EOAT Specialists
Superior EOAT for any work cell
EOAT Design and Manufacture
The quality of the design and manufacture of the end of arm tooling is the key to a successful robotic work cell implementation.
We place a substantial focus on our EOAT design solutions and our ongoing aim is to create and implement innovative, reliable and robust robotic solutions.
We design and manufacture high performance robotic end effectors and robot gripper systems for automated manufacturing systems and we have the required in-house skills and technical know how to develop first class EOAT for any work cell.
Products and Services
Dynamic robotic EOAT design solutions
Robotic requirements can be widely diverse but Cobots Online have the specialists in place to deliver all of your EOAT requirements. From electric to pneumatic grippers, from vacuum arrays to foam grippers we provide robust solutions for deployment on both industrial and collaborative robots.
Industries
Our products are designed to meet the demands of the following industries ..
Automotive
Oil & Gas
Packaging
Pharmaceutical
Food & Beverage
Logistics
What Makes Us Different?
Technical Roots
Our team are EOAT technical experts, having experienced many end of arm tooling challenges first-hand.
Accountability
We don’t outsource, re-sell or re-badge our services. We take full responsibility for each project.
Motivated People
100% of our staff believe they have a career and not a job. Everybody works as a team for the greater good.
Working from your CAD files our engineers;
Design EOATs and pallet boards using Solidworks 3D CAD
Create 3D models of your tooling and components
Manufacture all parts (in-house CNC manufacturing)
Assemble the tooling or pallet boards and fully test them
No ‘internal’ machine downtime. The finished product is ready to fit and programme with minimal downtime leading to a reduction in set up costs, increased machine utilisation and increased profitability.
End of Arm Tooling & Gripper Solutions
End of arm tooling and gripper systems are used to design and build robotic end effector tools, fixturing tools and ergonomic tooling for use on every type of robotic automation equipment.
End of arm tooling can be found in applications such as packaging, palletising, plastic injection moulding, automotive assembly and almost any industry where automated systems and robotic applications are feasible.
Cobots Online specialise in the design and manufacture of bespoke vacuum and mechanical gripping systems to handle components weighing upwards of 750kgs to components as small and fragile as a pharmaceutical vial.
Our end of arm tooling design team are experts in;
Mould Tool Design
and Moulding Processes
End of arm tooling custom plastic injection moulding services. Specialist small batch & production. In-house design.
Transfer Systems
and Fixture
Design
Our transfer system and fixtures design team is dedicated to supporting all of your needs for End of Arm Tooling projects.
Robotic Automation
and robotic
interfaces
We can help your business save time and money and boost employee productivity and energy by reducing time on tasks.
What We offer
Design | Manufacture | Assemble | Test | Handover
Ninety per cent of most automation projects consist of modular items such as transfer systems, robot arms and workstations.
However, the final ten per cent of the project encompasses the interface between the product and the automated system. This ten per cent of the project can create ninety per cent of the headaches.
If the end of arm tooling and work piece pallets don’t correctly fit the end components, the system will not produce the desired productivity gains and associated profits.
Robot End of arm tooling is a critical element in robot automation cells and is the interface between the whole system and the product. If the system doesn’t hold the product safely and securely without damaging the part, then the system won’t work.
Our Expertise
Our expertise can be found in the following areas of industry
- Palletising Goods
- Bag Grippers
- Vacuum Pad EOATs
- Fork Style EOAT for open top containers
- Carton Clamping EOATs
- Machine Tending
- Loading & Unloading CNC Machines
- Injection Moulding
- De-moulding
- Insert moulding
- Two part moulding with changeover
- Transfer and Conveyor Systems
How We Work
EOAT (End of arm tooling) and gripper systems are used to design and build robotic end effector tools, fixturing tools and ergonomic tooling for use on every type of robotic automation equipment.
End of arm tooling can be found in applications such as packaging, palletising, plastic injection moulding, automotive assembly and almost any industry where automated systems and robotic applications are feasible.
End of arm tooling can be manufactured from component kits or bespoke EOAT manufactured to suit a specific application.
We focus on the design and manufacture of Bespoke EOAT, this method of manufacture utilizes CAD models detailing tooling and components along with available product data.
