We present a novel technique which integrates automatic, part centered
design of customized fingertips with a grasp planning stage for
arbitrary parts of an assembly process. Starting with a set of CAD
models of parts in an assembly sequence, force closure grasps are
generated for each part in a sampling process. By employing the
sampled force closure grasp positions in the second stage, the
fingertip shape model is adapted to obtain form closure grasps at the
specific grasp locations on the part. This approach significantly
reduces the process time of designing fingers. Furthermore, the method
increases the robustness of the fingers grasp for precise
assemblies. The proposed fast generic automated finger design (FGAFD)
method is able to design fingers for various geometrically complex
workpieces. The designed fingers are experimentally verified. The
results are discussed in detail and benchmarked against existing
approaches.

Keywords: Finger design, design automation, grasp planning, industrial grippers.