In control

A new servopneumatic proportional gripper with independent jaw movements is making it easier to produce components that range in shape, size and weight — on a single assembly line.

HGPPI, which was recently made commercially available in the UK, has the potential to increase the speed and flexibility of assembly operations.

The gripper, introduced in Germany last year, already has a variety of customers, including Behr-Hella Thermocontrol, which uses the device to to produce climate-control systems for vehicles ranging from sports cars to people carriers.

Climate control technologies can differ greatly depending on the vehicle, but the HGPPI gripper is able to insert plugs into panels for any type of system on the same assembly line.

'Before, we could only insert a specific plug type on a specific panel type on a line, but now we can produce a number of variants with more speed and flexibility,' said Peter Stillers, head of planning at Behr-Hella's Lippstadt headquarters.