Applications

Perfect functional integration:
Festo's adaptive grasping device, the FinGripper®, is laser-sintered in 0.1 mm layers on a FORMIGA P 100. It can grip objects which are irregular in shape and sensitive to pressure. According to Festo, using this production method makes it possible to reduce the weight of the grasping unit by 90% compared with a conventional gripper made of metal. This results in the most energy-efficient way of grasping and depositing work pieces.

During her tour of the stand at the Hanover Messe trade fair in mid-April, German Chancellor Angela Merkel handed over an apple to Festo's bionic handling assistant. The experts at Festo found their inspiration in an elephant's trunk when creating this completely new, biomechatronic handling system. By analyzing a trunk's structure and the way it works, and by employing the latest in manufacturing technologies, they were able to (r)evolutionize the man-machine cooperation. The FinGripper®, which is based on the Fin Ray® principle, is attached at the end of the handling assistant. Festo describes it as having two flexible bands which meet at their tips to form a triangle. Bridges spaced at regular intervals are connected to the bands by links.

This flexible but fixed assembly allows the gripper's fingers to adapt themselves to the contours of the workpiece by applying lateral force. All of the grasping device's component parts were manufactured on a FORMIGA P 100. The gripper also featured in a film which was shown in the balancity factory in the German pavilion at the Shanghai Expo. One of the exhibits was the AquaPenguin, also based on the Fin Ray® structure. Further information can be found on the Bionic Learning Network 2010 on Festo's website.