Bottling lines live and die by speed, and every gram on the gripping head is a gram the machine has to accelerate and stop, thousands of times per shift. For this alcohol bottling application we designed and built both the bottle grippers and the bottle sleeve, 3D printed on our industrial SLS machines, and the lightweight grippers allowed the machine to achieve higher speed than it could with its original tooling.
Cam Activation: Grip Without an Actuator
A cam activated gripper takes its gripping motion from the machine itself: cam geometry converts the machine movement into the open and close action, with no dedicated actuator, no valve, and no extra control signal on the gripping head. Less hardware on the head means less mass in motion, and less mass in motion is precisely what lets a bottling machine run faster without shaking itself apart.
What We Built
- Bottle grippers and bottle sleeve, both designed and built by Anubis 3D
- 3D printed on industrial SLS machines in nylon
- Cam activated grip, no dedicated actuator on the head
- Lightweight construction that let the machine achieve higher speed
Printed Profiles Fit the Bottle, Not the Catalog
Bottles come in endless shapes, and a printed gripper profile matches the exact container instead of approximating it with adjustable fingers. That is the same principle behind our External Bottle Gripper (EBG) family for robotic cells, available in 400, 600, and 800 series with multi position heads. Browse the wider lineup of EOAT grippers for other container and product types.
Bottle Gripper Questions
What is a cam activated gripper?
A gripper that takes its open and close motion from the machine movement through cam geometry, with no dedicated actuator or valve on the gripping head, which keeps the head light and simple.
Why does gripper weight matter on a bottling line?
The machine accelerates and stops the gripping head thousands of times per shift, so lighter grippers allow higher line speed with less vibration and wear.
Can printed grippers match unusual bottle shapes?
Yes. The gripping profile is printed to the exact container geometry, so unusual bottles and sleeves are gripped as reliably as standard ones.
Running Bottles at High Speed?
Tell us about your robot, your product, and your target cycle time, our team will recommend a tooling design that fits your payload, changeover, and budget.
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