Development of a Gripper for component-friendly Handling of Complex Capital Goods

Abstract

Special care must be taken when assembling and disassembling complex capital goods since incorrect handling, damage of the goods or delays can represent economic losses. However, challenges related to the automation of the complex handling task and the time of the process led to the research of solutions to increase the speed and decrease its cost. This article introduces the handling process for disassembling turbine blades, its challenges, and precisely a solution based on soft material grippers for adaptive grasping. We present a gripping method to component-friendly hold and handle aircraft engine turbine blades using soft materials. Within this work, we address the design of the soft material gripper, prove its functionality through experiments and assess the behavior of the gripper during the process of the blade's handling and disassembly.