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A robotic end effector is the "hand" of the robot's
arm. By attaching a tool to the robot flange (wrist),
the robotic arm can then perform designated tasks.
Examples of robotic end-effector include robotic
grippers, robotic tool changers, robotic collision
sensors, robotic rotary joint, robotic press tooling,
compliance device, robotic paint gun, robotic deburring
tool, robotic arc welding gun, robotic transgun,
etc.
In many case, the robotic end effector requires
additional power supplies to operate. It depends
on the type of functions the end-effector perform,
the popular one is the pneumatic, because it is
easier to supply air to the end of a robot arm and.
The only disadvantages of pneumatics are that it
has a slightly lower power to weight ratio than
hydraulics and it is not as controllable or easy
to feed as electricity.
For certain applications some degree of sensory
feedback from the gripper is necessary. For examples,
the insertion or gripping forces measurement, proximity
sensor to detect the presence of objects between
the jaws of the gripper, collision detection unit
which attaches between the robot flange and the
end effector so that if excessive force is applied
to the tool the robot arm will stop.
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