High-temperature gripper for collaborative robots in additive manufacturing

Traditional end effectors for collaborative robots are generally either highly specialized to a specific shape of part or are unable to deal with high temperatures, indicating the existence of a niche for an end effector designed for both, leveraged in the automation of post-processing metal additive manufacturing parts. The design described and qualified in this manuscript is composed of a custom-fabricated 4140 alloy steel finger and an aluminum oxide–casted ceramic insulator. Characterization tests were performed to quantify the thermal and mechanical properties of the casted material, and thermal simulations were performed to optimize design. The simulated temperature difference across the body of the insulator is 767.58°C when placed in contact with a 1000°C steel plate, modeled from a conducted thermal shock test. With an expected maximum operating temperature of 800 to 1000°C, the insulator will withstand the conditions for grabbing. Additionally, a pair of thermocouples are incorporated in the gripper to monitor the temperature of the workpiece to ensure safe handling. The designed high-temperature gripper will be a useful tool in enabling capabilities of metal additive manufacturing as well as the safe handling of high-temperature objects.