A Mechanical Screwing Tool for Parallel Grippers—Design, Optimization, and Manipulation Policies

This article develops a mechanical screwing tool and its manipulation policies for two-finger parallel robotic grippers. The tool is based on a combined scissor-like element (SLE) and double-ratchet mechanism that converts the gripping motion of two-finger parallel grippers into a continuous rotation to realize tasks like fastening screws. The tool is entirely mechanical. There is no need for external cable connections. The manuscript includes two parts. For one thing, it shows the details of the tool design, optimizes the tool’s dimensions and effective stroke lengths, and studies the contacts and forces to achieve stable grasping and screwing. For another, it presents the related manipulation and control policies, including recognizing the tool, changing tool poses, and completing screw fastening tasks. The designed tool, together with the related manipulation and control policies, are analyzed and verified in several real-world applications. The results show that the tool has satisfying mechanical properties. Robots with parallel grippers can robustly and flexibly use the tool to fasten screws. The tool can also be used collaboratively with other tools to finish difficult tasks. In the future, similar tools are expected to replace special-purpose end-effectors or tool changers for more flexible robot integration.