Vacuum and Suction Grippers
Vacuum and Suction grippers are available in
a huge range of sizes and strengths and can grip
externally or internally, depending on your requirement.
Applications can range from picking up uneven and
porous surfaces such as cardboard and wood, delicate
items such as porcelain pieces or soft bread rolls, right
through to enormous weights such as very heavy
engine blocks.
Across all industries (including plastics), vacuum accounts for 65%
of gripping applications, according to the Robotic Industries
Association. This is due mainly to the low cost of vacuum grippers.
They are also lightweight and easy to design, set up, and reuse.
Additionally, a wide range of standard components are available, and there is a built-in
system to verify part acquisition.
Where a part has no sufficiently flat area to accept standard suction cups, customdesigned
gasket suction devices may be used. These tend to be expensive and less
durable, so they are used only when other gripping methods won't work.
Whatever vacuum arrangement is chosen, it is important to first determine the gripping force required. You must select and test the size and number of suction cups that best maintain control over the part, not just during ejection from the machine but also during the robot's motions.
Vacuum products offer comprehensive options in compact,
lightweight vacuum generators in a wide range of sizes
and performance ranges. Cups, buffers, fittings and wiring
solutions allow the broadest utilisation of technology and
performance to meet your design specifications. Most
options are modular allowing you to add only those that
are relevant to your application. Vacuum cups are
available in many different materials, sizes and shapes,
and include options like stroke buffers to ensure that a
perfect fit is made for each application. The diverse
performance characteristics of vacuum products allow utilisation in a wide array of
applications from manufacturing, packaging, assembly, to material handling. Precision
combined with performance and a full line of accessories offers a comprehensive
engineering solution to meet your specific need.
Vacuum cups come in a range of diameters from 2mm to
greater than 200mm for use in delicate or heavy
applications. Vacuum cups are available to fit many
unusual shapes and are constructed from a variety of
premium materials such as Silicon, NBR, Urethane,
Fluorine etc. Installation options can be specified on
either spring loaded buffers or threaded stems. Special
application cups are also available for porous materials,
food and high temperature applications etc.
Freezing Grippers
Although not a vacuum gripper, it is interesting to note how the range of grippers are
under constant development and innovation, with this new technology being used in the
market to pick up or place fabrics.
This newly developed system is using a film of sprayed water mist and a Peltier –Element
constantly cooled to fix the fabric layer. By the use of warm air the fabric is released
again. The process works within seconds, generating no damage to the fabric and
producing contact forces unknown from other gripping systems.
Machinery Automation & Robotics
NSW Head Office:
(61) 2 9748 7001
Melbourne Office: (61) 3 9335 4344
Brisbane Office: (61) 7 3348 9110