Digital I/O Converter Kit

Integrating grippers with robot arms is often one of the biggest headaches when developing new robotic applications. A major obstacle is mismatched I/O signals between the end-of-arm-tooling (EOAT) and the robot arm. To address this challenge, OnRobot is Iaunching the new Digital I/O Converter Kit to support seamless integration of its RG2, RG6, Gecko, and VG10 grippers with a wider range of both collaborative robots (cobots) and traditional robotic arms. A small converter device, the Digital I/O Converter now facilitates out-of-box integration with KUKA, FANUC, Yaskawa, Kawasaki, Doosan, Nachi and Techman robot arms.

As different robot arms understand I/O signals differently, the Digital I/O Converter Kit works by converting NPN to PNP signals, and vice versa, which means programmers don’t have to worry about the robots and grippers not understanding the signals received.  The Converter Kit also includes an adapter plate to convert the OnRobot standard mounting flange to match the robot’s flange.

OnRobot’s increased compatibility has been received with excitement in the robotics industry. Bernardo Mendez, senior product manager with Yaskawa Innovation, says the combination of OnRobot’s EOAT portfolio with Yaskawa’s robot arms delivers a powerful solution. “Our Smart Series robot line-up is based on ease-of-use; adding intuitive integration with OnRobot grippers supports that mission,” he says. “There is a myriad of communication platforms out there, the Converter Kit simplifies this; there are no lines of code to be written by the end user, the wiring is straight-forward. The grippers are really designed with the customer in mind.”