Piab releases new lightweight bag gripper

Piab has released a new lightweight bag gripper which, the company says, “strengthens its grip on the palletizing solutions market”.

Piab says the new gripper, the LBG-50, “easily lifts sacks and bags with weights of up to 50 kg”. As it is a pre-engineered tool, “valuable development time can be saved”.

An unavoidable challenge when defining a new bag gripping system in a palletizing line is to get the exact measurements to align with the conveyor rollers for a smooth lifting and releasing process. This demands time-consuming analysis and design and, later on, even more time for adaptation and adjustments.

Furthermore, additional solutions may have to be considered, for example, for slip sheet handling, which prolongs the implementation process and may interfere with the original set-up and purpose of the gripper.
Piab’s newborn in the palletizing tool family, lightweight bag gripper LBG-50, solves all that.

Madeleine Sheikh, product manager at Piab vacuum automation division, says: “LBG-50 is the result of our long experience from developing custom palletizing End-of-Arm-Tooling (EOAT).

“What we have here is a complete pre-engineered bag gripper that is easy to install, adjust and maintain. It offers flexibility to fit any roller conveyor on the market, and slip sheets are handled just as easy by our vacuum-based upgrade option with Duraflex suction cups and COAX technology.”

Handling sacks normally poses a challenge as they are heavy and flexible, yet with a surface that is sensitive to pinching, puncture or rough treatment.

LBG-50 avoids that by providing a gentle but firm lift while a built-in top clamp plate secures the bag from above during motion. This, in turn, allows higher cycle speed.

Both the arm and the framework of LBG-50 are made of aluminium, which makes it robust yet lightweight. Other positive features are flexible width and finger positioning and generous mounting options. Flexibility also goes for the valve package, which can be configured with either Discrete I/O, Ethernet/IP or Profinet.

Sheikh says: “LBG-50 will be built-to-order in both the EU and the US. We recommend consulting an Application Engineer to ensure the correct gripper selection before purchase.”