Lifting products using a vaccum head 1

[Marsh]

I am undertaking a project were we have to lift numerous different types of products using a robot,lifting head and motor blower. However I wonder if anyone knows of any technical publications on supporting of products with regards to packaging types, weight. For example if a product
was 1sq meter with a weight of 150kg what percentage of this area would need to be in contact with the lifting head and what amount of vaccum would need to be created.

 

[midrangewebmaster]

Marsh,

If you know what your vacuum source is capable of supplying, that would be the best starting point. Under perfect conditions, the most static vacuum that you will ever see at the point of lift will between 25-28 in-Hg. If you are trying to lift a 90 lbs dirty bag of concrete, or an object that is porus or uneven, your flow rate will need to be higher than if you were lifting a piece of glass. This will determine your pump size.

As for lifting capacity, I would use 21 in-Hg as the maximum vacuum that I could obtain. At that vacuum level, it would take at least 32 sq-in of vacuum cup area to lift your 150 Kg load. In other words, you would need 4 suction cups with a minimum diameter of 3.25 inches. Here's tha math...

One cup = 8.295 sq-in of vacuum area
Four cups = 33.183 sq-in total vacuum area
21 in-Hg = 10.315 psi
10.315 psi X 33.183 sq-in = 342.289 lbs
342.289 lbs = 155.233 Kg

Hope this helps
Jim Smithie, Webmaster

http://www.midrangecad.com