Overview
The universal gripper designed for forming corrugated boxes and transferring packages with pharmaceutical products into the formed boxes.
The design complies with all reliability, hygiene, and safety requirements of the pharmaceutical industry.
My Role
Mechanical Design Engineer
Challenges and Solutions
Despite the apparent simplicity of the gripper’s design, it had to meet strict requirements:
Gripping of standard FEFCO 0201 corrugated box blanks,
Reliable folding and holding of the blank while passing through the flap-folding device,
Ability to grip and hold 10 pharmaceutical packages,
Compact dimensions — the gripper should not exceed the size of 10 packages in the end-view projection.
A series of practical experiments was conducted to address these requirements using various sizes and configurations of vacuum cups. The following parameters were determined:
Optimal clamping force for folding the box blanks,
Required holding force during the flap-folding process,
The best arrangement, size of vacuum cups, and performance of vacuum ejectors to ensure secure gripping of both box blanks and packages.
Based on the experimental results, a gripper was developed that fully meets all project requirements.