AN APPROACH TO DESIGN A GRIPPER FOR PART FETCHING REGISTRATION IN FLEXIBLE, HIGH-SPEED, AUTOMATED PC BOARD ASSEMBLY

Automated, high-speed assembly of printed circuit boards, with a large variety of parts, is a complex process. It requires proper analysis and design of a number of system components. This study discusses the analysis necessary for developing one of the key elements in the system: the part pick-up and registration gripper mechanism. The use of a computer program to facilitate the analysis of a gripper capable of handling a variety of parts is presented. This study provides a computer-aided tool for the proper selection of design parameters of such gripper mechanisms.