More about Suction Cups

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Used in a wide range of material handling and positioning applications, suction cups are devices that create a partial vacuum when partially inverted on a surface. Typically suction cups are manufactured from materials flexible enough to change shape and create a seal when applied to an object, but strong enough to support the required loads.



Among the materials used in suction cups are silicone, Nitrile, Viton, vinyl and urethane, which are often used in conjunction with various metal backing hubs and valves. Silicone is well-suited to food processing and packaging applications, as well as high-temperatures, while Nitrile is very effective in a number of industrial uses. Even natural rubber suction cups are regularly used in certain printing and paper applications. Vinyl, on the other hand, is used more in domestic uses, since it quickly degrades under relatively low temperatures.



Although flat and smooth work pieces are generally the best suited to suction cup lifting, industrial suction cups are capable of handling even porous, coarse and irregularly shaped objects. There are an incredible variety of cup designs, each incorporating specific shapes or materials to best handle the desired operation. Small, oval suction cups, for example, are used for bottle and small tube handling, while bellows shaped silicone vacuum cups are used in a variety of food handling applications (e.g., transporting bread, pies and similar foods from and to furnaces, etc.). Bellows suction cups are also used for depositing eggs in egg cartons.



For moving sheet metal, large automobile components and other large metal objects with relatively flat surfaces, high-strength vacuum pads are typically used. These pads are components in vacuum lifters, which use electronically controlled pumps to help create the vacuum within the cups. The vacuum lifter units are often linked to a hydraulic winch system that allows the operator to transfer the work piece between various locations.