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If you're working with industrial automation, you've likely faced this challenge: your robotic system handles products of varying shapes, sizes, and materials – but your vacuum gripper doesn't adapt. Switching between different product types means pausing production, changing tools, and reprogramming or even redesigning your setup.
These interruptions aren’t just frustrating – they lead to downtime, inefficiencies, and rising costs.
Most vacuum gripping solutions today are built from multiple components, requiring complex assemblies, extensive cabling, and external vacuum systems. The result? Complex setups that are difficult to integrate, scale, or maintain – especially in demanding applications like robotic palletising, automated packaging, or irregular product handling.
Now imagine a different kind of vacuum solution. A lightweight, energy-efficient, all-in-one vacuum gripper system that mounts directly to your robot arm – ready to handle anything from corrugated cardboard to porous, irregular items without complex integration or costly redesign.
Introducing the ZGS Vacuum Gripper System – your new standard in automated gripping.
Forget about building complex gripping systems or wasting hours on integration. The ZGS Vacuum Gripper is a compact, all-in-one solution that redefines how you handle parts – no matter their shape, size or material.
Whether you're dealing with cartons, irregular components or layered goods, the ZGS adjusts automatically, giving you a reliable grip from day one. No extra modules, no fine-tuning, no complicated setup. Just connect, mount, and start automating.
This compact, foam vacuum gripper features:
Instead of designing a new gripping system for every product variation, you now have one tool that fits them all. The ZGS eliminates unnecessary hardware, minimises wiring, and simplifies your robot cell – freeing up space and engineering resources for what really matters.
It’s not just about performance – it’s about efficiency, repeatability and flexibility. And when your production needs change, the ZGS changes with you. No redesign. No downtime.
In a packaging facility within the food industry, a palletising cell was struggling to handle certain batches of cardboard sheets. The existing vacuum gripper on the palletiser couldn’t reliably pick up some formats—especially those with porous surfaces, lightweight structure or inconsistent positioning on the conveyor.
To address this, the customer attempted to boost vacuum flow by integrating additional venturis into the gripper. But the results remained unreliable. As a last resort, an operator had to manually apply adhesive tape to the cardboard before picking, a workaround that introduced inefficiencies and added labour to a fully automated line.
SMC proposed replacing the original gripper head with the ZGS Vacuum Gripper System. A test using the customer’s real cardboard materials confirmed immediate improvement: the ZGS was able to securely grip sheets regardless of slight misalignment or partial contact with the gripping surface.
Its unique sponge-like interface and optimised internal vacuum flow allowed the system to adapt to variable part sizes and positions – without needing to cover the entire gripper area. No additional components were required, and installation was carried out directly on the existing machine.
With the ZGS installed, the palletising process ran smoothly across all cardboard variants—without manual assistance or rework.
Key benefits included:
A machining company was setting up a new packing line and needed a vacuum-based solution to automate the application of labels to finished parts. The process required precise and stable handling, even at high speeds, with limited installation space on the new machine.
Although labelling wasn't previously part of their automation flow, the customer knew that any inconsistency in vacuum pickup could result in process interruptions, misapplied labels or manual intervention—something they were determined to avoid from the outset.
SMC’s technical team recommended the ZGS Vacuum Gripper System as a reliable, compact solution tailored to the requirements of the application. Thanks to its adaptable gripping surface and optimised vacuum distribution, the ZGS could securely pick and place labels of varying sizes and materials, even if the contact area was partial or the label position slightly off.
The ZGS was easy to integrate directly onto the new machine, requiring no additional components or major adjustments—allowing the customer to move quickly from testing to production with full confidence in the system’s performance.
The ZGS enabled stable, accurate label application from day one, with zero need for manual corrections.
Key benefits included:
Less integration. More productivity. Compared to conventional systems:
Not all vacuum gripper systems are built the same. Traditional solutions often rely on bulky assemblies with separate ejectors, valves, sensors, and extensive cabling—making installation slow, design complex, and maintenance costly.
The ZGS Vacuum Gripper System from SMC is a smarter, all-in-one alternative. It simplifies integration, reduces wiring, and delivers consistent performance—even when handling irregular, porous, or mixed-format products in demanding automation environments.
Here’s how the ZGS compares:
The ZGS isn’t just a vacuum end-of-arm tooling solution – it’s a game-changer for collaborative robots, palletising lines, and automated packaging setups.
Let us help you validate the ZGS with a personalised application test using your real workpieces. Our experts will assess the best configuration and guide you through the integration process.
