The eRDH stands out because it combines that rugged, workhorse durability DESTACO is known for with high-end, intelligent motor control and diagnostic feedback. It gives you the brains you need without sacrificing the brawn.
DESTACO eRDH Electric Parallel Gripper
Product Q&A with Gary Labadie, Global Automation Director | DESTACO
The industry is continuing to see a shift from pneumatic to electric end-of-arm tooling. What makes the DESTACO eRDH stand out in an increasingly crowded electric gripper market?
You’re absolutely right about that shift—it’s moving fast. There are a lot of electric grippers out there today, but what really sets the eRDH apart is the DESTACO DNA built into it. We didn’t just want to make an electric gripper; we wanted to make a Robohand electric gripper. That means it has to be incredibly robust and reliable in harsh industrial environments with the IP67 rating, but more importantly it must be extremely easy to use and setup. A lot of electric grippers out there feel a bit like consumer electronics—they're fragile, high maintance, and have low reliability. The eRDH stands out because it combines that rugged, workhorse durability DESTACO is known for with high-end, intelligent motor control and diagnostic feedback. It gives you the brains you need without sacrificing the brawn.
A major advantage of electric grippers is the level of control they offer. How does the eRDH's precise control over position, force, and speed benefit manufacturers dealing with high-mix operations?
In the old days of pneumatics, if you needed to switch from handling a heavy metal gear to a fragile plastic housing, you had to physically go in, adjust air pressure valves, or even swap out the tooling entirely. It was a massive time sink. With the eRDH, dealing with high-mix operations is just a push button or remote software configuration change. Because you have control over multiple finger positions, with remote configurable force, and speed, you can program different "recipes" for different parts. The robot can handle part A with a firm, fast grip, and ten seconds later handle part B with a precise, light grip. The IO Link model eliminates manual changeovers, which is a huge win for maximizing uptime on a high-mix line.
Integration time is always a top concern for automation engineers. How does the eRDH streamline the setup process and communication with the robot controller?
I’ve been in this industry a long time, and I know firsthand that engineers are stretched thinner than ever. They don't have a week to spend figuring out how to get a gripper to talk to a robot. The eRDH is the easiest gripper to configure in the market today. We are talking configuration done in seconds, not minutes including setting sensors. We made integration as painless as possible. We added standard communication protocols like IO-Link in addition to our discreet IO models making the gripper smart with enhanced diagnostics. It is a single cable connection built on a plug-and-play architecture. We wanted an engineer to be able to pull the eRDH out of the box, bolt it on, plug it in, and have the controller shaking hands with it in a matter of minutes, not days.
Safety and reliability are critical in any automated cell. What safety features does the eRDH employ in operation and in power loss?
Dropping a part is the ultimate sin in our business. It damages the product, it can damage the machine, and worse, it’s a safety hazard to the operators on the floor. When you are using compressed air, a severed airline drops the part immediately. With the eRDH, we’ve engineered physical failsafes. If someone trips a breaker, or an emergency stop is hit, or the facility just loses power entirely, the eRDH features mechanical self-locking or gripping force retention. Simply put: if the power goes out, the gripper stays shut. The part stays exactly where it is until it's safe to resume operations. Additionally, the eRDH will stop movement should it encounter an obstacle preventing the gripper fingers from reaching its intended position.
Because the eRDH operates entirely without compressed air, it opens up new possibilities for deployment. What specific environments or industries is this gripper best suited for?
Going electric really un-tethers you. One of the biggest areas we are seeing growth is with Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and AGVs. You obviously can't drag an air hose around a warehouse behind a mobile robot, so the eRDH is perfect for mobile picking and placing because it runs entirely off DC power. Beyond that, the lack of pneumatics means there is no oily exhaust air. That makes the eRDH a natural fit for cleanrooms, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and the food processing industry where contamination from compressed air lines is a constant concern.
Looking at sustainability and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), how does transitioning to the eRDH help manufacturing facilities meet their long-term energy and maintenance goals?
Ask any plant manager, and they will tell you that compressed air is one of the most expensive, inefficient utilities in their entire factory. Leaks happen constantly, and you end up paying to run massive compressors just to blow air out of tiny holes in your pneumatic lines. Moving to an electric solution like the eRDH cuts that energy waste to zero. It only draws power when it’s actively moving or applying force. On top of the energy savings, it’s practically maintenance-free. There are no pneumatic seals to wear out and replace, and no air lines to maintain. When you look at the total cost of ownership over a five- or ten-year lifespan, the eRDH pays for itself over and over again through energy savings and reduced maintenance alone.
Gary Labadie is the Global Automation Director at DESTACO, where he leads the commercial and strategic direction of the multi-million-dollar Robohand automation portfolio. With a strong background in electrical engineering and decades of experience, Gary expertly bridges the gap between complex technical concepts and global commercial strategy. Known as a collaborative and results-driven leader, Gary is passionate about solving complex automation challenges.
The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of RoboticsTomorrow
DESTACO
DESTACO is now the worldwide leader in the innovation, design, manufacture and support of clamping, gripping, transferring, indexing and robotic tooling solutions for workplace and automation needs.
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