Adaptor & Suction Cup-Vertical Entry
The ZPT series suction cups are available in diameters from 2 to 125mm, 6-cup materials, and 4-cup designs (flat, flat with ribs, deep and bellows), to suit multiple applications. Vertical vacuum entry connections can be made via one-touch fittings or threaded connections. Optional buffers can be ordered with up to 50mm stroke. SMC's ZP2 series vacuum pads are available in diameters from 2 to 340mm, and offer a variety of pad materials and designs. The ZP2 series was designed to standardize special products designed for the ZP series. Pad types include: miniature cups, compact cups, nozzle cups, multi-bellows cups, sponge cups, mark-free cups, oval cup variations, and heavy-duty cup variations. Optional buffers can be ordered with up to 100mm stroke. The ZP3 line of suction cups has a compact pad and the buffer body has been shortened by as much as 2.2" when compared to the ZP series. The optional buffer can be ordered with up to 20mm stroke.
ZP Vertical Entry
The ZP series is the baseline tool for routine pick-and-place automation in industries such as general manufacturing, basic metalworking, and standard automotive assembly lines where top-down vacuum hosing is preferred. Offering diameters from 2mm to 125mm with vertical push-to-connect or threaded vacuum ports, these units can be configured with or without spring-loaded buffers. They are a reliable, cost-effective, go-to option that solve the majority of standard lifting applications without custom engineering and with immediate availability.
ZP2 Vertical Entry
The ZP2 series is sourced by engineers who are dealing with unusual, delicate, or difficult-to-grip workpieces that standard cups cannot securely handle. The series was developed to standardize custom ZP products and is commonly used in the heavy structural metal stamping, glass manufacturing, and large-scale bulk packaging industries where they need niche solutions like multi-bellows for height variations, sponge pads for highly textured surfaces, or mark-free cups. This breadth removes the need to commission expensive, third-party custom buffer assemblies.
Vertical Entry ZP3
The ZP3 series meets the needs of automation designers and robotic integrators with space constraints. These miniaturized assemblies are used in semiconductor fabrication, medical device manufacturing, and printed circuit board (PCB) handling, where robotic arms operate inside small machine enclosures. The internal buffer body has been shortened by as much as 2.2 inches compared to the standard ZP series. This allows integrators to build denser, faster robotic cells where legacy competitor cups and mechanical springs would physically collide with overhead machinery.
Vertical Entry ZP3E
The ZP3E series excels in environments with high-speed automated transfer lines and rapid metal stamping presses where workpieces are slick, thinly profiled, or coated in light manufacturing oils. The ZP3E features internal friction grooves and an optimized lip design. When handling thin metal or plastic, these grooves prevent the workpiece from being sucked into the cup and deformed. The grooves lock onto the part's surface to maximize lateral shear force, allowing a robot arm to accelerate horizontally at high speeds without the part sliding off.
ZP3P Silicone Rubber Suction Cups
The ZP3P series suction cups are engineered to handle flexible, thin-film packaging, such as bagged liquids, powder pouches, and soft blister packs. They are used in the food processing, pharmaceutical packaging, and medical device manufacturing industries because the sealing skirt and central stopper gently hold plastic film flat which prevents wrinkling and vacuum leakage. The cups are molded from FDA-compliant blue silicone rubber. This color allows standard optical vision systems to spot and reject a product if a piece of the suction cup tears off.
ZP3C Vertical Entry
The ZP3C series is deployed in end-of-line packaging, automated palletizing, and high-speed shipping fulfillment sectors. Corrugated cardboard is porous and fibrous and standard rubber cups quickly wear down on the abrasive surface and can also suck in paper dust, causing damage to other pneumatic equipment. The ZP3C uses a specialized fluoro-based rubber that outlasts standard materials and features an integrated, tool-less replaceable mesh filter in the adapter block that traps paper fibers before they enter the pneumatic system.
ZP3M Suction Cup
The ZP3M series is engineered for handling heavy workpieces that are both curved and coated in slick manufacturing oils or drawing compounds such as would be found in automotive chassis forming or transfer presses. Instead of a smooth internal bowl, it features radially arranged diagonal friction ribs and is molded from a durable fluoro-based rubber (FS61). The bowl shape contours to curved sheet metal, while the diagonal ribs act as a tread pattern that locks onto the oiled surface in all directions. This allows rapid transfer robots to swing heavy, oily parts at high speeds without slippage or dropping.
HF3A-ZP3F Metal Detectable Vacuum Cup
The HF3A-ZP3F metal detectable vacuum cup offers exceptional performance and safety in food production environments. Its bellows-type design provides excellent cushioning and flexibility, minimizing the deformation of soft workpieces like bread.
HF3A-ZP3F, Bellow Type Suction Cup, FDA Compliant Materials, Metal-detectable
The HF3A-ZP3F metal detectable vacuum cup is designed to handle raw or unpacked delicate foods, such as freshly baked bread, pastries, and soft produce, directly on the processing line. The cups are molded from an FDA-compliant silicone that contains a metal compound. If a machine crashes or a cup degrades and a piece of the rubber falls into the food product, standard end-of-line metal detectors will flag the package for rejection.