All-in-one-Talent

Whether in the pharmaceutical, food or packaging industry: Cobots are ideal support for pick-and-place applications or palletizing. Equipped with vacuum grippers and suitable suction cups, they are particularly suitable for gently picking up sensitive and uneven workpieces such as film or bag packaging. To ensure that the end-of-arm tool (EoAT) can be connected particularly quickly and in a space-saving manner, SMC has developed the electric vacuum gripper from the ZXPE5 series. This requires neither an air connection nor an air line, includes all peripheral devices in a single unit and can be connected in no time at all. The economy in weight and power consumption, 3 operating modes and numerous suction cup variants complement the advantages, which are accompanied by other features of the series specifically for the cobots from Universal Robots.

Collaborative robots (cobots) are at home across all industries. If they are equipped with efficient tools, they are an ideal support for their human colleagues. This applies, for example, to vacuum grippers for pick-and-place applications or for sticking labels on. With the ZXPE5 series, the automation specialist SMC has now developed an electric vacuum gripper that integrates the various components for vacuum generation in one unit and therefore does not require an air connection or air line. This not only saves space and weight, but also assembly effort. In addition, the gripper, which is certified for UNIVERSAL ROBOTS cobots, impresses with 3 operating modes, numerous suction cup configurations and high process reliability, among other things.

All in one helps save

As the otherwise peripheral devices consisting of a vacuum pump, atmospheric ventilation valve, digital pressure display and suction cup are integrated in the housing of the ZXPE5 series and the vacuum is generated electrically, neither an external air connection nor an air line is required. This not only reduces resource consumption and material costs, but also the wiring effort and the machine weight - without adapter, suction cup and mounting flange, the net weight is only 556 g. In addition, process reliability is improved thanks to the reduced risk of leaks or hose breaks. The diagnostic function, which compares the initial state and the current state of the vacuum when no workpiece is being sucked in, as well as the corresponding status display, offer additional safety. The 360° view of the display also allows maximum flexibility when placing the solution. In addition, the standardized mounting flange according to ISO9409-1-50-4-M6 makes tool replacement easier and faster. Only two clamping screws have to be loosened or tightened and an M8 connector connected.

Flexible and varied

In addition to the generally quick tool change, the adaptability in the number, distance and selection of vacuum suction cups also ensures maximum flexibility. One, two or four vacuum suction cups can be mounted, with the distance being variably adjustable. The suction cups are available in the following shapes: flat, flat with ribs, bellows, narrow/flat, multi-stage bellows, 2.5-stage bellows, 5.5-stage bellows and a flat version for film packaging in diameters of 8, 10, 13, 16, 20, 25, 30, 32 mm. The suction cup material can be made of NBR, silicone rubber (white and blue), urethane rubber and FKM. Thanks to the wide range of configuration options, a wide range of applications can be covered.

The electric vacuum gripper also has three operating modes for the vacuum pump: automatic, manual or continuous mode. This increases process reliability on the one hand, and power consumption is reduced by up to 64% thanks to operation optimized for the application. The optional vacuum safety valve of the ZP2V series from SMC further improves both effects: It prevents workpieces from falling during transport and air consumption is optimized again, which saves costs and reduces the carbon footprint.

Ready for use quickly

Suitable for an operating temperature range of 5 to 40 °C, the ZXPE5 series is certified for the UR3(e), UR5(e), UR10(e) and UR16(e) cobot series from Universal Robots. The movements of the cobot and the operation of the vacuum gripper can be programmed and controlled using the easy-to-use URCap software. Thanks to the easy assembly in no time at all, the quick installation of the gripper and the subsequent simple programming, a cobot equipped with the ZXPE5 electric vacuum gripper is ready for use in a short time - whether in the general manufacturing industry or in special sectors such as forestry, paper production or the medical industry.