Trade fair highlight 09. October 2023

For lifting, grabbing or positioning ferromagnetic products such as sheet steel in the automotive and steel processing industries, among others, Waalre-based Goudsmit Magnetics recently developed an electrically switchable magnetic gripper. This system requires no compressed air and complements the current generation of pneumatically-controlled magnetic grippers. The end-of-arm tool can be attached to robots and manipulators and holds a steel sheet or other product once gripped firmly in place, even during pick and place operations. The energy-efficient magnet system has a bi-stable design, ensuring process safety even in case of power failure, an emergency stop or malfunction. With its plug-and-play design, the safe E-gripper requires little energy and eliminates the need for costly compressed air; something that the current generation of magnetic grippers do need. The gripper is mechatronically constructed and contains no moving parts. It is wear-resistant and has a long service life of more than ten million cycles. The operation can be seen here. (https://youtu.be/eWcVsZnqXyI)


Intelligent end-of-arm tool
The electrically switchable magnetic gripper was developed from market demand. Users do not always have compressed air available and want a safe and reliable system for automation processes. The magnetic gripper is equipped with a complete set of sensors, including inductive sensors for detecting product presence, as well as Hall sensors for signalling the on/off position. If the workpiece is lost due to a collision or for any other reason, the PLC receives a real-time notification , so the line controller can react accordingly and the production process does not experience any serious disruption. Moreover, the E-Gripper is equipped with all-round visible LED lighting that indicates the status of the system with colours and light signals. This is particularly convenient for operators.