Design and Fabrication of Pneumatic

Gripper for Robotic Manipulation

By
Tasnim Ahmed Tahasin 201636026
Mostafizur Rahman 201636029
Nafisa Ali Anika 201636037

Under the Supervision of

Dr. N. R. Dhar
Professor
Professor, IPE Dept, BUET
Outlines
Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Design and Fabrication
Optimization
Result and Discussion
Conclusion and Recommendation

16/2
Introduction
A robotic gripper is an important part of a robotic system that
interacts with the environment and objects.
The end effectors are actuated by various mechanisms which
include mechanical drives, electrical drives, hydraulic drives
and Pneumatic drives.
Among this, the widely used one is the hydraulic grippers but
the most favorable one is the pneumatic gripper on which this
paper is based on.
There are many types of grippers. The most common grippers
are jaw type, vacuum and magnetic grippers. Fig : Vacuum Cup Gripper
Vacuum cup grippers are used in the robots for grasping the
non-ferrous objects and packets.
The vacuum cup grippers operate using Bernoulli Principle for
generating high-speed flow between the vacuum cup and
product surface thereby creating a vacuum that lifted the
product.
16/3
 Introduction
 Picking is a task that is easy for humans, but a challenging one for robots. [McCulloch
and Herath, 2016].
 The robotic grippers are required to be capable to perform stable grasps and
manipulations in unstructured environments. So, performing a stable grasp is the most
important target of gripper design.
 One approach to solve this issue may be the use of flexible, soft material grippers that
could be able to adapt to a range of different shapes. The selection of a gripper device is
important as it remains between robot and workpiece.

Major Factors in choosing a Pneumatic Gripper Design:

Part Weight
Accessibility
Environmental
Retention of the Object

16/4
Literature Review
Author (s) Journal Remark(s)
and Year
Haibin et al. 2018 The grasping force model was nonlinear with no
analytical solution.
Lévesque et al. 2018 Proposed a model-based scooping grasp that is
capable of picking thin objects on a flat surface.
C. Canali et al 2014 Proposed a high reconfigurable robotic gripper which is
designed to be able to grasp objects of various shapes,
material, weight, and dimension.
Giulio Rosati et al. 2017 Conducted an experiment where the system needs deeper
tests on the robot to demonstrate its effective advantages.
B. S. Kim et.al 2012 Represented the fabrication of an end-effector of a
robotic micro-manipulation system by a piezoelectric
actuator
Hassan and 2017 Developed the configuration of the gripper with a set
Abomoharam with variable values.

16/5
Literature Review
Scope
 This project is focused on designing and fabricating pneumatic robotic grippers which will
concentrate on picking and placing flat objects.

 Best gripper material can be identified by testing different grippers made of several
materials 

 The optimum configurations can be found which will keep the system functions as well as
economically efficient

 The gripper can be designed in such a way that it can handle both smooth and rough
surfaces

 The power consumptions of the gripper can be evaluated for further optimization.
 Grippers performance at high speed and precision pick and place operation and conveyor
picking can be evaluated 16/6
Objectives
Design and fabrication of pneumatic grippers that pick and place
objects easily
Determine the type of objects which the gripper can grasp best.
Compare the grippers with conventional suction cups for
evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency if designed grippers
Reduce the risk of damage and failure
Maintain optimum quality with appropriate cost

16/7
Methodology
Grippers with the physical dimensions are designed including
1. the study of history of different pneumatic grippers
2. the physical parameters associated with a gripper.
3. Parameters such as the maximum pressure of the object
4. its physical movement are taken care of.
Suction cup of varied thickness are tested for knowing the ability of the cups during the
pressure change phenomena.
Pick and Place mechanism for each suction cups are observed and tested for different
item to make a comparison among them.
Appropriate pneumatics for the grippers is selected which includes the selection of
appropriate pneumatics.
1. Vacuum suction cups play an essential role in the design of every vacuum-handling
system.

