Fin-Ray Gripping Mechanism

I was tasked with upgrading the "finger" mechanisms on our rover's four-bar claw. The old fingers were relatively small, smooth, and rigid, which made them kind of a pain to use when gripping cylindrical objects during competition. To fix this issue, I designed and fabricated a compliant fin-ray mechanism that used passive compliance to conform around objects on contact, increasing grip surface area and generally making our rover's claw easier to wield.

After doing some research on these fin-ray mechanisms, I chose a profile that optimized both weight ease of fabrication.  The compliant "gripping" mechanism was FDM-printed in TPU, mounted onto an ASA shell using bolts and heat-set inserts, and finished with a rubber-laminated contact surface for better traction (the printed TPU was pretty oily). The gripper has since been integrated onto the competition rover and will see its first deployment at this year's competition.

Skills