Vacuum Cups
Vacuum Cup Materials
Available vacuum cup materials will vary depending on your chosen manufacturer. For example, at EDCO USA, we use a wide variety of construction materials to create our vacuum cups, such as:
- Ameriflex (A). This material is suited for general-purpose, normal ambient temperature applications and as a replacement for competitor’s PVC vinyl cups.
- Duramax (D). Duramax is a softer, non-staining, non-marking, general-purpose material for high-visibility surfaces at normal ambient temperatures.
- Nitrile/TPV (N). Nitrile/TPV works for general-purpose, normal ambient temperature applications. Some cups are Nitrile while others are TPV.
- Silicone (S). Silicone is used for either cold or high-temperature applications or where greater flexibility will improve conformance to a part.
- Conductive Silicone (S). Conductive silicone is suited for grounding parts, such as within electronic chips, to eliminate static electricity.
- Flurocarbon/Viton™ (V). Viton is a registered trademark of DuPont Dow. It is suited for extremely high-temperature applications in the automotive, appliance, or other industries that do not allow for the use of silicone.
When choosing your vacuum cup material, your decision should be based on the size and weight of the handled objects.
Vacuum Cup Durometer
The durometer or hardness of any vacuum gripper varies based on the material used and the area’s temperature. Nitrile/TPV or Ameriflex cups are a great starting option as they are cost-effective and work well for most room-temperature applications. However, silicone works at extremely high or low temperatures and provides greater flexibility on thin workpieces than Nitrile/TPV. Meanwhile, Duramax has similar flexibility to silicone, but it should only be used for room-temperature applications.