16/8
Methodology
2. To lift and manipulate an object, a vacuum-generating device called vacuum pump is
used to reduce the atmospheric pressure inside the vacuum suction cup and create a
partial vacuum. This pressure difference (when compared with the pressure of the air
around the vacuum suction cup) pushes down on the cup, squashing it against the
object, and, at the same time, pushing the object against the inner walls of the cup due
to the lower pressure.
3. pipe acts as a connector between suction cup and the vacuum pump while valve is
used to control the air flow. A barometer is also used to observe the pressure.
4. The lifting capacity of a vacuum suction cup can be determined using this simplified
holding force formula: F = P × A. Where
F = Weight of the object
P = Expected vacuum level
A = Effective area of the vacuum suction cup
Theoretical holding force is calculated for all the suction cups to determine the maximum
load that it can carry in static condition.
16/9
Methodology
 In case of power or system failure, vacuum can be maintained using the non-return valves
or check valves that provide a robust seal if the vacuum pump suddenly fails.

1. Designed suction cup is a double lip design that acts as an extra safety barrier. If the
cup’s outer lip is accidentally torn or cut, the inner lip will make sure that such damage
does not have fatal consequences.
2. It also safeguards against the effects of overloading.

To account for these and other external influences, we included a safety factor in holding
force calculation. Designed gripper is Contamination-resistant design that minimize the
maintenance cost as its parameters are optimized using response surface design and analysis.

16/10
Design and Fabrication
Pneumatic grippers using 3D printing technology have been designed
and developed for pick and place operation
Two kinds of suction cups are designed and fabricated:
- Suction Gripper made of TPU material using 3d printing
of 2 mm of thickness
- Suction Gripper made of TPU material using 3d printing
of 4 mm of thickness
- Plastic Gripper known as Hijama cup

16/11
Design and Fabrication

b c

Figure 4.1 : (a)Top view of the TPU suction cup (2 mm thickness), (b)
Front view of the TPU suction cup (2mm Thickness), (c) Isometric view of
the TPU suction cup (2mm Thickness

16/12
Design and Fabrication

b
a

Fig. 4.2 :Various view of the TPU suction cup (4 mm Thickness) (a) Top
view, (b) Right view and (c) Isometric view
16/13
Design and Fabrication

a b

35 mm
φ66
mm

c d

Fig 4.3: Various view of the Plastic suction cup (a) Top view, (b) Right
view, (c) Front view and (d) Isometric view
16/14
Design and Fabrication

a b c

Fig 4.4: Fabricated Grippers (a)3D printed of 4 mm Thickness (TPU

material), (b) 3D printed of 2 mm Thickness (TPU material), (c) Plastic
gripper

16/15
Design and Fabrication

Fig 4.5: Equipment of Experimental Setup

16/16
Design and Fabrication

Fig. 4.6: Experimental Setup of Pick and Place Operation

16/17
Optimization of Design Parameters
Aimed to optimize the design parameters of the suction cup using Response
Surface Method
Response of the analysis is theoretical holding force the cup

Table 5.1: Factors for Response Surface Study

Factor Unit Lebel Low Level High Level

Vacuum Pressure MPa V -.055 -.025

Diameter of the Suction Cup cm D 6 6.6

Thickness of the Suction Cup mm B 2 4

16/18
Optimization of Design Parameters
The design parameters of the suction cup will be analyzed using a standard
RSM design called a central composite design (CCD)
The experiment was conducted for two days; therefore, two blocks were taken
for each day.
The impact of blocks because can be blocked out in the analysis because
scatter plot visually shows there is not much of a difference between the
center point results for block 1 and 2
Both Linear and two factor interaction (2FI) model qualifies for the analysis,
but in this experiment, 2FI model is chosen because it has higher adjusted R2
value.
The adequacy of the 2FI model is confirmed by ANOVA

16/19
Optimization of Design Parameters
Analyzing the model graphs

Fig. 5.12: Perturbation Plot to Detect the Sensitivity of the Factors

16/20
Optimization of Design Parameters
Analyzing the model graphs

a b
Fig. 5.12: Perturbation Plot to Detect the Sensitivity of the Factors,(a) Diameter
6.6 cm (b) Diameter 6 cm
16/21
Optimization of Design Parameters
Numerical Optimization

Fig. 5.18: Solution of numerical optimization maximizing the holding force

16/22
Optimization of Design Parameters
Graphical Optimization

Fig. 5.22: Overlay plot for graphical optimization

16/23
Optimization of Design Parameters
Result of Optimization:

From numerical optimization, it is observed that the

holding force is maximized when the diameter is 6.6
cm and the thickness is 2 mm.

