Robot grippers are located at the end of the robot's wrist joint, used to hold any object that the robot will manipulate. For example, pick-and-place robots can move objects from one location to another. Robot grippers combine high-end technology with high-end materials. The research, development, and production of high-quality grippers are challenging, and they require a high degree of compatibility with robot manufacturers. Since China started later in this field, the currently mature global robot gripper manufacturers are mainly companies from Europe, America, and Japan, such asDutch Goudsmit Magnetics,schunk SCHUNK (Germany), German zimmer, schmalz Schmalz (Germany), German FESTO, Dutch goudsmit, Japanese SMC, etc.

Today, let us review the well-known gripper manufacturers in Europe, the United States, and Japan.

Well-known European robot gripper/grasper manufacturers

　　1). Goudsmit Magnetics Company

        NetherlandsGoudsmit Magnetics was established in 1959,goudsmit magnetic grippers are fixtures that use magnetic force to secure workpieces, facilitating the rapid transport of heavy loads made of ferromagnetic materials. They are commonly used in workshops, warehouses, machinery plants, mold factories, and other machining sectors. goudsmit magnetic fixtures can significantly improve the clamping efficiency of magnetically permeable steel materials. goudsmit magnetic grippers use high-performance rare-earth neodymium iron boron (N>40) as the core. Pneumatic switching changes the magnetic system of the neodymium iron boron inside the magnet, achieving the holding or release of the workpiece being processed.

      viagoudsmitMagnetic grippers can automatically pick up flat steel products or sheets with a maximum thickness of 10 mm. They can be switched quickly and easily and are specifically designed for transfer, placement, or positioning using robotic arms. Electromagnetic fixtures serve as end-of-arm tools for robotic arms.goudsmitThey can even hold perforated sheets effortlessly. For sheets up to 10 mm thick. Switching: pneumatic. Tool for the end of a robotic arm. Lifting force: max 45 kg. Permanent magnets. Simple and convenient operation; pneumatic switching of the magnetic gripper. This allows the magnetic field to be moved and turned on or off. Control can be performed via 5/3 or 5/2 valves. Even in the event of air pressure or power failure, the activatedgoudsmitmagnetic gripper will not release its load. This makes it a safe and reliable end-of-arm solution.goudsmit magnetic grippers can be used as: End-of-arm tools when you want to use a robot to pick up, place, or position flat steel products. Electromagnetic fixtures are ideal. Applications are very diverse, such as: pick-and-place of steel parts, handling perforated sheets with manipulators, removing workpieces from crates (bin picking), positioning paper in printing presses, stacking, or stacking in hot baking cans.goudsmitHigh-temperature grippers are suitable for this last example. For instance, you can also use them to load and unload advanced steel in presses. It is formed at high temperatures.

2). SCHUNK SCHUNK (Germany)

      GermanySCHUNKThe company was founded in 1945. Starting as a turning workshop focused primarily on contract manufacturing, after more than half a century of struggle and development, SCHUNK has become a leading global manufacturer of hydro-expansion clamping systems and a top producer of chucks. The development and production of its automatic gripping mechanisms have always been at the forefront of the industry in Europe and worldwide. Today, SCHUNK has four major production bases in Germany and the United States, and subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, and other countries. SCHUNK's products are mainly applied in the machinery and automation fields. There are thousands of product series in different specifications, which can be divided into the following four categories: 1, machine tool chucks, steady rests, and jaws 2; hydro-expansion tool holders and mandrels 3; modular automatic gripping systems 4; and modular workpiece clamping systems.

SCHUNK SCHUNK is a global leading supplier of gripping systems and clamping technology. Its products are mainly applied in mechanical engineering, robotics, automated assembly, and handling.SCHUNK gripping systems include manipulators, rotary and linear units, robot accessories, and mobile gripping systems. Clamping technology consists of tool holders, modular clamping systems, magnetic clamping technology, chucks, jaws, and hydraulic technology. In addition, SCHUNK has developed a five-fingered robotic hand. In terms of size, shape, and mobility, it closely matches the human hand. It is the first collaborative robotic hand to receive safety certification from the German statutory accident insurance institution.

3). Gimatic Company

Italian Gimatic provides standard automation products, end-of-arm tooling for manipulators, sensors, and mechatronic products for the automation industry, mainly targeting the plastics and electronics sectors. Products include four main series: HANDLING - Standard Automation Series, PLASTICS - End-of-Arm Tooling for Manipulators, SENSORS - Sensors, and MECHATRONICS - Electric Drive Series.

4). FESTO Germany Festo Company

FESTO Festo mainly specializes in pneumatic components, assemblies, and systems. Its pneumatic two-finger parallel grippers, three-finger hands, and compliant grippers offer high flexibility. In fact, what draws the most attention from the industry to Festo is its various biomimetic robots (such as seagulls, dragonflies, kangaroos, ants, butterflies, etc.); these products have not yet entered the stage of mass production and shipment.

