6061-T6 Aluminum CNC Machined Robot Gripper Finger with 0.01mm Pad Parallelism for Parallel Gripper Jaw Replacement

This is one jaw of a parallel gripper. Two of them close on a workpiece, and everything the robot knows about that workpiece is transmitted through the two grip faces. If the faces are not parallel, the part is gripped on an edge, it rotates slightly during acceleration, and the placement repeatability of the whole cell degrades by more than the gripper’s own specification.

We machine the finger from 6061-T6, hold the grip faces parallel to 0.01 mm and flat to 0.01 mm, and locate the mounting with reamed dowel holes at ±0.01 mm so a replacement finger goes back on the same axis without re-teaching the robot.

1. 1Drawing and grip review. We check grip face size, jaw opening, dowel pattern, finger length and load, and confirm whether serrations or a smooth face suits the workpiece, then quote within one working day.
2. 2Material verification. 6061-T6 plate is checked for grade and temper; for high-cycle cells we confirm the plate flatness before cutting, because a bowed blank produces a bowed finger.
3. 3Stress relief and facing. The blank is stress relieved and faced on both sides, establishing the datum that the grip faces will be measured from.
4. 4First operation. Mounting face, dowel holes and counterbores are machined and the dowel holes reamed to H7, so the second operation can be located on pins rather than on vice jaws.
5. 5Second operation on dowels. The part is located on its own dowel holes and clamped on the mounting face, then the grip face and the opposite face are machined in the same setup, which is what makes the 0.01 mm parallelism achievable.
6. 6Weight relief. Pockets are cut on the non-grip side to reduce moving mass, with rib thickness kept above 3 mm so the finger does not flex under grip force.
7. 7Serrations and edge break. Serrations are cut with a form cutter to ±0.05 mm depth; all edges are broken so the finger cannot mark a workpiece or cut a technician.
8. 8Anodizing and inspection. Hard anodizing at 40 µm with the grip face masked where flatness matters, then CMM for parallelism and dowel position, flatness gauge, pin gauges, and a first article report.

Hard anodizing grows into the surface as well as out of it, and 40 µm of coating on a grip face changes both its flatness and its friction behaviour. Where the customer grips a precision-machined or optical part, we mask the grip face so the aluminum surface stays as machined; where grip is the priority, we coat it fully and specify the coating thickness so the jaw opening can be set correctly.

The same logic applies to dowel holes: coating inside an H7 hole closes the fit and turns a slip fit into an interference fit. Those holes are masked, and the anodizing record travels with the inspection report.

Finger length, jaw profile, serration pitch, dowel pattern, mounting interface, weight relief and coating are all built to your drawing. One piece is a normal order with no tooling charge and no setup fee, and the prototype is machined on the same equipment and inspected to the same plan as a batch. If a weight-relief pocket would leave a section too thin for your grip force, our engineer flags it before cutting.

• NDA before files. Mutual non-disclosure is signed before drawings or samples are released, covering geometry, volume, end use and customer identity.
• No public reference. Confidential gripper parts never appear as samples, catalogue items, website photos or trade fair parts.
• Separated cell. Sensitive work runs with named operators and project-coded programmes.
• Partner control. Anodizing suppliers receive process specifications only, never the assembly drawing.

Dongguan Changxinda Precision Technology Co., Ltd has machined custom parts since 2008. The plant runs four-axis and five-axis machining centres, turn-mill lathes, CNC lathes and milling machines, employs 90 to 102 people under ISO 9001:2015, serves more than 200 customers, exports 50 to 60 percent of output and records annual sales of USD 10 to 20 million.

• Dates in writing. Prototypes 3 to 6 working days, batch orders 10 to 18 working days after drawing approval.
• Repeat orders skip setup. Programmes, fixtures and gauge sets stay on file.
• Reserved slots. Blanket orders are booked into fixed monthly machine time.
• Early notice. If material, anodizing or capacity threatens the date, you are told before the date is missed.
• Dispatch evidence. Photos, inspection report and packing list before shipment.

• Consumer Electronics Phone, tablet and laptop housings, heat sinks, camera brackets, VR/AR headset structural parts, smart wearable shells
• Automation & Industrial Equipment Automation fixtures, jigs, module frames, transmission sliders, motor mounts, sensor housings, conveyor line parts
• Semiconductor & Vacuum Equipment Vacuum chambers, vacuum fittings, precision equipment bases, thermal isolation and insulation parts, inspection fixtures
• Medical Devices Surgical instrument bases, diagnostic instrument housings, endoscope components, aesthetic device structural parts (medical-grade aluminum and stainless steel)
• Automotive New energy motor housings, battery end plates, sensor brackets, lamp structural parts, tuning parts, hydraulic valve blocks
• Aerospace & UAV Aircraft structural parts, drone frames, landing gear parts, avionics instrument housings (lightweight precision parts)
• Optics & Photonics Optical lens barrels, lens mounts, light source heat sinks, camera module brackets, inspection optical benches
• Communications 5G heat dissipation cavities, filter parts, signal adapter structural parts, telecom equipment housings
• Robotics Robot arm joint parts, robot bases, reducer housings, AGV structural parts
• Instrumentation Test equipment housings, precision gauge bases, flow meter parts, laboratory equipment accessories

Each finger is bagged with desiccant, seated in a foam tray so the grip face cannot be bruised, and packed in a five-layer export carton marked with part number, quantity and batch code. Sea freight ships on fumigation-free plywood pallets; neutral cartons are available.