Mini air suction pump driven vacuum suction cup adsorption and movement case

1. Industry introduction

Industrial intelligent machines are widely used in the process of producing products in factories. The scene is a repeated cycle and continuous uninterrupted action.

During the process, the produced products need to be lifted up and then moved a certain distance or angle before being put down again to ensure that the products are moving or rotating. It will not fall easily during the process, and will be put down continuously after reaching the set position.

It is more convenient to use an intelligent machine to complete such a simple repetitive action. In addition to robotic arms, electromagnets, and conveyor belts, the use of vacuum suction cups to transport and transport smooth objects through the principle of vacuum adsorption is also widely used in production automation.

For example: in the process of producing photo frames in a photo frame product factory, smart machines will be used to repeatedly move the photo frames. In addition to making assembly line production faster, it can also free up more labor and reduce costs.

2. Introduction to the application of mini air suction pumps

In the process of using intelligent machines to transport industrial products in factories, in practical applications, mini air suction pumps combined with suction cups are often used, which is convenient, simple, flexible in control and low in cost. It also has running time, speed, and fault feedback signals to monitor the operating status of the equipment in real time.

The solution that is directly held by the robot hand is often complex in design and high in cost; the solution that relies on electromagnet attraction has limited use conditions and cannot attract non-metallic iron products.

1)Adsorption force calculation instructions:

The adsorption force can be calculated theoretically. Methods as below:

F≈10-2 (101-P absolute pressure) S suction cup area

In the above formula,

F: theoretical adsorption force, unit: Kgf (kilogram force)

P absolute pressure: is the absolute vacuum degree of the mini air suction pump, the unit is: kPa (kilopascal)

S suction cup area: is the effective area of ​​the suction cup, the unit is: cm2 (square centimeters)

As can be seen from the above formula, the size of the adsorption force has nothing to do with the flow rate of the pump in theory, but in actual use it is related to the flow parameters. The reasons are as follows: Because the gas circuit system cannot be theoretically sealed, there will always be a certain amount of leakage.

In this case, the greater the flow rate of the mini air suction pump and the smaller the proportion of leakage, the more conducive it is for the pump to maintain a higher vacuum degree, thereby obtaining greater adsorption force. For example, there are two pumps with the same ultimate vacuum degree.

The flow rate of pump A is 1 L/min and the flow rate of pump B is 20 L/min. Similarly, in the case of leakage of 0.1 L/min, the vacuum degree of pump A will be reduced a lot. Because a leakage of 0.1 L/min is too big for it. However, a leakage of 0.1 L/min is nothing to the B pump, and it can still maintain a high vacuum degree.

Therefore, although the vacuum degree of the two is the same, in practice, the adsorption force generated by the B pump is greater. Therefore, both vacuum degree and flow indicators must be considered when selecting a mini air suction pump. It is unrealistic to only focus on the vacuum degree indicator.

2)Air connection

Using multiple suction cups to adsorb the produced products can make the adsorption force more stable and reliable; usually there are two ways of air path connection between suction cups: series and parallel, but using a parallel air path and a vacuum check valve can ensure that one of the suction cups leaks The other suction cup can also firmly absorb the products. The products will not fall easily when the machine picks up the products and moves them.

3)Release the object

When you need to release a sucked object, you must first stop the mini air suction pump and do not continue to vacuum. After the pump is stopped, the object may not necessarily fall off immediately, because the pump has a certain pressure-holding capacity, and the vacuum will continue to be maintained for a while. To release immediately, an additional branch should be added to the pneumatic system and connected to a switch valve. The pump should be stopped and the valve should be opened at the same time to immediately eliminate the vacuum in the pneumatic system so that the object can be reliably released.

3. Project Difficulties

1)The on-site space is limited, there is no air compressor air source, and the vacuum generator cannot be used. The vacuum environment can only be created through a mini air suction pump.

2)When working continuously, it needs to start and stop frequently and can be controlled remotely, which facilitates integration with PLC and other controllers.

3)The relatively small size of the equipment requires both high vacuum and large flow to ensure rapid adsorption and large adsorption force at the same time.

4. Solution

1)The C series mini air suction pump developed and produced by Chengdu Hilin Technology, combined with a vacuum suction cup, can pick up any product with a flat and smooth surface within the appropriate relative vacuum range (optional range: -20kpa~-93kpa). If the electromagnet attraction solution is selected, the application is limited only if the product is made of iron material. The vacuum adsorption principle can be used for all objects with smooth surfaces.

2)The C series mini air suction pump developed and produced by Chengdu Hilin Technology is powered by DC24V DC power supply and has low power consumption. According to different on-site working conditions, it can be powered by direct plug-in power supply or external battery. It can be moved and used on site.

3. In order to more comprehensively meet the needs of on-site use, the C series micro vacuum pumps developed and produced by Chengdu Hilin Technology have specially added a remote soft-start control port on some vacuum pump panel terminals. Combined with the on-site circuit control unit, remote control can be realized Frequently control the start and stop of the mini air suction pump.

In the end, the customer chose C60 mini air suction pump as the vacuum source to drive the vacuum suction cup on the assembly line, achieving large flow, high vacuum and continuous, stable and reliable operation.