Choose suitable vacuum gripping systems suction cups for business

Vacuum gripping systems or robot suction cups are widely utilized in various industries. This automation vacuum technology thoroughly changes the way businesses manufacture and transport products. In practice, whether this system operates well depends heavily on how the vacuum gripping system and suction cups are selected.

What are vacuum gripping systems?

Many industries, such as manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, etc., widely apply automation technology. The manufacturing process needs a hand to help lift, hold, grasp, and lower products or objects.

A gripper is a device with the same operating function mentioned above. It enables the holding of objects of all sizes and shapes during manufacturing.

An efficient and safe gripping system should have suitable vacuum suction cups according to the material, the shape of the lifting workpiece, and the application. In addition, these cups must be compatible with other components in the system.

There are many styles and sizes of vacuum gripping systems suction cups, so how to choose the correct model of vacuum suction cups is not an easy task to accomplish.

In general, the industrial application of a vacuum gripper system is influenced and determined by several common and specific factors.

The following part will mention the best practices in choosing vacuum gripping systems suction cups.

Best practices in choosing vacuum gripping systems suction cups

There are several factors that businesses need to take into consideration when finding the most appropriate model of vacuum gripping systems suction cups.

Vacuum suction force

The first thing to do in selecting the right vacuum gripping systems suction cup for business is to know how to calculate vacuum suction force.

The vacuum suction force or lifting capacity of a vacuum suction cup is the first item that appears on the list of data collection.

This force indicates how much strength and energy are required to provide a safe workpiece lift and hold during the operation.

Acceleration

Compared to human operators, the vacuum gripping system proves to have more advantages. It is vital to consider the acceleration factor or velocity fluctuation when moving the workpieces to achieve precision, quick response time, wide application, remarkable versatility, efficiency, and safety.

To determine the holding force, on the one hand, the engineers need to calculate the mass of the workpiece.

On the other hand, they must consider the gravitational acceleration and the forces of acceleration that operate in a fully automatic system when designing a suction gripper system.

The acceleration of the vacuum gripping system is symbolized as (a). Its value is determined by the formula Acceleration = Velocity / Time.

The gravitational acceleration (g) or acceleration due to gravity is also a vector. It indicates the extra speed of an object when falling freely.

The measuring unit of g is meters per second squared, and its value is approximately 9.8 m/s2.

The interpretation of this number is that the free falling speed increases by approximately 9.8m per sec for every second.

Moreover, whenever the vacuum suction gripper is placed horizontally, aligning with the direction of movement, which is also horizontal, the friction factor must also be counted.

Workpiece surface texture

The workpiece surface texture affects not only the safety factor but also regulates the relationship between friction force and normal force through the presence of friction coefficient (μ).

To precisely determine the friction coefficient, several tests need to be performed. However, there are some reference values when mentioning this indicator.

• 0.1 for oily surfaces
• 0.2 to 0.3 for wet surfaces
• 0.5 for wood, metal, glass, and stone surfaces
• 0.6 for rough surfaces

Moreover, the workpiece surface texture (e.g. porous, smooth, rough…) together with the condition of the workpiece surface (e.g. oily, having antistatic or resistant to abrasion coasted, having minimal marking…) strongly affect the selection of the suction gripper and vacuum gripping systems suction cup in term of size, material, load capacity, etc.

Compatible vacuum gripping systems

Last but not least, the most important thing is how to build a uniform quality production line, a homogenous system to simplify tasks but not complicate the process of manufacturing.

All components in the vacuum gripping systems, from the grippers to the vacuum suction cups, must be perfectly matched to create synchronicity.

EUROTECH brings tailored-to-fit solutions to many businesses in a variety of industries. Besides the number of vacuum suction cups of all types, sizes, and materials, their famous, quick, and extensively adopted solution is the eT-Gripper.

There is vivid evidence proving that this vacuum gripping system works well in the glass and wood processing industries.

What is eT-Gripper?

eT-Gripper is a brilliantly-designed vacuum gripping system to handle different surfaces in different conditions.

It combines with a robot to optimize the precise automation of factories. The robot suction cup attachment is made from aluminium to provide lightweight and durability.

The eT-Gripper is compatible with various common materials in the wood, metal, and glass industries, varying from packaging, sawmills, timber processing, and furniture manufacturers to glass processing companies.

Why do businesses need eT-Gripper?

Some of the outstanding features of the vacuum gripping systems suction cup  eT-Gripper are named as follows:

• Long box design suitable for wood planks and glass panels.
• Ability to handle multi-materials, workpieces’ sizes, and surface texture since the design is available in many sizes and construction materials.
• Modular design guarantee a low-maintenance fee where all components are easily accessible for cleaning, repairing, and upgrading
• A smart and compact design with a light metal material profile (made of aluminium) allows integration with industrial robots.
• Adaptable suction mat with seal to create a vacuum-tight connection, which is particularly suitable for professional use in sawmills, timber, and wood furniture industries.

In addition, the eT-Gripper comes along with diverse industrial vacuum suction cups, suction plate systems, and clamping elements… to be compatible with many lifting tasks, from all sizes of plates to various forms. The contact area is designed to be compatible with bellow suction cups or flat suction cups without affecting the original design.

Contact EUROTECH today to explore the latest vacuum gripping technology and to find the most appropriate vacuum gripping systems suction cup for your industry.