UFactory xARM VACUJM GRIPPER User manual

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Table
1. General Presentation ..............................................................................................................4
1.1. xArm Vacuum Gripper Introduction........................................................................4
1.2. Setup and Control........................................................................................................5
1.3. Safety...............................................................................................................................5
1.3.1. Warning ...............................................................................................................6
1.3.2. Risk Assessment and Final Application.......................................................7
1.3.3. Intended Use......................................................................................................7
2. Installation.................................................................................................................................9
2.1. Scope of Delivery .........................................................................................................9
2.1.1. General Kit........................................................................................................ 10
2.2. Mechanical Installation............................................................................................ 10
2.3. Electrical Setup........................................................................................................... 12
2.3.1. Pinout Interface.............................................................................................. 12
3. Control..................................................................................................................................... 14
3.1. Use xArm Studio to Control xArm Vacuum Gripper ........................................ 14
3.2. Use Python-SDK to Control xArm Vacuum Gripper......................................... 17
3.3. Use ROS-SDK to Control xArm Vacuum Gripper.............................................. 17
3.4. Use Modbus-TCP Communication Protocol to Control xArm Vacuum
Gripper................................................................................................................................. 17
3.4.1. Modbus-TCP Communication Format...................................................... 18
3.4.2. Control of the xArm Vacuum Gripper....................................................... 19

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4. xArm Vacuum Gripper Technical Specifications ........................................................... 21
5. After-sales Service................................................................................................................ 22

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1. General Presentation
1.1. xArm Vacuum Gripper Introduction
The vacuum gripper is ideal for picking up even workpieces less than 5
Kg. The vacuum gripper is equipped with 5 suction cups, which can be
partially selected for use according to the size of the object surface, and
the unused suction cup needs to be sealed.
Note:
If the surface of the object is not smooth, there will be air leakage from
the suction cup which makes the object fail to be picked up firmly.
Indicator status: When the vacuum gripper is powered on, the power
supply indicator near the vacuum gripper is constantly red. When the
vacuum gripper is on, the IO status indicator is constantly green.

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1.2. Setup and Control
The vacuum gripper is powered and controlled directly via a single
connection cable that carries a 24V DC supply and IO control.
1.3. Safety
Warning
The operator must have read and understood all of the instructions in
the following manual before handling the xArm Vacuum Gripper.
Caution
The term "operator" refers to anyone responsible for any of the following
operations on the vacuum gripper:
●Installation
●Control
●Maintenance
●Inspection
●Calibration
●Programming
●Decommissioning
This documentation explains the various components of the vacuum
gripper and general operations regarding the whole life-cycle of the
product from installation to operation and decommissioning.

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The drawings and photos in this documentation are representative
examples and differences may exist between them and the delivered
product.
1.3.1. Warning
Caution
Any use of the vacuum gripper in noncompliance of these warnings is
inappropriate and may cause injury or damage.
Warning
●The vacuum gripper needs to be properly secured before operating
the robot.
●Do not install or operate a vacuum gripper that is damaged or lacking
parts.
●Never supply the vacuum gripper with an alternative current (AC)
source.
●Make sure all cord sets are always secured at both ends,vacuum
gripper end & robot end
●Always satisfy the recommended keying for electrical connections.
●Be sure no one is in the robot and/or vacuum gripper path before
initializing the robot's routine.
●Always satisfy the vacuum gripper payload.
●Do not use the vacuum gripper on people or animals.

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1.3.2. Risk Assessment and Final Application
The vacuum gripper is meant to be used on an industrial robot. The
robot, vacuum gripper and any other equipment used in the final
application must be evaluated with a risk assessment. The robot
integrator must ensure that all local safety measures and regulations are
respected. Depending on the application, there may be risks that need
additional protection/safety measures, for example, the work-piece the
vacuum gripper is manipulating may be inherently dangerous to the
operator.
1.3.3. Intended Use
The vacuum gripper is designed for grasping and temporarily securing
or holding objects.
Caution
The vacuum gripper is NOT intended for applying force against objects
or surfaces.
The product is intended for installation on a robot or other automated
machinery and equipment.
Info
Always comply with local and/or national laws, regulations and directives
on automation safety and general machine safety.

