ひずみゲージを内包するロボット用力覚センサ一体型真空吸着パッドの開発

抄録

We have developed a bellows-type vacuum suction pad with strain gauges attached to its sides. The strain gauges are placed and pasted in all four directions of the suction pad, so the pad operates as a six-axis load cell in its own right. The resistance value changes as the suction pad deforms, and this is read to detect compression, tension, and/or tilt of the suction pad. The strain gages were formed using a polyimide film as a substrate, on which a NiCr thin film was deposited by a sputtering method. The strain gauges were patterned using a shadow mask with gaps in the shape of the strain gauges during sputtering. This paper describes the principle of operation of the vacuum suction pad with strain gages and details of the fabrication method.