FlexiBag Foam Vacuum Grippers
Millibar's line of FlexiBag foam vacuum grippers are ideal for bagged items such as loosly packaged products, over-wrapped items, liquids in bags, paper products and other bulk wrapped products. Each FlexiBag has an integral dirt-tolerant venturi vacuum pump with straight-through silencer for quiet operation. The full flow design has an internal grate and a deep frame that when coupled with the compliant foam provides a secure grip on flexible items. Additional frames are available to increase the internal depth of the gripper for very loose filled packages. There are 4 additional vacuum ports that may be used to attach vacuum switches and compressed air lines for part release for accurate and fast part placement. FlexiBag grippers can be used vertically or horizontally.
Replacement Foam
The foam is made from a custom blend of EPDM and has little to no memory and will instantly spring back to its expanded condition. It will not take a compression set. It is considered slightly open-cell allowing atmospheric air to migrate into the foam along the edges as well as cross-talk between interior ports. Foam service life is a common question and the answer is completely dependent on the motion involved in the application, the material being handled, atmospheric conditions (humidity, temperature), cycle rates and production schedules. A fair estimate is the foam will last 6 months of single shift, 5 day per week operation.
The replacement foam has a pressure sensitive adhesive to attach the foam to the face of the gripper. The custom adhesive liner allows an operator to remove the worn foam easily and completely without the need for scraping or excessive cleaning. After removing the worn foam, place the new foam onto the gripper being careful to align the ports. Turn on the vacuum source and set the gripper onto a flat surface to compress the foam to set the adhesive uniformly across the entire surface.