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The unit may be used only within the range of its technical data. Any
other use of the product is deemed improper and unintended use.
UFACTORY will not be liable for any damages resulting from any
improper or unintended use.

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2. Installation
The following subsections will guide you through the installation and
general setup of xArm Vacuum Gripper.
(1) The Scope of Delivery Section
(2) The Mechanical Installation Section
(3) The Electrical Setup Section
Warning
Before installing:
Read and understand the safety instructions related to the xArm Vacuum
Gripper.
Verify your package according to the Scope of delivery and your order
info.
Have the required parts, equipment and tools listed in the requirements
readily available.
Installing:
Satisfy the environmental conditions.
Do not operate the xArm Vacuum Gripper, or even turn on the power
supply, before it is firmly anchored and the danger zone is cleared.
2.1. Scope of Delivery

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2.1.1. General Kit
A Vacuum Gripper Kit generally includes these items:
xArm vacuum gripper
Cross countersunk head screws M6*8 (2)
M5 sealing plugs（5）
DP-6 suction cup（5）
DP-15 suction cup（5）
DP-30 suction cup（5）
2.2. Mechanical Installation
xArm Vacuum Gripper installation steps:
1. Move the robotic arm to a safe position. Avoid collision with the
robotic arm mounting surface or other equipment;
2. Power off the robotic arm by pressing the emergency stop button on
the control box;
3. Fix the vacuum gripper on the end of the robotic arm with 2 M6 bolts;

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4. Connect the robotic arm and the vacuum gripper with the vacuum
gripper connection cable.
Note:
1. When turning on the vacuum gripper connection cable, be sure to
power off the robotic arm, to set the emergency stop button in the
pressed state, and to ensure that power indicator of the robotic arm is
off, as to avoid robotic arm failure caused by hot-plugging;
2. Due to the length limitation of the vacuum gripper connection cable,
the vacuum gripper interface and the tool IO interface must be in the
same direction;
3. When connecting the vacuum gripper and the robotic arm, be sure to
align the positioning holes on the two ends of the interface. The male
pins of the connecting cable are relatively thin to avoid bending the
male pins during disassembly.

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2.3. Electrical Setup
Power and communication are established with the xArm Vacuum
Gripper via a single vacuum gripper connection cable. The vacuum
gripper connection cable provides a 24V power supply to the xArm
Vacuum Gripper and enables IO communication to the robot control
box.
Warning
Power must be off before connecting the xArm Vacuum Gripper and the
robotic arm via the vacuum gripper connection cable.
2.3.1. Pinout Interface
The xArm Vacuum Gripper is connected to the tool end of the robotic
arm via a 12 pin connector.
Pin sequence
Function

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1
24V
2
24V
3
GND
4
GND
5
485-A(no use)
6
485-B(no use)
7
Digital Input 0
8
Digital Input 1
9
Digital Output 0
10
Digital Output 1(no use)
11
No Connect(no use)
12
No Connect(no use)

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3. Control
3.1. Use xArm Studio to Control xArm Vacuum
Gripper
1. Set up xArm Vacuum Gripper
⚫Enter [Settings]-[End Effector]
Select the end effector: xArm Vacuum Gripper
1. The self-collision prevention model of the vacuum gripper can be
turned on by clicking the button.
2. When "TCP payload compensation" is turned on, the default TCP
payload will be changed to the TCP payload parameter of the vacuum
gripper.

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2. Control xArm Vacuum Gripper
⚫Control the vacuum gripper in the live control
Control Method:
1) By clicking the [Open]/[Close] button, you can control the opening and closing of
the vacuum gripper.

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⚫Control the vacuum gripper through Blockly
xArm Vacuum Gripper.Blockly
The role of this program: execute this program to control the vacuum
gripper to suck the target object at the specified position, and then place
the target object at the target position.
Note:
1) When the vacuum gripper is installed on the robotic arm, the TCP
Payload of the vacuum gripper should be set in the Blockly program.
When the total weight of the vacuum gripper changes after the object is
sucked, a new TCP Payload needs to be set.

