Development and analysis of an electrically activated sucker for handling workpieces with rough surface

In this study, we design an electrically activated sucker that can handle workpieces with rough and uneven surface. The new sucker uses a motor to drive blades to form rotation flow in a shell, and the rotation flow generates cupped negative pressure distribution and resulting suction force. Different from the existing suckers, in the new sucker, the rotation flow is formed closely to the upper surface of the workpiece and is extended to the outermost of shell; there is no air inlet or air outlet in the space enclosed by the workpiece and the shell, thus no inlet flow or outlet flow is caused. The design solves the traditional problem of vacuum leak, can maintain the suction force even for workpieces with rough and uneven surface, and can work with little energy consumption. Through the theoretical analysis and experiments, we studied the key parameters (i.e., rotation speed ω, inner radius R₂ of the shell) and clarified the relationship of F-ω and F-R₂. Meanwhile, we also investigated the effect of some factors (i.e., driving torque and energy consumption) on the suction force. Furthermore, we use the new sucker to pick up several types of workpieces to confirm its applicability.