robotic gripper clamp needed

You might get to design your own.  Here's the best I could find in the
"cheap" category.
http://www.lynxmotion.com/Product.aspx?productID &CategoryID5
http://www.budgetrobotics.com/shop/?shop=1&cartF6428&cat 5&noCookiePassThrough=Y&

Gordon McComb's "Robot Builder's Bonanza" has some sketches of gripper
designs that may help.

- Daniel

I owe one of each of those. Neither opens 3". Lynxmotion is less than
2" as I recall, and Budgets is about 2-1/4, just wide enough to get
around a soft-drink can.

--
Randy M. Dumse
www.newmicros.com
Caution: Object in mirror are more confused than they appear.

enough to get

I haven't handled the product, but the Lynx version looks like its
final link (the gripper part itself) could be re-created so that its
actual grip portion is wider, but that might reduce the closed size as
well (which may not be an issue for you).   The parallel linkages are
the next item to consider replacing, or perhaps extending by epoxying
onto them a piece of metal, perhaps 1/4"x1/16" x 3/4" long and with a
hole in the end.... but this version may not look pretty.

Another random thought is to ask the makers to sell you a version that
is scaled up by 50%.  Some areas of it may not scale, such as the
servo mounting holes, but the modifications to the design may be
fairly quick for them to do. The cost for this custom order may be
within your budget, and save you from having to machine your own
parts.


Joe Dunfee

    At an industrial level, here's what you want:

    http://www.schunk-usa.com

Not cheap, though.

Here's a directory of industrial suppliers:

http://www.motionnet.com/cgi-bin/search.exe?a=cat&no 2

                    John Nagle

D Herring wrote:

http://www.budgetrobotics.com/shop/?shop=1&cartF6428&cat 5&noCookiePassThrough=Y&

okiePassThrough=Y&

Perhaps you could use one of the existing products (mentioned above), =
but modify or attach larger fingers to the ones on the existing product =
? Like some tubing that slides onto the existing fingers but bent / =
machined to open as large as you need them to ?

Just an idea ...
JCD

Can you please give an idea of "not very expensive"?  Do you consider
$1000 each expensive?
Can you use a pneumatic type unit which are more common in industry?
Here's a video of one that I designed that can be seen picking up a
tray
about half way through this video:
   http://smttech.com/shared_pics/PickAndPlaceLres.wmv

Pete B.