More about Vacuum Lifters

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Vacuum lifters are devices used to transport a variety of products within a set area, such as a warehouse or manufacturing facility. They are regularly employed in applications as delicate as placing eggs in egg-cartons, as well as the transport and lifting of heavy duty loads. Vacuum lifter tools can be as basic as a handheld suction cup or as complex as a pump-powered, multi-pad device.

Typically, heavy duty vacuum lifters are suspended from a hoist or boom arm by a hook or other attachment. The lifter’s suction devices are connected to the pump through a series of pneumatic tubes. These suction devices can be cups, pads or other shapes, and are manufactured from synthetic materials, such as silicone and Nitrile, and from various metals, which provide the backing plate. These plates are fastened to various mating fixtures on the vacuum lifter frame, a unit generally consisting of a planar, sturdy metal body. The pump can be controlled automatically, manually or remotely, depending on the design of the lifter, and will create a partial vacuum between the cup/pad and the work piece when properly aligned. Once the seal between cup and work piece is strong enough, the unit and work piece can be elevated and then moved via the attached hoist or boom—often this will be a straight path along a horizontal arm. Vacuum lift forklift attachments are also used.

Heavy duty vacuum lifters are regularly employed to move large flat objects, such as long or wide sheet metal panels or large plates of glass. Units used for food processing and similar tasks have a different design, often featuring bellows shaped suction attachments, which cushion the product and allow for constant suction. Somewhat similar vacuum tube lifters are used for cargo applications, where they assist in moving boxes and other shipping containers within a storage or shipping facility. These units generally consist of a single vacuum drive, lift tube and manually operated suction head.