Single Bellows Suction Cups

Single Bellows Vacuum Cups for Carton Handling, Paper Products & Injection Molding Automation

Single bellows vacuum cups are among the most widely used vacuum cup designs in industrial automation. They combine the stability of a flat vacuum cup with the flexibility of a bellows design, making them suitable for a wide range of robotic pick-and-place, packaging, paper handling and injection molding applications.

The single bellows section allows the cup to compress slightly during product contact, helping compensate for minor height variations while still providing stable handling. This makes single bellows cups an excellent choice when products are not perfectly positioned or where gentle product contact is required.

What Is a Single Bellows Vacuum Cup?

A single bellows vacuum cup features one flexible bellows section between the fitting and the sealing lip. This bellows allows limited vertical movement during product pickup, helping the cup adapt to small differences in product height and reducing impact forces during contact.

Compared to flat vacuum cups, single bellows cups offer improved flexibility and sealing performance. Compared to multiple bellows cups, they provide greater stability and better resistance to side loading during high-speed automation.

Why Use a Single Bellows Vacuum Cup?

• Height Compensation: Adapts to minor variations in product position.
• Improved Sealing: Helps maintain reliable vacuum contact on slightly uneven surfaces.
• Gentle Product Contact: Reduces impact forces during pickup.
• High-Speed Automation: Suitable for fast robotic and packaging applications.
• Excellent Stability: More stable than multi-bellows designs during rapid movement.
• Versatile Design: Suitable for a wide variety of products and industries.

Available Materials

• NBR Rubber: Durable general-purpose material suitable for most industrial applications.
• Silicone Rubber: Excellent flexibility and temperature resistance.
• FDA Compliant Silicone: Suitable for food and pharmaceutical applications.
• Metal Detectable Silicone: Designed for food manufacturing environments where contamination detection is required.

Common Applications for Single Bellows Vacuum Cups

• Carton handling systems
• Corrugated box automation
• Paper handling equipment
• Sheet feeding machinery
• Injection molded part extraction
• Packaging automation
• Robotic pick-and-place systems
• Consumer goods manufacturing
• Plastic part handling
• General factory automation

Single Bellows Cups for Carton & Paper Handling

Single bellows vacuum cups are commonly used for carton and paper handling because they provide enough flexibility to compensate for variations in corrugated materials while maintaining excellent stability during high-speed machine operation.

The bellows section helps absorb minor height differences between products while reducing the risk of multiple sheet pickup and improving overall handling reliability.

Single Bellows Cups for Injection Molded Part Removal

Injection molding automation frequently uses single bellows vacuum cups to remove finished plastic parts from molds. The bellows helps compensate for minor part position variations while providing the stable handling required for rapid robotic extraction cycles.

Because many molded components have slightly curved or irregular surfaces, the additional flexibility of a single bellows cup often provides better performance than a flat cup design.

Single Bellows vs Multi-Bellows Vacuum Cups

Single bellows vacuum cups provide a balance between flexibility and stability. They offer more height compensation than flat cups while maintaining greater stability than multiple bellows designs.

For applications with significant product variation, multiple bellows cups may be preferred. For general automation, packaging and injection molding applications, single bellows cups are often the most practical choice.