Today, the large-area vacuum gripper systems from the vacuum specialist J. Schmalz GmbH in D-72293 Glatten are widely used in various branches for many different applications. With the "FX" series of large-area vacuum grippers, introduced a few years ago, Schmalz demonstrated their abilities as vacuum innovators and set new standards in the area of handling goods of all kinds. With the increasing performance of modern vacuum components and assemblies, the large-area vacuum grippers have gained access to application areas where vacuum gripper systems were previously unthinkable. However, the developers have not been resting on their laurels and will be presenting, at the trade fair AUTOMATICA 2006 in Munich, a new generation of large-area vacuum grippers, namely the series FXC/FMC.

The main difference between these new models and their predecessors, the series FX/FM, is that the individual modules are more compact and lighter, which means that the new large-area vacuum grippers are also smaller and lighter. Both the FXC and FMC series are based on a body made of robust extruded aluminium sections. The large-area vacuum grippers can be adjusted to any desired length and can also be combined easily to form large-area vacuum gripper blocks ("layer grippers"). The new, compact large-area vacuum grippers FXC/FMC are built from only a few standardised modules: basic body, ejector, valve module and sealing mat. These modules permit the construction of individual large-area vacuum grippers which, due to the fact that all important functional elements are integrated, are very compact.

The integration of the vacuum generator into the basic body has the advantage that there are no visible, external hoses, etc., that the vacuum generator is protected, that there are fewer projecting edges, that fewer connecting and mounting elements are needed, and that the large-area vacuum grippers are smaller and lighter and thus permit more dynamic movements during handling operations. So-called push-in ejectors are used as vacuum generators. Depending on the requirements, one or two ejectors of the type SEM 25 to SEM 100 can be installed, and these can be replaced easily in the event of a malfunction or to provide more gripping power. The wide range of available ejectors permits the optimal design of the large-area vacuum grippers to suit almost any application or task.

The large-area vacuum grippers FXC/FMC may be equipped with one of two different valve modules (the simpler and cheaper SW module or the SVK-W for very short cycle times). The completely new variant SVK-W ("combi-valve") combines the performance of the proven check-valve technology (variant SV) with the flexibility of the flow resistor with respect to the deactivation of vacuum apertures which are not covered by the workpiece. The old SV variant required that a certain minimum percentage of the suction surface was in contact with the workpiece, but this is no longer the case for the variant SVK-W. Due to the very high flow rate, even rough and porous goods and workpieces can be gripped quickly and safely. In addition, all workpieces can be released more quickly thanks to an improved blow-off function. These two features result in shorter cycle times and thus a reduction in the non-productive idle times during handling.

The sealing mats, which can be replaced quickly and easily, are currently available in two versions with different hole spacings. This gives the customer more flexibility in the design of the gripper system to match the planned task and also allows fast and easy modification for the handling of different. Even more flexibility is offered by the range of five different sizes of the FXC/FMC, which means that the large-area vacuum gripper systems can always be configured to meet the existing requirements.