The global robot end effector market is expected to grow from USD 2.3 billion in 2023 to USD 4.3 billion by 2028, registering a CAGR of 13.5%. Growing demand for modular end effectors, increasing adoption of cobots, penetration of automation in SMEs, and increasing adoption in the warehousing, pharmaceutical, and food industry are the main drivers for the growth of the robot end effector market.

The major players in the market are Schunk (Germany), Schmalz (Germany), Zimmer Group (Germany), Tünkers (Germany),cDestaco (US), Festo (Germany), ABB (Switzerland), ATI Industrial Automation (US), Piab AB (Sweden), and Robotiq (Canada).

Driver: Increasing demand for modular end effectors by various industries:

Due to the fast-changing nature of industries, the demand for modular end effectors is increasing. This scenario is observed in the consumer goods industry, specifically packaging, where the shape, size, surface, or weight of the packaging is constantly changing. This shortens the life cycle of an end effector to 1 to 2 years and thereby increases the cost of replacement for the company. Modular end effectors have the capability to accommodate and handle a large variety of objects as required. A modular vacuum bar from Schmalz (Germany) can perfectly seal and lift objects regardless of their size; Zimmer Group (Germany) and Schunk (Germany) introduced a modular gripping system – MATCH with an unlimited range of uses from production and assembly to warehouse logistics, shipping, and even laboratory automation.

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Opportunity: Advancement in robotics has surged the demand for soft grippers:

Advances in soft robotics, coupled with the increasing need to handle delicate items, have enabled rapid progress in soft grippers. Unlike traditional grippers that are made of rigid materials, these end effectors are fabricated from soft and flexible components. Earlier, most end effectors were able to only manipulate objects of fixed size and shape. However, industry requirements are slowly shifting toward the use of components that can grasp and manipulate a large variety of objects. Due to the material softness of the gripper arms, they can be used for sensitive applications such as in the food & beverage or glass manufacturing industries that can handle objects without damaging them. Fruits or vegetables have varying sizes, making soft grippers ideal due to their consistent clamping force irrespective of slight differences in size and shape. Soft grippers are mainly adopted by the food & beverage industry, one of the fastest-growing clients for soft grippers. Hence, the high penetration rate of automation in the food & beverage industry is expected to stimulate the adoption of soft grippers in the next 4 to 5 years.

Challenge: Interoperability and integration issues related to end effectors with existing facilities:

Interoperability is a very important function in any factory or manufacturing unit. There must exist a modular framework for both hardware and software to connect and coordinate various end effector systems. The focus is not only on the software side, which is used for programming, diagnosing, and monitoring but also the interchangeability of hardware between the end effector and robot arm. There have been cases in the robot end effector industry where a client has bought a robot arm and an end effector separately that were not fully compatible with each other, and the setup was a huge challenge from the onset.