From graphical optimization, further parameters

can be derived depending on the weight the cup has
to handle in commercial prospect

16/24
Result and Discussion
A vacuum pump is used as a pneumatic drive to create pressure.
All the grippers are tested whether they can grip all types of material
such as plastic, paper, glass, etc.
The amount of vacuum pressure they need for each type of material
is also tested.
The gripper is held to the object and the vacuum pressure recorded
to give an indication of air leakage and tightness of the grip. Then,
the subjective strength of the grip is measured by gently pulling on
the gripper while the object is resting on the ground (Grip). This is
followed by subjecting the item to gravity by using the gripper to lift
the item up off the ground (Hold). Some items may initially pass the
grip test, but then fail the hold test due to gravity distorting the
surface of the objects or an unbalanced weight distribution.
Additionally, the amount of weight they can lift for pick and place
purpose has also tested.

16/25
 Table 6.1: Values of different parameters for a variety of loads
No of Negative Negative Pressure Weight (load lifted)
Material
observation Pressure (MPa) (mmHg) Kg
1 -0.055 -400 .045
2 -0.05 -380 .128
TPU 3 -0.05 -380 .158
(4 mm 4 -0.05 -380 .210
thickness) 5 -0.035 -250 .377
6 -0.03 -220 .466
7 -0.025 -200 .560
1 -0.055 -400 .045
2 -0.055 -400 .128
TPU 3 -0.055 -400 .466
(2 mm 4 -0.055 -400 .851
thickness) 5 -0.045 -350 1.457
6 -0.035 -250 2.56
7 -0.03 -220 3.21
8 -0.025 -200 3.6 16/26
 Table 6.1: Values of different parameters for a variety of loads

No of Negative Negative Pressure Weight (load lifted)

Material
observation Pressure (MPa) (mmHg) Kg
Plastic 1 -0.065 -500 .045
2 -0.065 -500 .127
3 -0.065 -480 .228
4 -0.06 -460 .645
5 -0.06 -460 .881
6 -0.06 -460 1.688
  7 -0.055 -400 2.78
  8 -0.05 -380 3.45
  9 -0.045 -350 4.23
  10 -0.04 -300 5.12
  11 -0.035 -250 5.91
  12 -.03 -220 6.4
  13 -.025 -200 6.9
16/27
 Table 6.1: Values of different parameters for a variety of loads

No of Negative Negative Pressure Weight (load lifted)

Material
observation Pressure (MPa) (mmHg) Kg

Rubber 1 -0.065 -480 .466

2 -0.065 -480 1.230
3 -0.06 -460 1.530
4 -0.06 -460 1.747
  5 -.055 -400 3.56
  6 -.050 -380 4.65
  7 -.045 -350 5.12
  8 -.04 -300 6.23
  9 -.035 -250 6.95
  10 -.03 -220 7.51
  11 -.025 -200 8.4
16/28
Result and Discussion

Fig. 6.1: Pressure vs load graph for different suction cup

16/29
Result and Discussion
•Suction cup is hold
made physical
contact with the •Vacuum Release
object and
Conform to the mechanism • Object is
Grasp the • Object
shape of the positioned
object while released
object for to the
changing and
airtight sealing desired
location of suction
location
the object cup gets
Place back to
it's shape
pick

Fig. 6.2: Schematic Diagram of Pick and Place

operation
16/30
Result and Discussion

16/31
Result and Discussion

16/32
 Table 6.2: Characteristic of items and hold and grip test result
Hold and Grip
 
Characteristic / Surface
Item TPU TPU
Tested Rubber Plastic
suction cup suction cup
suction cup suction cup
(2 mm thickness) (4mm thickness)
Small sugar box Plastic    
Mug cover Melamine    
Half Plate Ceramic    
Glucose Packet Aluminum foil    
Power bank Smooth    
Bag Rexine    
Foam Board smooth surface    
bowl Glass    
lid Aluminum    
Paper smooth surface    
small lid Tin rough surface    
16/33
Result and Discussion
Table 6.3: Theoretical holding forces for different cups
Material or Highest Coefficient Gravitationa Safety Friction
properties of Weight (load of friction, μ l factor  force 
Suction Cup lifted) acceleration (N)
Kg  (ms2) Fs