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3.2. Use Python-SDK to Control xArm Vacuum
Gripper
The interface of controling vacuum gripper：
arm.set_vacuum_gripper(True, wait=False) #open the vacuum gripper
arm.set_vacuum_gripper(False, wait=False) #close the vacuum gripper
The download link of the Python-SDK:
https://github.com/xArm-Developer/xArm-Python-SDK
3.3. Use ROS-SDK to Control xArm Vacuum
Gripper
Please refer to Section 5.7.8 in the ReadMe file attached to the ROS
package to control the vacuum gripper.
xArm ROS-SDK link :
https://github.com/xArm-Developer/xarm_ros
3.4. Use Modbus-TCP Communication Protocol to
Control xArm Vacuum Gripper
This section mainly explains how to control the xArm Vacuum Gripper by
using the Modbus-TCP protocol through xArm control box.

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3.4.1. Modbus-TCP Communication Format
Modbus-TCP:
Modbus protocol is an application layer message transmission protocol,
including three message types: ASCII, RTU, and TCP. The standard
Modbus protocol physical layer interface includes RS232, RS422, RS485
and Ethernet interfaces, and adopts master / slave communication.
Modbus TCP Communication Process:
1. Establish a TCP connection
2. Prepare Modbus messages
3. Use the send command to send a message
4. Waiting for a response under the same connection
5. Use the recv command to read the message and complete a data
exchange
6. When the communication task ends, close the TCP connection
Parameter:
Default TCP Port: 502 Protocol: 0x00 0x02
On the problem of users using communication protocols to organize
data in big endian and little endian:
In this article, data analysis is big-endian analysis.

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3.4.2. Control of the xArm Vacuum Gripper
⚫Open/Close the vacuum gripper
Open the Vacuum
Gripper
00 01 00 02 00 08 7F 09 0A 15 00 80 80 43
00 01 00 02 00 08 7F 09 0A 15 00 00 00 44
Close the Vacuum
Gripper
00 01 00 02 00 08 7F 09 0A 15 00 00 80 43
00 01 00 02 00 08 7F 09 0A 15 00 80 00 44
Please refer to the table below for specific parameters.
IO control on the End-effector
Register：127 (0x7F)
Request
Modbus TCP
Header
Transaction Identifier
2 Bytes
u16
0x00,0x01
Protocol
2 Bytes
u16
0x00,0x02
Length
2 Bytes
u16
0x00,0x08
Register
1 Byte
u8
0x7F
Parameters
Host ID
1 Byte
u8
0x09
Address
2 Bytes
u16
0x0A,0x15
Parameters1(Open 0)
Data:
256.0: Close 0 257.0: Open 0
512.0: Close 1 514.0: Open 1
4 Bytes
fp32
0x00,0x80,0x80,0x43
Response
Modbus TCP
Header
Transaction Identifier
2 Bytes
u16
0x00,0x01
Protocol
2 Bytes
u16
0x00,0x02
Length
2 Bytes
u16
0x00,0x02
Register
1 Byte
u8
0x7F
Parameters
State
1 Byte
u8
0x00
⚫Get the status of the vacuum gripper
The steps to obtain the vacuum gripper status are shown in the following

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table:
Get Status（Request Commands）
00 01 00 02 00 04 80 09 0A 14
Get Status（Response Commands）
（The vacuum gripper picked up the object）
00 01 00 02 00 06 80 00 00 00 00 01
Get Status（Response Commands）
（The vacuum gripper does not pick up the
object）
00 01 00 02 00 06 80 00 00 00 00 00
Please refer to the table below for specific parameters.
Get the input of the end digital quantity
Register：128 (0x80)
Request
Modbus TCP
Header
Transaction Identifier
2
Bytes
u16
0x00,0x01
Protocol
2
Bytes
u16
0x00,0x02
Length
2
Bytes
u16
0x00,0x04
Register
1 Byte
u8
0x80
Parameters
Host ID
1 Byte
u8
0x09
Address
2
Bytes
u16
0x0A, 0x14
Response
Modbus TCP
Header
Transaction Identifier
2
Bytes
u16
0x00,0x01
Protocol
2
Bytes
u16
0x00,0x02
Length
2
Bytes
u16
0x00,0x06
Register
1 Byte
u8
0x80
Parameters
State
1 Byte
u8
0x00
Parameters1（0）
The end byte indicates the input
status. The digit of 0 corresponds to
input 0 and the digit of 1 corresponds
to input 1.
4
Bytes
u8*4
0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00