in automated food production, even a simple product like an ice cream cone can become a handling challenge. Lightweight, porous, and slightly irregular in shape, cones often expose the limitations of traditional vacuum-based pick-and-place systems.
A customer approached us with a typical setup:
While vacuum cups are widely used for high-speed handling, they struggled in this case. The cones’ porous structure and surface texture made it difficult to maintain consistent suction. As a result, frequent drops occurred, affecting production efficiency and increasing waste.
Vacuum systems rely on stable sealing surfaces. However, ice cream cones present several issues:
These factors combined to reduce gripping reliability—especially at higher cycle speeds.
To solve this, we implemented a soft gripper with external gripping.Instead of relying on suction, the soft gripper gently wraps around the outer surface of the cone. Its flexible structure allows it to adapt to slight variations while maintaining stable contact.
1. Stable Gripping Without Suction
External gripping eliminates dependence on air-tight sealing, ensuring consistent performance even with porous materials.2. Gentle Handling
The soft material distributes contact force evenly, preventing damage or deformation.3. Compatibility with Existing Layout
With a 75 mm center spacing, the gripper was designed to avoid interference while maintaining precise positioning.4. Improved Reliability
After implementation, the issue of dropped cones was effectively eliminated, significantly improving line stability.
To achieve optimal performance, several factors were carefully tuned:
By switching from vacuum suction to a soft gripper solution:
Not all products are suitable for vacuum handling—especially porous, lightweight, or irregular items like ice cream cones. In such cases, soft grippers provide a more adaptive and reliable alternative.Sometimes, the best solution isn’t stronger suction—but a smarter, softer touch.