Centro MRO Insights Blog

Innovations in Schunk Grippers for Advanced Manufacturing

Written by Jerry Walling | Sep 25, 2024 4:39:05 PM

SCHUNK is highly regarded for its engineering precision and innovation in the field of industrial automation.

Centro is proud to be a long tenured SCHUNK Blue Level Channel Partner. SCHUNK is a global leader in gripping systems and clamping technology. The company provides a wide range of high-precision tools and systems used in automation and robotic applications. Today, SCHUNK is known as one of the most innovative companies in the field of automation, particularly for gripping solutions.

A SCHUNK Blue Level Partner (BLP) is a strategic partner in SCHUNK's ecosystem, primarily involved in the fields of automation, gripping systems, and other advanced manufacturing technologies. Being a Blue Level Partner offers numerous benefits, such as exclusive access to promotional products, enhanced visibility in automation markets, collaboration opportunities on technological developments, and the ability to showcase solutions through SCHUNKS’s networks, including trade shows and case studies.

Partners in this program, like Centro, also benefit from early access to SCHUNK’s latest technologies, helping us to integrate advanced components faster and provide cutting-edge solutions to our customers. This partnership fosters collaboration in testing and development, which can lead to setting joint trends in automation in key manufacturing industries​.

 

Here are some key aspects of SCHUNK:

Gripping Systems:

  • SCHUNK offers a wide variety of robotic grippers, including parallel, angular, and vacuum grippers. These are used in various industries, including automotive, aerospace, electronics, and packaging.
  • Adaptive Grippers -- SCHUNK is known for innovative designs like adaptive grippers that can handle different shapes and sizes of objects without needing complex reconfigurations.

Automation:

  • Their robotic systems are crucial in factory automation. SCHUNK’s gripping technology is integrated into robots and CNC machines for precision, speed, and efficiency.

Innovation and Customization:

  • SCHUNK is constantly innovating to provide solutions for collaborative robots (cobots) and advanced automation. Their mechatronic and pneumatic grippers allow flexibility and are often customizable to meet the specific needs of industries.

Research and Development, Material Testing – All in One Place

SCHUNK continues to build on being highly regarded for their engineering precision and innovation in the field of industrial automation with their recent launch of their CoLab program. SCHUNK CoLab is a global network of robot application centers designed for customers to test and validate their automation solutions using SCHUNK's advanced robotics and automation technology. These centers offer a realistic manufacturing environment where customers can conduct feasibility studies, live demonstrations, and receive extensive training. SCHUNK's CoLabs help minimize investment risks by optimizing processes before deployment.

These centers are spread across various locations worldwide, including Germany, the USA, China, and Brazil, with additional centers in Slovakia, Japan, and other regions. They serve not only industries but also educational purposes, providing students hands-on experience with automation and robotics technology.

Through our SCHUNK Blue-Level partnership, Centro offers our customers exclusive access to this innovation center conveniently located in Morrisville, NC, where engineers and industry professionals collaborate to push the boundaries of manufacturing efficiency.

Don't miss your chance to:

  1. Research and develop new robotics technologies
  2. Rapidly prototype and test ideas
  3. To conduct a feasibility study for your specific automation process
  4. Tackle material testing mysteries
  5. Simulate and twin digital prototypes
  6. Verify new technology in live testing environments
  7. Provision of extensive test documentation including hardware setup, approach and recommendations of SCHUNK application experts

Contact Centro to schedule time in a testing environment that is as close to reality as possible. Validation in the CoLab accelerates commissioning and minimizes the investment risk for Centro customers. CoLab stands for giving our customers the feeling of having the right partners with both SCHUNK and Centro at your side throughout your automation journey.