Grasp Analysis for the Robot-Based Manipulation of Pre-Assembled Cables with Electrical Connectors

The mounting of pre-assembled cables with electrical connectors is mainly carried out manually in industry today. An exemplary application is the interconnection of battery modules. Automation of such assembly tasks offers the potential for increasing efficiency but requires the design of suitable gripper systems. This is challenging as the cable induces state-dependent forces and torques on the gripper system, which must be transmitted via the complex surface geometries of the plugs. Currently, the required grasp force cannot be determined in advance but only after prototypes have been manufactured and with elaborate physical experiments. To overcome these drawbacks, we present a methodology for the grasp analysis of pre-assembled cables with electrical connectors. The novelty of this approach is to combine a physics simulation for deformable linear objects with a contact model for non-planar grasping surfaces. The results indicate that the cable deformation significantly affects the required grasp force. In addition, each combination of contact surface and dynamic cable deformation results in an individual grasp force course. The methodology enables comparison of different electrical connectors and their grasping surfaces, as well as cables and their manipulation paths, efficiently and with little expert knowledge.