Suction cups (also referred to as suction heads, suction grippers, or vacuum suckers) are critical end-of-arm tooling components used in case packing machines. They are the primary interface between the machine and the product or case being handled. These accessories utilize vacuum pressure to grip, lift, and place items securely without causing damage .
They are commonly found in pick-and-place case packers, wrap-around case packers, and top-loading case packers, where they perform tasks such as:
Picking flat corrugated blanks from a magazine and erecting them into cases .
Gripping finished products (bottles, cans, cartons) and loading them into cases .
Handling dividers or pads inside the case.