SHF suction pads with sensing valves are used wherever it is necessary to handle rough and porous workpieces, even if they have holes. They are thus particularly suitable for handling parts made of wood.

The spring-loaded sensing valve has been completely redesigned to improve the volume flow and to achieve more robustness.

Its strong points in daily use are:

The vacuum line is opened only if the suction pad is in contact with the workpiece

The spring-loaded, triangular sensing plunger ensures that the vacuum line is opened only when the suction pad is actually in contact with the workpiece.

High volume flow

The new shape of the sensing plunger permits a high volume flow of 78.5 l/min, and this considerably simplifies the handling of porous objects.

Rounded plunger surface

Due to the special shape of the surface of the triangular plunger, the suction pad can also be slid sideways onto the workpiece. Breakage of the plunger is almost impossible, resulting in a longer operating lifetime. 

The end of the plunger is also rounded to prevent damage to the workpiece surface, even if the workpiece is made of soft material.

Unaffected by dirt 

The new sensing valves and suction pads are just as insensitive to dirt as their predecessors, which means that they need no maintenance and have a long operating lifetime..

Easy installation

The SHF suction pads with sensing valves are so easy to install that the sensing valves can be retrofitted without problems on any system which uses SHF suction pads. The suction-pad nipple makes it possible to mount a sensing valve directly on a flat suction pad of the type SHF, without the need for tools.

 Use in multiple-gripper systems

Since the sensing valve opens the vacuum line only if the suction pad is in contact with the workpiece, such systems can safely handle many different workpieces even if some of the suction pads do not touch the surface.

This also considerably reduces the complexity of the vacuum-system controller!