Bag Gripper
The Bag Gripper is built for the pick that defeats most vacuum systems. Paper sacks, plastic film, woven fabric bags and part filled bags leak air, sag and change shape the moment they are lifted. We pair a blower driven vacuum supply with a conforming sealing element, so the tool keeps its grip while the bag breathes.
This is a purely vacuum driven tool. There are no motors, actuators, jaws or electronics on the gripper itself, just a blower supply and a sealing element, which is what keeps it simple to integrate and inexpensive to maintain. Because the plenum is 3D printed in SLS nylon rather than machined from aluminium, the payload budget goes to the product instead of the tooling. The modular build keeps maintenance simple, since the sealing element is the wear part and comes off without pulling the gripper from the robot.
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Lightweight
A printed nylon plenum instead of machined aluminium, so the robot payload goes to the bag and not the tool.
High Flow Grip
Blower driven vacuum holds porous and part filled bags that leak too much for a standard ejector.
Modular Design
The sealing element is a replaceable wear part, keeping maintenance quick and downtime short.
How the Bag Gripper Works
Rigid parts seal against a suction cup and hold vacuum with very little airflow. Bags do the opposite. Paper, woven polypropylene and part filled sacks leak air constantly, fold under their own weight and never present a flat surface. A conventional vacuum pump and cup set drops the pick as soon as the bag shifts.
We solve that with flow rather than depth of vacuum. A blower pushes a high volume of air through the plenum, the sealing element conforms to the bag surface, and the tool keeps lifting even while the bag leaks. That is what makes a reliable pick possible on materials that defeat standard suction cups.
High Flow Vacuum
A blower moves far more air than a venturi ejector, so the gripper tolerates the constant leakage that comes with porous sacks and loose bag material.
Conforming Sealing Element
A soft sealing frame closes the gap around the bag surface, holds the pick through acceleration, and is designed as a wear part that can be swapped out on the line.
Lightweight Printed Body
The plenum is 3D printed in SLS nylon, which strips weight out of the tool without giving up stiffness across the full gripping face.
See It in Action
The Bag Gripper picking a filled sack in a robot cell. The bag flexes and leaks throughout the cycle, and the blower driven vacuum keeps the pick stable from lift to release.
What It Handles
- Automated bag and sack handling where a low tool weight matters
- Paper, plastic and woven fabric bags, including cement bags
- Porous, bag like workpieces and bags with a low filling level
- Bags of different materials and geometries running through the same cell
- Palletizing, depalletizing and machine loading with industrial robots or collaborative robots
- Modular build for low weight and quick maintenance of the sealing element
Food · Logistics · Packaging
One Size in Production, Two on the Way
One gripping face is in production today and two smaller footprints are on the way. If your bag format sits between these sizes, we design and print the plenum to suit.
| Gripping face | Height | Weight | Vacuum supply | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 405 × 305 mm | 130 mm | 2.2 kg (4.86 lbs) | Blower | Available |
| 350 × 250 mm | 130 mm | Contact us | Blower | Coming soon |
| 290 × 215 mm | 130 mm | Contact us | Blower | Coming soon |
Bag weight, bag material and cycle time all affect sizing. Send us your bag format and we will confirm the right gripping face and blower for the application.
Bag Gripper Questions
What is a bag gripper?
A bag gripper is an end of arm tool designed to lift sacks and bags rather than rigid parts. It is also called a sack gripper or a vacuum bag lifter. Instead of sealing a suction cup against a smooth surface, it uses a large gripping face and a high flow vacuum supply, so it can hold porous, flexible and partly filled bags that constantly leak air.
Can it handle cement bags and other dusty products?
Yes. Paper and woven cement bags are one of the applications the tool was built around. The sealing element conforms to the bag surface and the blower keeps the flow up, which is what makes a dusty, porous sack pickable.
Do I need a blower, or will a vacuum pump work?
Bags need volume of air, not depth of vacuum. A blower is the right supply for this tool. A venturi ejector sized for rigid parts will not keep up with the leakage from a bag, which is why picks fail with conventional cup tooling.
What sizes are available?
The 405 × 305 mm gripping face is available now. Two smaller footprints, 350 × 250 mm and 290 × 215 mm, are on the way. If your bag format falls outside these, we design and print the plenum to match. Full dimensions and weights are in the specification table above.
Can it run on a collaborative robot?
Yes. The low tool weight is what makes bag handling realistic on a collaborative robot, where every kilogram of tooling comes straight off the payload available for the bag.
How is the gripper maintained?
The sealing element is treated as a wear part. It is a modular component, so it can be replaced on the line without rebuilding or replacing the whole gripper.
Explore the Rest of the Range
Area Surface Gripper (ASG)
Full face vacuum gripping for boxes, panels, glass and film.
Spider Gripper (SPI)
Lightweight zoned gripping for mixed SKU pick and place.
Integrated Vacuum Tool Changer (IVTC)
Swap tools in seconds with vacuum pass-through built in.
Vacuum Grippers
The full vacuum gripping range and how to choose between them.
