Schunk Has a Hand in Precision Gripping

9 June 2015

Workholding and clamping specialist Schunk has now taken automation innovation to a new level with the launch of its SVH line of servo-electric 5-finger gripping hand.
The innovative new hand replicates the movements and characteristics of the human hand with its four fingers and a thumb configuration. With a total of nine drives, the remarkable movement range of the SVH enables various gripping operations to be executed with high sensitivity.

With its elastic gripping surfaces the new SVH ensures a reliable and strong gripping force on objects that enables it to be used for a multitude of tasks. In addition to new dimensions in gripping and manipulation tasks, SCHUNK is defining the possibility of the human/robot communication configuration by permitting gestures with the 5-finger hand.
The new development is available in left or right-hand versions and is completely suitable for mobile applications. Furthermore, the new SVH has complete integration of control, regulator and power electronics in the wrist, so there is no additional bulky control devices required. To further simplify integration into automation systems, the SVH has been developed to allow easy connection and integration with market-standard industrial and lightweight robots via defined interfaces.

The SVH has a 1:1 size ratio with the average human hand with an overall length of 242mm, a width of 92mm and a finger width of 19.6mm. With nine drives that control the thumb, small finger, ring, middle and index fingers, the SVH has a total of 20 axes of movement. To highlight its versatility and flexibility, the SVH has a total weight of 1.3kg and operates on a 24V DC power supply that allows it to be used in an almost endless range of automation scenarios.