Originally developed for the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota, which uses its own tooling systems with standardised connections in its press shops, the suction pads of the types SABT-C and SAFT-C have now been released for sale on the world market. Based on the standard suction-pad series SAF and SAB, the new suction pads have been developed further by the vacuum specialist J. Schmalz GmbH in D-72293 Glatten, and various new and useful features have been added.

The new bellows suction pad SABT-C and flat suction pad SAFT-C are made completely from plastic materials. The use of two different elastomers results in an optimised friction value, provided by a hardwearing friction disc. When worn, the suction pad of the modular vacuum gripper can be replaced separately, without changing the friction disc and the nipple. This is done by loosening a hexagon-head cap screw on the tooling, pulling off the suction pad, fitting the new pad and tightening the screw. This ensures better handling and time savings while reducing the costs. Since the entire suction pad is made of plastic materials, it does not need to be disassembled for recycling, resulting in better environmental friendliness.

The suction pads SABT-C and SAFT-C are suitable for the highly dynamic handling of sheet-metal parts with feeders and industrial robots and also for the links in press lines. Due to their special design, they are predestined for the handling of thin steel sheets and aluminium sheets without deformation. The version SABT-C offers more process reliability when handling pre-shaped metal parts, since it adapts itself optimally to the workpiece surface. The new suction pads are now available.