      5).   Zimmer Group Company

The main products of Germany's Zimmer Group include mechanical grippers, automatic tool changers, linear bearings, clamping elements for slides, braking elements, etc. It is claimed that its market share in Europe is as high as 90%.

      zimmer economical pneumatic 2-finger parallel gripper uses compressed air as power, serving as an actuating device for clamping or grasping workpieces. Its main function isduring transmission and grasping,to replace manual handling and achieve automated clamping, effectively improving production efficiency and operational safety. Mainlyused in automated production lines, robotic arms, forming machines, and other automated mechanical equipment. zimmer parallel grippers come in single-acting and double-acting types. Single-acting mainly requires air supply to clamp the product, while no air supply is needed to release it. Double-acting requires air supply for both clamping and releasing, offering higher performance than single-acting.The fingers of zimmer parallel grippers are actuated by two pistons. Each piston connects to the pneumatic finger via a roller and a double crank, forming a special drive unit. Thus, the pneumatic gripper always moves axially centered, and each jaw cannot move independently. If the gripper moves in reverse, the previously pressurized piston vents, while the other piston becomes pressurized. zimmer parallel grippers are driven by a single piston, with the shaft driving the crank; each of the two jaw plates has a corresponding crank slot. To reduce frictional resistance, the connection between the jaw plates and the body adopts a ball-bearing slide rail structure.

        6). Schmalz Germany Schmalz Company

Germany's Schmalz Group was founded in 1910. Starting as a blade manufacturer, it transitioned into a manufacturer of light motorized transport equipment in the mid-period. In 1984, it successfully completed the transformation from a finished product supplier to an integrated solution provider, beginning systematic production of vacuum components. It also provides customers with cost-effective complete vacuum operating system solutions, becoming one of the earliest global suppliers of vacuum systems.

         7).  QB Robotics Company

Italy's QB Robotics mainly manufactures actuators, equipment, and systems for robot arms, handles, and parallel robots, and has also designed a five-fingered robotic hand.

         8).  On Robot Company

Denmark's On Robot mainly provides plug-and-play grippers that can be directly mounted on collaborative robot arms without requiring engineer programming or operation, helping to accelerate development and application speeds.

        9).  Shadow Hand Company

Since 1987, UK-based Shadow Robot has been dedicated to providing sophisticated robotic hands and prosthetics, including end-effectors suitable for collaborative robots. Shadow Robot has also developed a robotic hand closest to the human hand, featuring 24 types of movements, allowing direct mapping of human motions to machinery.

         10).Weiss Robotics Company

Germany's Weiss Robotics provides grippers with integrated detection and monitoring, eliminating external limit switches. This significantly reduces cycle times and removes waiting periods previously required when checking traditional limit switch operations. The gripper's integrated controller offers users direct fieldbus connectivity without any additional components.

Well-known US gripper/grasping manufacturer

11). Righthand Robotics Company

US-based Righthand Robotics manufactures ReFlex SF and ReFlex TakkTile three-fingered hands for UR and Rethink Robotics. Its launched RightPick gripper combines vacuum bars with fingers to quickly pick up and grasp individual items.

12). ROBOTIQ Company

Since 2008, Canadian company ROBOTIQ has been providing grippers, cameras, vision systems, and sensors for industrial robots. Its electric two-finger adaptive grippers and three-finger adaptive grippers can grasp objects of various shapes.

13). ATI

US-based ATI is an engineering R&D company specializing in robotic accessories and end-of-arm tooling. Its products include automatic tool changers, multi-axis force/torque sensor systems, robotic deburring tools, robot collision avoidance sensors, rotary unions, and compliance devices.

　　14). Soft Robotics

US-based Soft Robotics is a robotics company founded by scholars from Harvard and MIT, designing and producing robotic hands using flexible nylon materials. Its soft robotic hands can adaptively adjust their shape to the object being grasped, offering distinct advantages in handling fragile or irregular items in the food and agriculture sectors, such as eggs, fruits, vegetables, and customized parts. In 2018, Soft Robotics announced on 5/4 that it had raised $2000 million in Series B funding. Investors included Scale Venture Partners, Calibrate Ventures, Honeywell Ventures, Tekfen Ventures, and robotics giant ABB, which had previously raised $500 million in Series A funding in late 2015.

15). Grabit

US-based Grabit is dedicated to using "electrostatic adhesion" and machine learning technologies to enable robots to stack different fabrics, including leather and mixed fibers, and even pick up a bundle of hair.

16). Barrett Technology

US-based Barrett Technology focuses on the research and manufacturing of miniature servo drives, human-robot collaborative intelligent robots, and medical rehabilitation robots. Its three-finger BarrettHand has been widely used for many years and can grasp target objects of different sizes, shapes, and orientations.

In 2017/4, Estun acquired a partial equity stake and increased capital in US-based Barrett Technology for $900 million through its wholly-owned subsidiary.

Well-known Japanese gripper/hand manufacturer

       17). SMC

Japanese company SMC is a developer and manufacturer of pneumatic components. Its main products include ten series of cylinders, new pneumatic FRL units, low-power solenoid valves, refrigerated air dryers, and quick-connect fittings.

      smc pneumatic grippers are actuating devices that use compressed air as power to clamp or grasp workpieces. This technology originated in Japan and was later widely adopted by domestic automation enterprises. Based on style, they are typically classified into Y type fingers and parallel type fingers. Bore diameters include 16mm, 20mm, 25mm, 32mm, and 40MM. Their main function is to replace manual gripping tasks, effectively improving production efficiency and operational safety. The SMC pneumatic finger series is one of the commonly used pneumatic gripper devices in the industrial sector.

   18). IAI

Japanese company IAI was established in Japan in 1976. Its products include electric cylinders, single-axis and Cartesian coordinate robots, and controllers, accounting for more than 50% of the Japanese linear electric actuator market. Its business areas cover various manufacturing industries, including automotive, semiconductor, electronics, medical, and food.

       19). Sake Robotics

Japanese Sake Robotics is committed to providing low-cost, highly dexterous robotic grippers for next-generation high-value robots.