TPU (4 mm .560 0.6 9.81 1.5 4.9

Thickness)

TPU (2 mm 1.457 0.6 12.86

Thickness)

Plastic  6.5 0.5 47.82

Rubber 9.5 0.5 69.89

16/34
 Result and Discussion
Fig. 6.9: Theoretical holding
force of different suction cups
In Pick and place operation, we observed that
rubber suction cup required more time to hold
and release the object as it deforms its shape for
pick and place operation. On the other hand, it
generated fully airtight seal, thus it was able to
grab the highest weight among all the cups used.
But it was not able to grip paper specially book.
On the other hand, plastic suction cup couldn’t
deform its shape. So, it was not able to grip and
grasp object that have rough surface as it was not
able to generate vacuum under this circumstance.
Suction cup with less thickness was able to
generate enough vacuum to pick and place more
weight than the thicker one. Reason behind this is
that, it is made of flexible material and because of
less thickness it was permitted to shape change
and grasp object.
16/35
Conclusion and Recommendation
Based on the results of the present experimental investigation the following conclusion can be
drawn:
Suction is a highly capable method of gripping items. Here vacuum pump approach has
been tested with designed suction cups that can pick and place the load.
Through the Suction cup gripping approach, the factors influencing the design parameter
used for the industrial robot has been observed. Load-carrying parameters of the suction
cup were tested and compared using varieties of vacuum cup shapes and sizes along with
different materials (rubber, TPU flexible material, plastic).
From the experiments, it is well understood that vacuum cups must be designed according
to the purpose that it would serve, and they are useful for gripping rigid loads of varying
shapes, sizes, weights.
From the design and fabrication of a pneumatic gripper, we have found out that pneumatic
gripper has many advantages and is one of the modern techniques in the world of robotics
which makes pick and drop work easier and much faster than the conventional techniques.
While maintaining proper safety, relative distance and alignments, multiple objects can
also be handled using suction cups.

16/36
Conclusion and Recommendation
Additionally, it is easy to handle thin flat sheets and other low dimension materials with
pneumatic grippers which requires intelligent handling. Suction cups made of TPU
materials are flexible yet to be lightweight.
Using pneumatic grippers, highly dynamic acceleration and operation have been possible
to achieve within low cost. Easy, low-cost fabrication procedures and simple control
strategies are key advantages of these types of the pneumatic gripper.

Future Work
 Throughout studies and experiments, various assumptions were considered due to a lack of
resources and the environment. Further researchers can change the environment and
change the coefficient of friction between the vacuum cup and the items to be picked.
 Different types of gripping surfaces, gripping materials and varying thickness and
dimensions of suction cups can be made to test the gripping force for the pneumatic robotic
gripper.
 Analytical models can be developed for the betterment of the control system.
 Timing and indicators may be attached for observing proper gripping time.

16/37
 Thank You
Any Question ?

16/38
Appendix

20/39
Abstract
To reduce labor costs and to ensure consistent quality control of
the process, robotics has been familiarized in industry to replace
humans in demanding and repetitive tasks. In factory automation
and industrial manufacturing, abstract material handling and pick
and place mechanism are widely used methods and based on
applications, different motor technologies have been designed and
employed. High speed and reliability and low robot gripper costs
are necessary for a worthwhile pick and place process. For
positioning and orientation of objects, robotic manipulation is
essential as gripper helps in gripping, sucking, lifting, placing and
releasing.
Therefore, design and fabrication of suction cup and pneumatic
mechanism is a promising approach for pick and place material
with flat surface. However, current grippers are not able to handle
products properly because they have uneven shapes, are flexible
and irregular, have different textures and are very delicate to
being damaged.
40
Abstract
The main aim of work is to design the gripper mechanism and
vacuum suction mechanism working in single and multiple pick
and place operations. In this research work, pneumatic gripper of
varied thickness has been designed and developed using 3D
printing technology and the vacuum mechanism is designed using
vacuum pump, pipe and control valve. Experiments validate that
the designed gripper was highly effective in terms of accurate
picking and placing and shows encouraging results include
effective picking in smooth as well as rough surfaces. Further
pneumatic grippers of varied thicknesses were compared with
conventional suction cups for evaluating overall effectiveness and
efficiency of the designed gripper. The force for the gripper and
working of the vacuum suction is checked and observed for loads
at various pressures.

