SCHUNK acquires shares in future startup company INNOCISE

By Bhalchandra Chorghade, Editor, CNCTimes.com

The joint development of the bio-inspired, energy-free ADHESO gripping technology is a complete success. Now SCHUNK, the expert for gripping systems and clamping technology and the startup for reversible adhesive systems INNOCISE are intensifying their collaboration.

Gripping like a gecko: With the ADHESO gripping technology, grippers can handle delicate components gently and completely without external energy. SCHUNK developed the technology together with the startup company INNOCISE.

Gentle, residue-free, and completely without external energy – this is how SCHUNK's ADHESO adhesive grippers grip even thin films or porous sheets, thus opening up a wide range of new applications, whether for manufacturing battery and fuel cells, the medical and pharmaceutical sector, the electrical industry, or other fields of industry. Nature provided the inspiration: Geckos can even hold on to slippery surfaces with the help of millions of tiny hairs on their feet that stick to surface molecules. ADHESO incorporates this: Individually adapted plastic pads made of special polymers reproduce the fine hair structure on the adhesive grippers, allowing a vast array of parts to be gripped and held securely without external energy.

SCHUNK developed the technology together with its partner INNOCISE, which is based in Saarland, Germany. For years now, the automation expert has been collaborating with the startup company, which was formed in 2019 and sprang from the Leibniz Institute for New Materials, a leading international materials research organization. The innovative, young company has now established itself as a technological leader for reversible adhesive systems. Its mission is to develop "green" and energy-free gripping solutions for tomorrow ? entirely without cables, electronics, compressed air, and expensive peripherals.

SCHUNK simulates the fine hairy structure of a gecko’s foot with the ADHESO gripping technology. During the gripping process, the tiny hairs of the special polymeric pads press onto the workpiece surface, the contact surface enlarges, and the Van der Waals forces can act.

ADHESO was the first product of its kind for both companies. Since SCHUNK launched the new, environmentally friendly gripping technology on the market in 2020, interest has been unabated. In May 2022, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action awarded the ADHESO with the IKU 2022, the German innovation prize for climate and environment. SCHUNK and INNOCISE now want to continue this story of success. Through SCHUNK acquiring shares, both experts can consolidate their expertise and intensify their collaboration. all while being driven by the same goal: offering customers the latest technologies and automation approaches to make industrial processes more sustainable worldwide.

https://schunk.com/in_en/news/highlights/notifications/article/107626-schunk-acquires-shares-in-future-startup-company-innocise/

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