emergency stop or a sudden power loss. The EGM can alternately handle various workpieces without needing additional time or expenditure for set-up, change over of gripper fingers or incur restriction as a result of interfering contours.
The EGM ensures that five sides of the workpiece are freely and easily accessible. With its low weight, extremely high dynamics are achieved when the gripper is faced with challenging applications. Since the gripper comes up to the specifications of protection class IP52, it is the ideal solution for the flexible loading of machine tools.
As an option from SCHUNK, the EGM is available for handling flat components with pole sizes of 32 and 50. It can also handle round components with a pole size of 30. Moreover, it can be equipped with two, four or eight poles. This makes it suitable for use with any current robot and corresponding application. The individually achieved holding forces of the magnetic grippers depend on the characteristics of the workpiece surface, taking into account the material type and the workpiece geometry.
Under ideal conditions, the EGM provide gripping forces between 1.2 and 22.5kN depending on the gripper type. It is designed for maximum component weights of 147kg. Due to its compact design, it can be also used for confined spaces. The maximum ambient temperature amounts to 40°C, and the activation or deactivation time of the EGM is 300ms to 350ms depending on the size.
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