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A deep-drawn panel is light and still hard to handle: large, floppy, razor-sharp along the trim edges and after forming so sensitive that a badly placed hand leaves a visible dent.
Lift the part out of the die, lay it down or hang it in the transport rack. At eight to twenty-five kilograms the weight is manageable – the geometry is the problem. A draw part a metre and a half long cannot be gripped by one person so that it stays level with the edges clear of the hands. In practice it is lifted, briefly leaned against the body and moved: exactly the movement that produces cuts and scratches.
Suction cups are the right choice here: they take the surface instead of the edge, leave no pressure marks and need no alignment. Sizing is what matters. Draw oil noticeably reduces holding force, so we work with double the safety factor compared with dry sheet and choose cups with a soft, oil-resistant sealing lip. A vacuum reservoir holds the part even if generation briefly drops out.
A single cup in the middle lets a metre-and-a-half draw part sag at the ends – and it twists on being set down. Four to six cups on a beam following the part contour spread the load and hold the geometry. With several part families a beam with sliding cup arms and detents pays off: changeover in under a minute instead of a gripper change.
The part has to be guided into its seat in the rack – level, in a defined position, often at an angle from above. A rope balancer could swing; an articulated arm holds the load rigidly and can be guided into the seat one-handed. Combined with a lift axis on the rail it reaches press and rack without the operator ever carrying the part freely.
The jointed arm for millimetre-precise handling.
View device Lifting equipment · Lifting axesCompact power for vertical lifting.
View device Lifting equipment · Conveyor systemsThe whole area covered – in X and Y.
View deviceYes, if sized for it. Draw oil reduces holding force, so we work with a much higher safety factor, choose oil-resistant sealing lips and fit a vacuum reservoir. Cups sized for dry sheet fail here – that is the classic mistake.
Cup positions are set from the part drawing, not by eye. Where cut-outs sit, no cup goes. For parts offering hardly any closed surface we use positively locating mounts at holes or trim edges instead.
At cycle times from about twelve seconds, yes. Below that it gets tight and the question is rather whether automated removal makes more sense. We say so openly – a lifting aid that slows the cycle will not be used.
One short conversation usually settles more than three quotations. Call or write — you will reach an engineer directly.
Start typing – for example “balancer”, “SAP” or “pipe stress”.
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