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The upgraded CVGC carbon vacuum gripper has a variety of customizations, including sizing, configurability, and compatibility. | Source: Coval

Vacuum grippers are a popular option for manufacturers and warehouse operators hoping to get the most payload capacity out of their robots. These grippers can provide between four and 10 times more power than their electromechanical counterparts, making them good at lifting heavy weights, said Coval Inc. The provider of vacuum automation technology has released its redesigned CVGC carbon vacuum gripper. 

Coval it designed this upgraded gripper with feedback from its customers, integrators, manufacturers, and operators. The Raleigh, N.C.-based company said it also took into account current and future trends in the collaborative robot market. These trends include greater application diversity, growth in the number of manufacturers, increased co-presence with operators, and handling of heavier loads. 

The new CVGC offers a number of advantages, claimed Coval. First, thanks to its carbon design, the gripper is ultra-light and compact. It’s also compatible with a wide range of cobots and has a range of configuration possibilities, making it highly versatile, said the company, whose global headquarters are in France.

Coval offers two standard versions of its grippers: the M2 Version with a vacuum generator, and the CVGC GO Version without a vacuum generator. The M2 version is a plug-and-play system that Coval designed to adapt to all models of cobots. It integrates the necessary gripper functions under a protective cover for optimal use, the company noted. 

The CVGC gripper is designed for versatile configurations. Source: Coval

The GO Version can be used with an independent vacuum generator, said Coval. It is equipped with a VRU-series vacuum rotary union, which the company said ensures vacuum supply to the gripper via an external source. From these two versions, customers have different options when it comes to size and configurability. 

Coval aims to provide maximum flexibility

On request, Coval said its design team is available to develop customized vacuum grippers. The CVGC is available in three sizes to meet customer’s precise needs — 240 x 120 mm (9.45 x 4.72 in.), 320 x 160 mm (12.6 x 6.3 in.), 350 x 250 mm (13.78 x 9.84 in.).

The gripper is available with a choice of three mounting options and six connection cables. It also has comes with suction cups or foam gripping interfaces.

Coval built its foam Interface for the handling of rigid products and gripping textured or uneven surfaces. It has flow control nozzles and two standard hole diameters, 12 mm (.47 in.) and oblong 27 x 12 mm (1.06 x 0.47 in.). 

The CVGC Suction Cup Interface can handle flexible products and comes with a wide range of cup options. It also offers flow-control nozzles in multiple diameters and has two types of standard suction cups measuring 25 mm (0.98 in.) and 33 mm (1.3 in.). 

Coval added that its upgraded CVGC vacuum gripper is aimed at a range of industries, including food processing, packaging, plastics processing, and more. The company said it designed the gripper to be a versatile tool for all manufacturers, integrators, and users of cobots for palletizing, gripping boxes, plastic parts, and a wide variety of other applications.