Gap control for a proportional floating vacuum pad

作者：Renn J C^*; Chen C Y; Lu C H

来源：Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers - Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science , 2008, 222(11): 2069-2076.

DOI：10.1243/09544062JMES1079

• vacuum pad
• gap control
• proportional solenoid
• floating
• vacuum

In this article, a new proportional pneumatic floating vacuum pad is developed and constructed. There are two features concerning this new vacuum pad. The first is the inclusion of a proportional solenoid, which enables the continuously variable control of the suction force output. The floating mechanism design between the vacuum pad and the work-piece is the second feature, which is more preferable in real industries because it can protect the surface of the work-piece from scratches or other damage. Moreover, in addition to the open-loop gap control mode, two closed-loop gap control schemes are proposed in this paper. The first is the constant gap control. A preset gap is input to the controller as the command input that further drives the proportional solenoid to maintain a steady-state gap between the vacuum pad and the work-piece. In the second control approach, the gap between the vacuum pad and the work-piece is kept as large as possible to minimize the energy consumption. Both closed-loop control schemes are successfully implemented in this study.

• 出版日期2008-11