41
 a b c

Fig 2.2: Various grippers, (a) Rigid Wide Body Parallel Gripper, (b) Pneumatic
d e
Three Jaw Parallel Gripper, (c) Two Jaw Style Toggle Lock Angular Grippers, (d)
Three Jaw Style Toggle Lock Angular Grippers and (e) Single Jaw Parallel
Gripper-One Fixed Jaw Style
42
 Appendix
Table 4.1: Details of the parts and properties of the pneumatic gripper
and its experimental setup
Parts  Properties  Values
Diameter 6.6 cm
Suction Gripper (TPU)
Height of Cup 3 cm
2 mm Thickness
Height of Connector 1 cm
Diameter 6.6 cm
Suction Gripper (TPU) 4 mm
Height of Cup 3.5 cm
Thickness
Height of Connector 1 cm
Diameter 6 cm
Plastic Gripper Height of Cup 5.5 cm
Height of Connector 1.4 cm
Diameter 5.6 cm
Rubber Cup Height of Cup 4 cm
Height of Connector 27 cm
16/43
 Appendix
Table 4.1: Details of the parts and properties of the pneumatic gripper
and its experimental setup(Continued)
Parts Power .5 HP
Watt 378 W
Voltage 220-240 V
Frequency 50 Hz
Speed 1450 rpm
Vacuum Pump
Vacuum DE 600 mm HG
Flow Rate 135 L/min
Net Weight 9.5 kg
H*W*L 36*16.5*23
Diameter 1 cm
Pipe
Length 62 cm
Min. Pressure .15 MPa
Regulator
Max. Pressure .8 MPa
16/44
Appendix

Fig. 5.1: Impact of blocking via a simple scatter plot

16/45
 Appendix
Table 5.4: Model Summary Statistics

Source Std. Dev. R² Adjusted Predicte PRESS

R² d R²
Linear 5.09 0.6553 0.5863 0.2286 868.38 Suggested

2FI 3.89 0.8384 0.7576 0.1902 911.53 Suggested

Quadrati 4.04 0.8696 0.7391 -0.0834 1219.52

c
Cubic 1.84 0.9850 0.9458 -49.2268 56537.56 Aliased

16/46
 Appendix
Table 5.6: ANOVA for 2FI model
Source Sum of Squares df Mean Square F-value p-value
Block 81.35 1 81.35
Model 943.77 6 157.29 10.38 0.0004 significant
A-Pressure 338.14 1 338.14 22.31 0.0005
B-Diameter 28.93 1 28.93 1.91 0.1923
C-Thickness 370.52 1 370.52 24.45 0.0003
AB 1.04 1 1.04 0.0689 0.7974
AC 197.31 1 197.31 13.02 0.0036
BC 7.82 1 7.82 0.5160 0.4863
Residual 181.88 12 15.16
Lack of Fit 181.49 8 22.69 .8475 <0.0001 significant
Pure Error 0.3925 4 0.0981
Cor Total 1206.99 19

16/47
Reference
Bruzzone, L., & Bozzini, G. (2010). A flexible joints microassembly robot with metamorphic

gripper. Assembly Automation, 30(3), 240–247. https://doi.org/10.1108/01445151011061136

C. Canali, F. Cannella , F. Chen, T. Hauptman, G. Sofia, D. G. C. (2014). HIGH

RECONFIGURABLE ROBOTIC GRIPPER FOR FLEXIBLE ASSEMBLY. ASME 2014

International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in

Engineering Conference. Buffalo, USA.

Chen, Y., Guo, S., Li, C., Yang, H., & Hao, L. (2018). Size recognition and adaptive grasping using

an integration of actuating and sensing soft pneumatic gripper. Robotics and Autonomous

Systems, 104, 14–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.robot.2018.02.020

Choi, H., & Koç, M. (2006). Design and feasibility tests of a flexible gripper based on inflatable

rubber pockets. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, 46(12–13), 1350–

1361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2005.10.009
48