The vacuum zone manipulator

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• edgeAlignment: if true, the box edges will be aligned to the gripper zone edges, otherwise the gripper zone(s) will be centered above the box center

• coveragePercent: defines how many percents of the vacuum zone (bounding rectangle) area must be covered in order to use a specific zone

tcp: the tool center point (TCP) of the gripper as [x, y, z, rx, ry, rz]

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• id: unique identifier (number) of the vacuum area, starting from 1

• x, y: center point of the bounding rectangle relative to the gripper center

• width, length: size of the bounding rectangle

• grip: digital IO signal that controls the vacuum

  • type: standard, configurable, tool (robot IO type)

  • channel: the digital output channel (0-1 for tool 0-7 otherwise)

  • inverse: optional, true if high level signal means no vacuum

• release: digital signal that controls the compressed air blow (optional)

  • type: standard, configurable, tool (robot IO type)

  • channel: the digital output channel (0-1 for tool 0-7 otherwise)

  • inverse: optional, true if high level signal means no blow

configurations: list of valid combinations of vacuum areas that can be used together 

Every time you make changes in the gripper json file, make sure to:

•  verify the correct syntax in a online tool like https://jsonformatter.org/

• upload the file again with the same name (must be gripper.json)

• select another gripper type e.g. custom gripper, and then

• select “import from gripper.json” again

• check the timestamp of last import has changed under the drop-down menu

• make sure there is no other (probably older) gripper.json file in the “patterns” folder.

  The current Pally URCap reads both locations for compatibility reasons:

  1. /programs/patterns

  2. /programs

The gripper.json file

{
  "name": "4-channel gripper",
  "description": "test gripper for multiple product sizes",
  "dimensions": {
    "width": 100,
    "length": 200,
    "height": 100,
    "weight": 1.85,
    "foamHeight": 15
  },
  "properties": {
    "coveragePercent": 40,
    "edgeAlignment": false
  },
  "tcp": [0, 0, 100, 0, 0, 0],
  "cog": [0, 0, 0],
  "zones": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "x": 0,
      "y": -50,
      "width": 100,
      "length": 100,
      "grip": {
        "type": "standard",
        "channel": 0,
        "inverse": false
      },
      "release": {
        "type": "standard",
        "channel": 1
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "x": 0,
      "y": 50,
      "width": 100,
      "length": 100,
      "grip": {
        "type": "standard",
        "channel": 2
      },
      "release": {
        "type": "standard",
        "channel": 3
      }
    }
  ],
  "configurations": [ 
    [1,2], [1], [2] 
  ]
}

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The following diagram is an example of a 4-channel suction-cup gripper with its corresponding gripper.json file. The different colors indicate different groups of suction cups that can be controlled together.

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 Example gripper.json file

{
  "name": "4-channel gripper",
  "description": "test gripper for multiple product sizes",
  "dimensions": {
    "width": 400,
    "length": 200,
    "height": 150,
    "weight": 1.9,
    "foamHeight": 15
  },
  "properties": {
    "coveragePercent": 51,
    "edgeAlignment": false
  },
  "tcp": [0, 0, 150, 0, 0, 0],
  "cog": [0, 0, 0],
  "zones": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "x": 0,
      "y": 0,
      "width": 110,
      "length": 180,
      "grip": {
        "type": "standard",
        "channel": 0,
        "inverse": false
      },
      "release": {
        "type": "standard",
        "channel": 1
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "x": -110,
      "y": 0,
      "width": 50,
      "length": 180,
      "grip": {
        "type": "standard",
        "channel": 2
      },
      "release": {
        "type": "standard",
        "channel": 3
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 3,
      "x": 110,
      "y": 0,
      "width": 50,
      "length": 180,
      "grip": {
        "type": "standard",
        "channel": 4
      },
      "release": {
        "type": "standard",
        "channel": 5
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 4,
      "x": 0,
      "y": 0,
      "width": 380,
      "length": 50,
      "grip": {
        "type": "standard",
        "channel": 6
      },
      "release": {
        "type": "standard",
        "channel": 7
      }
    }
  ],
  "configurations": [ 
    [1,2,3,4], [4], [1,2,3], [1,2], [2,3], [1], [2], [3] 
  ]
}

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