Special suction pads for plastic parts leave no traces!

Today, suction pads are widely used for the handling of all sorts of products and goods and also for packing materials. Combined with manual handling devices, automated handling systems and industrial robots, suction pads are now used in all sectors of industry and ensure a more efficient and economical flow of material.

The vacuum specialist J. Schmalz GmbH in D-72293 Glatten offers a wide range of suction pads which permit the safe and reliable handling of objects with all types of surface finishes, from smooth to rough and from porous to airtight. Gripping products and goods with suction pads normally causes absolutely no damage to their surfaces, and this is the reason why suction pads are widely used for the handling of high-quality furniture and furniture components, injection-moulded or thermoformed parts or linings made of plastic or with plastic surfaces. For particularly sensitive parts such as displays, the suction pads may not leave any marks on the surface of the part. In the case of plastic parts which are subsequently painted, the suction pads must be free of substances which interfere with the wetting of the surface by the paint. Since suction pads normally release the gripped parts only when commanded to do so, marking by the pads cannot always be completely avoided. For this reason, the product range of J. Schmalz GmbH also includes special plastic suction pads which leave virtually no visible marks on the workpieces.

The new suction pads are made of the special material HT1, which withstands temperatures of up to 160°, leaves only very slight marks and is free of silicone and substances which interfere with wetting. These suction pads thus fulfil all requirements for applications such as the removal of injection-moulded parts from the die.
In this case, the parts are produced in very fast cycles and are still hot when they leave the mould, presenting a major challenge to the gripper and the surface of the parts. The suitability of the suction pads made of HT1 for the handling of plastic parts was tested in tests which simulated practical applications. The new suction pads achieved the classifications 0 and 1 without problems. Class 0 means "absolutely no marking". In the words of the test definition, this means that absolutely no marks may be visible when water vapour is applied to the reflective surface and the surface is then inspected closely. Class 1 means "free of marks" or, in other words, no visible marks on mirrors or Ceran surfaces, even when inspected closely, without the application of water vapour.

For the first time, all required properties have been achieved with a single suction-pad material. The new suction pads are available in various shapes and sizes, with diameters between 5 and 80 mm. They thus meet all requirements for the automatic handling of plastic parts. The flat shape PFYN is intended for flat surfaces, the oval shape SGON for long, cylindrical parts and the bellows-type version FSGA/FGA for parts with curved surfaces (convex or concave), with or without small radii. The high-temperature elastomer HT 1 withstands high temperatures, is hard-wearing and is resistant to cracking. It thus has a long operating lifetime, ensuring good availability of the handling system. The new plastic suction pads meet all requirements for the handling of plastic parts with high-quality surface finishes. The other features of the suction pads permit their universal use and thus help to reduce the necessary stocks and to avoid the accidental use of the wrong suction pads.