Grasping model of fabric cut pieces for robotic soft fingers

In order to progress the research on automatic separation of fabric pieces from a cutting pile during the garment manufacture, a summary of the methods of grasping was made. Next, the process of cut garment pieces grasping by soft fingers was defined, and the mechanical model was analyzed in detail. After that a grasping experiment by soft fingers was carried out. The experiment results show that the parameters of a soft finger (positive pressure, opening distance) and the parameters of the fabric (grams per square meter, thickness, friction coefficient, stiffness) have great influence on the grasping effect. Furthermore, a grasping model was proposed. Finally, a test experiment was implemented to verify the applicability of the model proposed. This paper mainly contributed a bridge between the parameters of fabrics and the parameters of soft fingers which can help greatly to select or to design a suitable soft finger according to the properties of a fabric accurately and quickly. In addition, the grasping model of fabric pieces of garment by using robotic soft fingers was found to have a good potential applicability in the field of smart manufacture of garment in the near future.