About this manual¶

The MSG Gripper Manual covers the MSG compliant AI stepper gripper from unpacking to a gripper that works on a robot: mounting and cabling, the first setup with Motor GUI, control over CAN and UART, from Python, from ROS 2 and from the PAROL6 and PAR6 robots, and firmware updates. It is written for a maker, a student or an engineer who can plug in a cable and run a Python script. Read Safety before you power anything; First setup is the shortest path to a gripper that moves.

The gripper is a STEPFOC stepper driver in gripper mode. The driver itself, from its full command set to its calibration and its bootloader, is documented on the STEPFOC site; this manual links there instead of repeating it.

Finding your way¶

Four tabs: MSG Gripper Manual, the numbered chapters, read from the start; API reference, the gripper's CAN messages, UART commands, status bits and Python calls, for looking things up (the driver's complete reference is on the STEPFOC site); Guides, worked examples; Support, help and problem reports.

The dropdown next to the site name switches between gripper releases, and a page of an older release says so in a bar at the top. The repository card in the header opens the product repository; every page ends with a link to edit it and one to report a problem with it.

Warnings and notes¶

Note

Points out something that is easy to miss or that changes what follows: a default, a limit, a side effect.

Notice

The robot, the tool, or data on the control box can be damaged or lost if this is ignored. Nobody is at risk.

Danger

Someone can be injured if this is ignored. Stop and read the whole box before acting on the step it belongs to.

Document	Number	Covers
MSG Gripper Manual	SR-5003	the MSG compliant AI stepper gripper: safety, technical data, installation, setup, operation over CAN, UART, Python and ROS 2, firmware, the build guide; the gripper's API reference; guides

A document marked with a firmware release describes MSG gripper release 1.2 running STEPFOC firmware 108. The version selector in the header switches between gripper releases; a new firmware release for the same gripper updates the pages in place. The compatibility table says which firmware, Python library and hardware revisions work together.

The driver inside the gripper is documented at https://docs.source-robotics.com/STEPFOC-docs/. The SSG-48 gripper, the MSG's predecessor on the Spectral Micro driver, is at docs.source-robotics.com/SSG48-gripper-docs. The robots the gripper is made for: docs.source-robotics.com/PAROL-docs and docs.source-robotics.com/par6.

Document history¶

The manual is versioned by gripper release, the version the product repository tags (the selector in the header); within a release it follows the STEPFOC firmware the gripper runs, with a new revision letter per update. The text and the images are licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, the code examples MIT; the hardware design is published under the CERN Open Hardware Licence v2, strongly reciprocal in the product repository. The Source Robotics name, the product names and the logos are not covered by any of these.

Revision	Date	Changes
2026.B	2026-11-04	Gripper release 1.2, with the files as downloads on the release; dimension drawings and what changes per variant; data for robot integration (frame, mass, inertia, TCP); known issues; the downloads with their versions; safety for clothing, hair and eyes, a caught finger, static and cleaning; check boxes after each step and Windows, Linux and macOS tabs; numbered figure captions; the 380 g variant
2026.A	2026-11-03	First version in this form: the manual chapters, the generated CAN and UART reference; gripper release 1.1, firmware 108

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