In the video below, you can see what “gripping flexibility” really means in a palletizing line.
As you can see, the Octopus gripper smoothly picks up and sets down pots of different diameters and sizes, without the operator having to stop the robot to change suction cups or adjust the gripper head.
The aluminum gripping surface with calibrated holes, covered in perforated foam rubber, automatically adapts to the load’s geometry and ensures the grip even when the covered surface is only a small portion of the gripper’s plate, since one of the most appreciated features of the Octopus is precisely its ability to operate even when the object occupies only a fraction of the gripping area.
The end user was able to palletize different types of pots while always using the same gripping head. Even when, at the end of production, a few pieces are missing from the pallet and the layer is not “full,” the gripper continues to operate safely. The distribution of the holes and the rubber coating allow the system to seal around the pots, while the uncovered areas do not compromise the overall operation.
The video also highlights the practicality of Vuototecnica’s vacuum cylinders, designed to pick up the single cardboard interlayer to be inserted between one layer of pots and another.
The principle is the same as that already used in the printing industry: the cylinder operates with a front chamber under vacuum and a rear chamber at atmospheric pressure; the pressure differential drives the piston stroke, with a suction cup mounted on the piston’s perforated rod.
Short, rapid cycles, controlled by a single valve, allow each interfolder to be ”flipped through” to prevent two layers of cardboard from being picked up together, and automatic height compensation ensures proper contact even if the stack is not perfectly aligned.
The characteristics of the vacuum cylinders — anti-rotation piston, rapid strokes, anodized aluminum construction, and ease of mounting — make them the ideal solution whenever sheets, interleaves, or small objects need to be separated and handled without deforming them, with high precision and repeatability.
When combined with the Octopus bar, the result is a palletizing configuration that combines format flexibility and secure gripping, with no delays and no surprises.
To learn more: www.vuototecnica.net.
