Grippers are common end - effectors. Installed on the arms of industrial robots, they directly grasp workpieces or carry out operations, with functions of clamping, transporting, and placing workpieces in specific positions. In terms of form, grippers can be products with fingers resembling human hands, such as three - finger or five - finger ones, or fingerless "palms" like parallel two - finger grippers, or human - like grippers.

In terms of drive methods, grippers can be divided into three types: hydraulic drive, pneumatic drive, and electric drive. Hydraulic end - effectors are convenient for speed regulation, but they have high pressure, high system costs, and are troublesome to maintain. Pneumatic end - effectors, with their low costs and a wide variety of product models, have become widely used end - effectors in the industrial field. However, unstable air pressure output may lead to insufficient clamping force, making workpieces prone to falling off. Compared with pneumatic grippers, electric grippers can be digitally controlled, enabling control of speed, position, and clamping force. They have the advantages of multi - point control and force output, and are highly flexible, better meeting the current production line's demand for flexibility. After several years of development, the application scope of electric grippers has gradually expanded, from robots to industrial automation, and the number of new manufacturers has increased rapidly. Even though electric grippers are characterized by high flexibility and precision compared with pneumatic grippers, due to factors such as price, technology, and customer trust, pneumatic grippers still account for a large proportion in the current gripper market.

Electric end - effectors are superior to hydraulic and pneumatic end - effectors in terms of performance and structure, and they represent the future development trend of the end - effector industry. Compared with pneumatic end - effectors, they use electric drives to replace components such as air sources, filters, and solenoid valves of pneumatic end - effectors. Compared with hydraulic end - effectors, their systems are easy to maintain, do not require hydraulic energy, and can reduce energy pollution.

Two - finger grippers are commonly used in industry. Besides two - finger grippers, there are also three - finger grippers. Generally, through electrical control, the angle and force can be adjusted to achieve grasping in complex scenarios. For example, this three - finger gripper has 7 degrees of freedom, which is highly flexible. Compared with traditional rigid "palms", the application of multi - degree - of - freedom grippers has greatly improved the dexterity and manipulation ability of multi - fingered dexterous hands.

In addition to these traditional rigid grippers, there are also pneumatic flexible grippers. Traditional fixtures are usually restricted by the shape, material, and grasping requirements of objects, and may not provide successful grasping solutions. Flexible grippers are made of flexible materials, highly versatile, and do not need to be replaced frequently. The clamping force can be adjusted as needed, and when grasping fragile products, they will not damage or scratch the products. Flexible grippers can adaptively cover target objects without prior knowledge of their shapes and sizes, to a certain extent solving the problem of large - scale automated production of irregular - shaped and fragile items. They can be well applied in scenarios such as food, medicine, fresh fruits and vegetables, and 3C electronics sorting, and may have great development potential in the future.