This thread collects community experience with the Jodell EPG40-050 gripper on Fairino robots.
Status
Known answer for the basic setup. Several users got it working with the steps below. Non-blocking motion is still an open question.
Symptoms
- EPG40-050 is not in the device list. Only RG and ERG are offered.
- The gripper LED blinks and nothing moves.
- "Gripper 485 timeout" or "Gripper movement timeout".
- Reset and activate are accepted, but the claws stay still.
What worked
- The Modbus address is normally 2, so control it as gripper index 2.
- In the gripper setup, select mount location end address 2.
- Press Reload, then Activate. The claws should open and close once.
- Use a blocking command so the program waits for confirmation. A 2 second timeout was too short for full travel, 4 seconds is the suggested value.
Gripper does not close fully
The gripper sets its range during initialization. Reset it and initialize again, so the claws can reach both end positions. One user solved it by pushing the claws closed by hand first.
Non-blocking motion
Non-blocking mode with Jodell grippers was confirmed as a problem in April 2026 and reported to Fairino. Later advice was to test v3.9.7 with both the standard protocol and the included custom protocol. In October 2026 a user still reported that MoveGripper takes about 2 seconds even when the gripper is already in position. Please share your results.
Please reply with
- Robot model and software version
- Full gripper model code
- Selected device, address and baud rate
- Exact error message
- Whether non-blocking works on your setup