Alternatively, we can work alongside your robotics and automation integrator, providing a design and build facility for the bespoke items of the project.
Kit forms are time consuming to build and usually involve the assembly line or manufacturing cell being off line while the tooling is built in situ. They also require the complete kit of parts to be specified in advance and ordered from a selection of third party suppliers prior to the build.
Cobots Online partner with you, the customer to ensure the project objectives are fully understood. This provides a clear roadmap for our engineers to follow ensuring timescales, milestones and installation deadlines are achieved.
Regular communication between you and our engineers provides you with confidence the project is on time or, if required, allows additional resources to be pooled to regain the schedule.
This method of manufacture creates available end of arm tooling to coincide with the arrival of mould tools or production builds and eliminates costly down time while in-situ kit builds are typically produced.
We have in house design, CNC manufacture, 3D printing and testing facilities to ensure the end effectors are proven and ready for immediate use.
EOAT Components
Rotary Units / Tilt Units
These are designed to allow the EOAT to pivot on the end of the robot arm without the need to move the robot itself. This allows components to be precisely placed into packaging containers or transfer systems and provide an extra axis for the robot arm.
Grippers
These are moving fingers or clamps which “grip” specific elements of the workpiece. They are available in many forms and power options to suit the specific application and environment.
Examples include;
Parallel Grippers
As the name suggests, these typically consist of two moving clamps which grip the part by moving parallel to each other. They are available in a wide range of sizes to suit every job. Parallel grippers can be powered by compressed air or electricity.
Angular Grippers
These take many forms and can be used as Sprue Grippers where the jaws of the gripper move in an angular motion like a scissor action. They can also have multiple jaws, for example a 3 jaw angular gripper can be used to pick circular objects. These are available as compressed air or electrically powered grippers.
Expansion Grippers
These are ideally used to hold inserts prior to pacing in a mould tool or to locate the EOAT into a cavity prior to gripping. They can be useful when there are no normal places for a traditional gripper to hold the component.
One finger grippers
Typically used to clamp a component in place, either by wrapping around the edge of the part or to hold the part in place for robotic operations such as drilling/screw insertion etc.
Magnetic Grippers
For handling small parts in ferromagnetic material
Vacuum Grippers
These consist of a vacuum cup and a pipe fitting which allows the cup to be connected to the vacuum generator. Vacuum cups come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, this allows the design engineer to select the correct fitting to acquire the component with minimal force.
Vacuum Grippers are used widely in de-moulding operations where the plastic moulding is transferred from the mould to the next workstation or conveyor. They are usually combined with sprue grippers and snippers to ensure the sprue is handled and disposed of correctly and therefore doesn’t impede the process flow.
Air Nippers / Air Shears
Can be fitted to the end of arm tooling or optionally to a cutting station. Used to trim unwanted sprues or parts from the component prior to its next workstation.
Linear Actuators
Used to add additional axes to End of Arm Tooling for example, they can be fitted to the EOAT to provide a quick side shift within the mould tool envelope whilst the robot arm remains stationary. This can speed up the changeover time and provide additional programming options/functionality for the robot arm.
Frame Profiles
Aluminium extrusion which is used to build the EOAT framework.
Mounting clamps
Angle clamps, cross over clamps, extension clamps used for mounting gripper arms, vacuum cups and grippers to the EOAT.
Frame Connectors
Used to build a finished frame from the aluminium extrusion.
Pneumatic connectors / vacuum fittings
These connect the pneumatic or vacuum supply to the relevant grippers and tools.
Swivel Arms
These offer unlimited positioning of the suction cup, making it easy to adjust the position to find the right spot on the component for it to be handled or held.
Quick Change System
Used at the interface between the end of arm tooling (EOAT) and the robot arm to allow fast changeovers of EOAT from one product to another. These can be manually operated or highly sophisticated automatic tool changers.
Wrist Extensions
Used to add length from the robot arm to the point of placement, used for reaching into deep containers or awkward positions. These are manufactured in a range of standard sizes however custom sizes are also available in short lead times.
Vacuum Generators
Powered by compressed air, the vacuum generator can be fitted close to the suction cups, ideally on the robot arm or EOAT to minimise the piping required and to facilitate ease of maintenance and quick tool changeovers.