PID control of a novel variable reluctance gripper

Material handling and pick and place mechanisms are widely found in factory automation and industrial manufacturing. Mechanical grippers based on different motor technologies have been designed and employed numerous applications. However, variable reluctance (VR) technology is never explored. This is due to its inherent nonlinear control characteristics. The paper describes the motion control of a novel two-finger gripper using VR technology. A novel two-finger VR gripper is proposed and fabricated. A mathematical model of the actuator is constructed. A novel motion control strategy is proposed. Finally, the simulation and implementation of the VR gripper are carried out. Results show that the proposed actuator is an ideal solution for low-cost and high precision gripping applications