Pneumatic gripper is an actuator that uses compressed air as power to grab or grip workpieces. The main function of pneumatic grippers is to replace human grasping work, which can effectively improve production efficiency and work safety. Pneumatic grippers have been widely used in automation enterprises. According to the style, pneumatic grippers can usually be divided into Y-shaped grippers and flat grippers, with diameters of 16mm, 20mm, 25mm, 32mm, and 40mm.

　　Pneumatic grippers can be divided into four categories based on their functional characteristics, and their working principles are as follows:

　　1.Parallel pneumatic gripper: The fingers of the parallel gripper are operated by two pistons, each of which is connected to the pneumatic fingers through a roller and a double crank, forming a special driving unit. The parallel jaws are driven by a single piston and the shaft drives the crankshaft. There is a corresponding crank groove on each of the two jaws. In order to reduce frictional resistance, the claw piece and the body are connected into a steel ball slide rail structure.

　　2.Swing pneumatic gripper (Y-shaped gripper): The piston rod of its swing gripper has an annular groove. Due to the connection between the ear axis of the finger and the annular groove, the finger can automatically move and center at the same time, and the gripping force remains constant.

　　3.Rotating pneumatic gripper: The action of the rotating gripper works based on the meshing principle of the rack. There is a shaft fixed on the piston that can move up and down. The end of the shaft has three ring grooves that mesh with two drive wheels. Therefore, the pneumatic gripper can automatically move and align simultaneously, and the gear rack principle ensures that the gripping force remains constant.

　　4.Three point pneumatic gripper: The piston of the three-point gripper has an annular groove, and each crank is connected to a pneumatic gripper. The movement of the piston can drive the movement of the three cranks, thereby controlling the simultaneous opening and closing of the three grippers.

　　With the increase of the claw market, the shortage of pneumatic grippers is gradually becoming apparent. Firstly, pneumatic grippers can only achieve a single gripping point; Secondly, the unstable output of air pressure leads to unstable clamping force of the air claw, which can easily cause the object to fall off; Finally, the pneumatic gripper produces loud noise during operation; These shortcomings limited its use in high demand environments, and thus the electric gripper was born.

　　Compared to pneumatic grippers, electric grippers can be digitally controlled, allowing for precise control of speed, position, and clamping force. It has the advantages of multi-point precise control and output force, as well as high flexibility, making it more suitable for the flexibility requirements of current production lines. After several years of development, the application boundaries of electric grippers have gradually expanded, from robots to industrial automation, and the number of new manufacturers has rapidly increased. Although electric grippers have the characteristics of high flexibility and precision compared to pneumatic grippers, pneumatic grippers still occupy an absolute proportion in the current gripper market due to various factors such as price, technology, and customer trust.