Within the next 3 years, the mainstream way of loading plates onto laser cutting machines will still be using vacuum suction cups to hold the plates. This method has low investment costs and only requires one person for safe loading, even for plates up to 20mm thick.
We communicate with users every day to address laser loading issues, and we have found that many users are not familiar with the practicality and safety of vacuum suction cup principles and have doubts about them. Here, we will briefly explain the principles and precautions of suction vacuum cups.
The pressure principle of vacuum suction cups:
As the name suggests, it relies on vacuum pressure to grab and hold the plate.
The plate surface is relatively smooth, and the suction cup lip is soft and thin, which allows it to adhere to the plate. When the vacuum pump creates a vacuum, the suction cup cavity also generates a negative pressure.
Suction force = pressure (vacuum degree, pressure difference inside and outside the suction cup) * surface area of vacuum suction cups.
The higher the vacuum degree, the stronger the suction force; the larger the suction vacuum cups size, the stronger the suction force.
The safety of suction force under vacuum suction cups:
According to data tested by professional vacuum companies in Germany, the safety factor of vacuum pressure requires 2 times the acceleration generated by a standard electric hoist. To ensure safety, configure suction cups and set the safety vacuum pressure to calculate the theoretical suction force of the suction cup under a 60% vacuum degree, and divide by 2 times the safety factor to obtain the required safe suction force.
For example, for a laser loading of a 500kg steel plate, at least 6 sets of suction cups with a diameter of 200mm should be used, and the safe suction force is 6*94=564kg, to ensure safety.
The safety factor of suction force depends on the degree of plate shaking. The more shaking there is, the higher the safety factor requirement. The less shaking there is, the lower the safety factor can be. To make loading safer for users, a double main beam design with sufficient height of the electric hoist can fix the plate with 4 lifting belts to the 4 lifting points of the double main beam, making the plate more stable and safer during loading.
There is no such thing as too much safety measures!
AIRBEST (CHANGXING) TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. used to be mainly engaged in international trade. In 2009, we became a production and research and development enterprise for vacuum clamping system components. We mainly produce products related to robot end-effector vacuum gripping systems, such as vacuum pumps, suction cups, vacuum fixtures, vacuum parts, installation parts, and even complete solutions for vacuum gripping systems that match the intelligent manufacturing industry. Please feel free to contact us for consultation.
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