Design of a generic interface for mechanical grippers in PLC systems

Abstract

The background of this work lies in the growing demand from customers for pre-integrated peripheral devices within the robot’s software engineering environment to ensure seamless compatibility. In response to this need, this thesis investigates how an interface for mechanical grippers could be designed for integration into a programmable logic controller (PLC). The study analysed various gripper types and vendor-specific characteristics, revealing significant differences in low-level configuration but commonalities in the core motion commands. Based on these findings, a three-layer design was developed, consisting of a main command layer and vendor-specific command layer that extends to the main layer, both of which include high-level commands while the third layer implements vendor specific logic internally based on manufacturers’ requirements. The work provides a foundation for the integration of mechanical grippers into programmable logic controllers. The solution was tested with the Zimmer gripper and verified with other gripper manufacturers.