SCHUNK, Inc. News and Press Releases

Electric Rotary Feed-through Unit EDF For SRU Rotary Actuator

Morrisville, NC (September 22nd, 2008) - Electric rotary feed-through unit EDF for SRU rotary actuator SCHUNK Inc. introduces a new electric feed-through unit as an additional feature for its rotary actuator SRU. This new feed-through unit will prevent twisted or broken cables connecting the end-effectors. Electric sensors and actuators that are connected to the rotational axis are difficult to connect. The necessary cables must either be routed to the side, in order to compensate for the rotation, or they must be fed centrally through the axis. The advantage of the latter is that the cable is only twisted, but its position is not changed. However, this route is difficult because space inside the axis is mostly very restricted. With the new electric rotary feed-through, EDF-SRU, SCHUNK now offers a complete, ready-to-connect solution for the SRU rotary actuator. It enables digital signals to be conveyed to sensors, an...

PZN Plus - New 3 Finger Gripper With Higher Load Capacity

Morrisville, NC (September 20th, 2008) - SCHUNK,Inc. has introduced a complete new series 3-finger concentric gripper – PZN-plus. Extending the capabilities of the current industry standard PZN series, the “Plus” stands for even higher load capacities, longer finger capability and better efficiency. The basis for this increase in efficiency on the PZN-plus is the newly designed jaw guidance. Forces and moments of the gripper - or acting on the gripper - are spread over several surfaces of a multiple-tooth guide, enabling finger length increases of up to 30%. Moment loading capability is greatly enhanced allowing higher external loads to be applied without damage to the gripper or problems with operation. The actuation mechanism is based on the proven double wedge principal. The size of the wedge was increased compared to the standard PZN to assure absolute reliability even under the increased loads. The pneumatic cylinder is...

New O-Ring Gripper ORG 85

Morrisville, NC (September 12th, 2008) - New O-ring Gripper ORG 85 for internal and external Assembly Applications SCHUNK Inc. introduces a new gripper to its extensive line of end-effectors, the O-Ring Gripper ORG 85. This new 6-finger gripper is the world’s first gripper that fits O-rings not only to shafts, but also in holes. Two triple jaw sets that move independently from one another and an integral stroke enable an assembly procedure without precedent, which redefines the concept of “operational reliability”. The O-ring no longer snaps from the fingers into the groove in an uncontrolled manner, but instead is first released from the first three fingers, and only afterwards released from the last three fingers. The advantage: the O-ring has no choice but to slip into the groove. Achieving a reliable process is a frequent problem with conventional multi-finger grippers that are normally used for fitting O-rings. O...

SRU - New Rotary Actuator Series Sets A New Benchmark

Morrisville, NC (September 5th, 2008) - SCHUNK introduces a new series rotary actuator SRU, employing both high load capacities and many new technological advances. The advances start with innovative piston guidance using sleeves in the optimized aluminum housing. The radial clamped end stop adjustments allow easily accessed and fully adjustable rotation angles from 0 to 180 degrees. The housing is not only light it has mounting patterns on both the bottom and side for easy implementation. The revolutionary locked intermediate position is a highlight new feature. An internal mechanical ball locking mechanism provides rigid center position locking and center position dampening just like the end positions. The standard hydraulic shock absorbers assure smooth, fast and accurate positioning. Bore sizes ranging from diameter 20mm to 60mm and are available both single and double powered to produce torques from 1.5Nm to 72...

PZV - New 4-Finger Concentric Gripper

Morrisville, NC (August 18th, 2008) - SCHUNK Inc. introduces a new series of 4-finger centric grippers known as PZV. Currently, 2- and 3-finger grippers cover most industrial and automation handling tasks. They offer high positioning accuracy when gripping coplanar cylindrical workpieces. 4-finger grippers are required if cylindrical workpieces are palletized in a grid. In the case of a 3-finger gripper, however, at least one of the fingers interferes with a neighboring component. The PZV takes advantage of the given space at the quadrants of the workpieces with its four fingers. The PZV gripper is ideal for these applications. To make the PZV versatile during other applications, you can use it as a parallel gripper for clamping different parts by mounting two different sets of fingers. This eliminates the need to change tooling, while also reducing setup time. The PZV is available in 4 sizes and achieves grip forces f...