SoftGripping Integrates Pneumatics into an Additively Manufactured Gripper Base for the Food Industry
SoftGripping GmbH | Case Study
In the food and packaging industry, selecting the right gripping solution is a key factor for product quality, process reliability, and equipment availability. Food products often vary naturally in shape and size, challenging automated handling processes. This is especially true for products such as vegetables or poultry parts, which must be handled reliably while remaining undamaged.
At the same time, gripper systems must cope with high cycle rates, strict hygiene requirements, and changing product geometries without slowing down production. Hanover-based SoftGripping GmbH specializes in exactly these challenges. The company combines adaptive silicone fingers with modular gripper systems, hygienic design principles, and pneumatic functionality to enable demanding applications in the food and packaging industry. Its portfolio is complemented by engineering support for application-specific grippers as well as complete End-of-Arm Tooling (EOAT) solutions for robotic automation.
For the development of a new pneumatic gripper base, SoftGripping leveraged industrial additive manufacturing with EOS PA 2200. The objective was to create a compact base component that supports the silicone fingers while integrating pneumatic air distribution directly into the part. Achieving this functionality in a reliable and cost-effective manner became the project's central engineering challenge.
Challenge
Combining Pneumatic Functionality and Air Distribution in a Single Component
The primary challenge lay in the design of the gripper base itself. Pneumatic air routing needed to be integrated directly into the base component to reduce the need for external components and post-assembled connectors. The goal was a functionally integrated design with fewer parts, lower assembly effort, and fewer potential leakage points.
Conventional subtractive manufacturing could not realize this functionally integrated concept as a single component. Instead, a multi-part assembly would have been required, consisting of separate parts for each gripper finger as well as additional connectors, seals, and pneumatic components. Every additional joint increases design complexity and creates potential leakage points. In hygienically sensitive pneumatic applications, minimizing such interfaces is a clear advantage.
For early design and fit validation, SoftGripping produced prototypes using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). While these prototypes enabled rapid design iterations during development, they did not provide the airtightness and long-term stability required for the final production component. SoftGripping therefore required a manufacturing solution capable of combining complex internal air channels within a single component, providing reliable pneumatic functionality, and meeting the requirements of demanding food industry applications.
Solution
Functional Integration Through Industrial Additive Manufacturing
SoftGripping followed an iterative engineering approach to optimize geometry, pneumatics, and functionality step by step until reaching a production-ready design. Initial testing focused on validating gripping distances, contact points, and geometries using a flexible test setup to define the specific requirements of the gripper base.
For the final gripper base, SoftGripping selected PA 2200, a Polyamide 12 (PA12)-based material. The material offers a balanced combination of mechanical performance and durability, making it particularly suitable for robust pneumatic gripper applications.
The final component is produced by a specialized manufacturing partner using Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) on an EOS system. SLS enabled pneumatic air routing to be integrated directly into the base component itself. As a result, the need for separate connectors and seals, as well as the associated assembly effort, could be significantly reduced.
The result is a robust gripper base that combines air distribution, structural functionality, and interfaces to the silicone fingers within a single additively manufactured component. At the same time, additive manufacturing provides the design freedom needed to economically realize complex and highly customized gripper solutions.
„With EOS technology, we were able to realize a gripper base that would not have been possible with conventional manufacturing methods. The combination of design flexibility, complex internal air routing, and airtightness is a major advantage for our customized solutions.“
Alexey Stepanyuk, CTO, SoftGripping GmbH
Results
Faster Path to Functional Gripper Solutions
The new gripper base significantly reduced development and manufacturing effort while increasing flexibility for application-specific variants. Development time was reduced by approximately 70%, from 12 weeks to just 3 weeks.
Manufacturing costs were reduced by 50% compared to alternative production approaches. A key driver was the integration of pneumatic functionality directly into the component, enabling part consolidation. The gripper base requires fewer interfaces, reducing design complexity, assembly effort, and the number of potential leakage points.
PA 2200 and the chemically smoothed surface support designs for hygiene-sensitive food industry applications. The targeted post-processing of the SLS component creates a closed and smooth surface, making cleaning easier. At the same time, the EOS solution enables the cost-effective production of complex and customized gripper geometries.
This application demonstrates how SLS can be used for functional end-use parts as well as industrial small-batch production. For SoftGripping, it enables a fully digital development and manufacturing workflow whose potential ranges from one-off customer projects to the serial production of standard products. New gripper solutions can therefore be tested, adapted, and implemented more quickly and economically.
„Additive manufacturing gives us the freedom to design gripper components around functionality and application requirements. For our customers, this means faster development processes, greater flexibility, and solutions tailored precisely to their needs.“
Alexey Stepanyuk, CTO, SoftGripping GmbH
Technical Data
- Material: EOS PA 2200 (PA12)
- Technology: Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
- System: EOS System
- Development Time: 3 weeks from initial application testing to the final customized gripper design
