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Schunk has developed a workpiece gripper that enables a machine tool to serve as its own robot. The gripper has an integral taper that installs in a machine’s spindle just like a tool holder. This allows the machine to pick parts from a magazine on its work table and insert them into a workholding device for machining.
This video shows the gripper being used to manipulate toolholder workpieces on a machine in the company’s manufacturing facility. In the video, the gripper first picks a completed workpiece from a chuck and delivers it to a horizontal, rotary carousel. It then rotates the manual carousel to bring a fresh workpiece to the twelve-o’clock position, removes that new part from the carousel and delivers it to the chuck for machining.
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For more information about this application, see the article under “Editor Picks” at right.