2FG7 vs RG2 — which 2-finger gripper for pick-and-place?
Both are 2-finger electric parallel grippers, but they target different applications. The 2FG7 is a sealed compact gripper rated 7 kg force-fit / 11 kg form-fit with a 38 mm stroke, 20–140 N gripping force (16–450 mm/s gripping speed), ±0.1 mm repeatability, IP67, and a built-in force sensor in one finger for grip detection and feedback. It's designed for harsh manufacturing conditions including CNC and cleanroom. The 2FG7 ships with a choice of two bellows: Standard (NBR) for CNC mineral-oil environments, or ESD/Cleanroom (Silicone) which qualifies the gripper for ISO Class 5 cleanroom and ESD-safe operation (10⁵–10⁹ Ohm). Gear grease is FDA 21 CFR 178.3570 approved for incidental food contact. The RG2 is a more flexible gripper rated 2 kg force-fit / 5 kg form-fit with a much wider 110 mm stroke, lighter gripping force (3–40 N), IP54, and supports X-Shape and 50/100 mm extension fingertips for tight-space picking. Rule of thumb: 2FG7 for harsh-environment, CNC, cleanroom, or ESD-sensitive picking with smaller parts; RG2 for variable part sizes or applications needing wide-stroke fingertip customization.
When should I use the 3FG15 instead of a 2-finger gripper?
Whenever the part is cylindrical or round. The 3FG15 grips with three contact points instead of two, which auto-centers cylindrical workpieces (shafts, machined rounds, bottles, jars) and gives a more stable grip than a 2-finger parallel gripper would on the same part. Specs: 15 kg payload, 10–240 N gripping force, 20–150 mm grip range, supports both external (force-fit) and internal (form-fit) gripping, IP67. The 3FG15 is the standard choice for CNC lathe tending — the auto-centering means precise placement into the lathe chuck without programming complex orientation moves. For non-cylindrical parts, the 2FG7 or RG2 family is usually a better fit.
When does the MG10 magnetic gripper beat vacuum?
Three scenarios. (1) Perforated or porous metal sheets — vacuum can't seal on a perforated panel or punched sheet, but a magnet doesn't care about holes. (2) Dusty or abrasive surfaces — vacuum cups clog and wear quickly in foundry, machining, and stamping environments; the MG10 has nothing to clog. (3) Destacking thin sheets — the MG10's 10-step magnetism control can be tuned to lift exactly one thin sheet at a time, which vacuum struggles with. The MG10 delivers 300 N pulling force with a built-in proximity sensor for part detection, maintains grip on power loss, and is IP67 rated. Payload depends on orientation and contact configuration: up to 10 kg with all four fingers in contact and the workpiece parallel to the ground; about 3.4 kg perpendicular; 2.8 kg with the protective pads attached; 4.1 kg for cylindrical workpieces using the supplied fingertips (20–65 mm diameter range). Workpiece needs to be at least 65.4 × 65.4 mm to achieve full magnetic force. The MG10 only works on materials containing iron, cobalt, or nickel — pure aluminum, copper, brass, and most non-magnetic stainless grades won't grip. 304/316 stainless varies in magnetic permeability depending on heat treatment, so test-grip your specific alloy before committing.
What's the Gecko SP gripper for, and what are the limitations?
The Gecko SP is a single-pad adhesive gripper using millions of micro-scaled fibrillar stalks that adhere to flat surfaces via van der Waals forces — the same physics that lets geckos climb glass. It's the only OnRobot gripper that handles flat shiny, perforated, or porous workpieces reliably: PCBs, aluminum mesh, head gaskets, glass panels, and printed packaging where vacuum struggles to seal. Available in three sizes (SP1 = 1 kg, SP3 = 3 kg, SP5 = 5 kg / 11 lb). Major advantages: no air supply, no electricity, no marks left on shiny workpieces (eliminating cleaning steps), works on perforated parts. Limitations: only works on flat surfaces (won't grip curved or contoured parts), the adhesive pad needs periodic cleaning to maintain grip strength, and payload is lower than vacuum or magnetic options. Note that the original (multi-pad) Gecko Gripper has been discontinued; the current product line is the Gecko SP series.
When does OnRobot Eyes vision earn its place in a pick-and-place cell?
OnRobot Eyes is a 2.5D vision system with active IR stereo depth, 400–1000 mm working distance, and IP54 rating, supporting four application types: Detection, Sorting, Inspection, and Landmark. It earns its place when (1) parts arrive in random orientations on a conveyor (no fixturing needed), (2) the cobot has to sort multi-SKU parts and pick the right one, (3) you want label-up or feature-aligned placement, or (4) the cobot uses a fixed reference point (Landmark mode) to navigate to picking points. Skip Eyes if parts arrive in fixed positions in trays or pallets — the additional cost and integration time aren't justified. Eyes can be robot-mounted (12 reconfiguration positions around the flange) or external-mounted depending on cell layout. Minimum workpiece size is 10×10 mm or 15 mm diameter.
Single Quick Changer vs Dual Quick Changer — which one do I need?
The single Quick Changer is for single-gripper cells where an operator might occasionally swap tools between production runs. Robot-side weight is 0.06 kg, plus 0.14 kg per tool-side adapter — about 0.2 kg total. Rated 25 kg payload, 400 N permissible force, ±0.02 mm repeatability. The Dual Quick Changer is for cells where the cobot itself swaps between two grippers inside a single program (no operator intervention). Robot-side weight is 0.41 kg plus 0.14 kg per tool-side, so a fully populated dual stack is about 0.69 kg of payload overhead — plan accordingly on smaller cobots. Rated 30 kg payload, 600 N permissible force, same ±0.02 mm repeatability. Both are IP67 and rated for 5,000 tool-change cycles. Decision rule: single QC for occasional manual swaps; Dual QC when high-mix cycle time matters more than payload budget.
Do I need a Compute Box for pick-and-place?
It depends on the gripper. On Universal Robots e-Series, single grippers like the 2FG7, 3FG15, RG2, RG6, VG10, VGC10, MG10, and Soft Gripper connect directly via the UR Tool Flange — no Compute Box needed. The Compute Box is required for HEX force/torque sensors, Dual Quick Changer, RG2-FT, VGP20, OnRobot Sander, OnRobot Screwdriver, and Eyes vision system. On UR CB3-Series (older controllers), 3FG15 also requires the Compute Box. For non-UR cobots (Doosan, Techman/Omron TM, FANUC CRX, KUKA, Yaskawa, Nachi, Kawasaki), the Compute Box plus a brand-specific cable kit is the standard integration path for any OnRobot tool. Talk to our application engineering team for a confirmed integration list against your specific cobot model and controller version.
Speccing a pick-and-place cell?
Send us your part profile (dimensions, weight, surface type, orientation), expected throughput, and cobot platform. We'll spec the right gripper(s), Quick Changer config, vision system if needed, and Compute Box / cable kit — and price the complete cell.
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