Allows manual guidance of the robot directly on the gripper

The Zimmer Group is debuting its very successful, fully electric HRC (Human-Robot-Collaborative) gripper model HRC-03 with a new function. The HRC-03 is a typical 2-jaw parallel gripper that has a maximum stroke of 10mm per jaw and can be connected directly to the tool I/O connector on the robot flange ("plug & play"). The new feature of the "e-gripper" is the "Free Drive Button", which is conveniently located directly at the upper end of the HRC gripper, and allows switching of the robot into freedrive mode. Thus, the robot can be move freely by hand to any position.

This ingenious feature directly on the gripper itself allows the operator to have both hands free to guide the robot. Prior to this, he had to press the freedrive switch on the robot's control pendant with one hand and thus only had his other hand available for robot guidance. The gripper is available with an analog position sensor or alternatively with two digital sensors, which is already sufficient for many simple applications. In addition, the gripping force of the HRC gripper can be adjusted manually in four stages - from 50 N to 190 N.

Safety first!
The HRC-03 has no sharp edges and is designed so that accidental snagging is practically impossible with its all-round shape. This functionality in conjunction with a mechanical self-locking of the jaws and the associated gripping force maintenance offer maximum safety in every application. And this is guaranteed! Even with an emergency stop or power failure. All Zimmer Group HRC grippers including the HRC-03 meet the high requirements of the protection principles according to ISO / TS 15066 (HRC standard) and are BG / DGUV-certified.

The HRC-03 gripper is driven by a Brushless DC (BLDC) motor, which has almost no wear and thus provides excellent operational safety.

Extension of the HRC gripper series
The Zimmer Group currently has the world's largest HRC portfolio and was one of the first manufacturers in the world to launch HRC-enabled grippers in 2016. Three years ago, we introduced the HRC-01, mechatronic 2-jaw parallel grippers with a maximum working stroke of 60 mm per jaw and an adjustable gripping force - depending on the version - from 45 N to 950 N. While the HRC-03 version is fully electric, the HRC-04 gripper appeared as a pneumatic model with a maximum working stroke of 6 mm per jaw. The HRC-05 is a pneumatic 2-jaw angle gripper with a maximum stroke of 37.5 degrees. In addition, both the HRC-05 and HRC-04 grippers have an integrated valve technology for maximum ease of use and significantly less compressed air consumption than conventional solutions.