Vacuum Suction Cup Modeling for Evaluation of Sealing and Real-Time Simulation

In this letter, we propose a method of computationally efficient modeling of vacuum suction grippers. The model is better at predicting the load-carrying capability of a vacuum suction cup while being easy to simulate in a virtual environment. The contact geometry between the suction cup and the curved surface of the handling object is analyzed to compute the deformation and the distributed force between them. We break down the deformation of the suction cup into two corresponding forces, compression force and bending force where the former is the deformation of the cup related to axial direction and the latter is modeled by a beam deflection with fixed ends. Our modeling leads to conditions for seal formation. In our experimental tests, the model was able to accurately predict the load-carrying capabilities for suction grasps on simple as well as curved surfaces. The model was also implemented into a robotic simulator, CoppeliaSim, where the deformation and the state of the suction grasp can be simulated in real-time.