Grippers

Grippers are specialty devices that use rubber bulbs attached to two opposing conveyor chains to gently squeeze the product just enough to “grip” them.  With a grip on the product, it can be raised or lowered to a different elevation, tipped upside down, or follow some other path for your specified process.  The rubber gripper bulbs come in several different sizes and shapes to accommodate a variety of products from cans and bottles to cases and bundles.  Pack Air’s standard Gripper Elevators and Lowerators are configured in three different ways.

S-Grippers have opposing conveyors assembled in an S-shaped configuration when viewed from the side elevation.  The opposing gripper conveyors start horizontally, transition to vertical through a 90-degree turn, then transition back to horizontal through a second 90-degree turn.  In this configuration the product orientation is maintained, as is direction of flow.

C-Grippers have opposing conveyors assembled in a C-shaped configuration when viewed from the side elevation.  The opposing gripper conveyors start horizontally, transition to vertical through a 90-degree turn, then transition back to horizontal through a second 90-degree turn but in the opposite direction as the infeed.  In this configuration the product orientation is flipped upside down, and the direction of flow is 180-degrees from the infeed.  This reorientation feature can often take the place of a separate device otherwise needed to invert the product.

Grippers-Upenders have two sets of opposing conveyors assembled in L-shaped configurations when viewed from the side and end elevations.  The first set of opposing gripper conveyors start horizontally and transition to vertical through a 90-degree turn.  In the vertical straight section, there is a hand off to a second set of L-shaped conveyors rotated 90-degrees to the first about the vertical axis.  As the second set of conveyors transitions back to horizontal through a second 90-degree turn, the product is discharged with the orientation changed so the bottom now becomes the side, and the direction of flow is now 90-degrees to the infeed.  This reorientation feature can often take the place of a separate device otherwise needed to helically rotate the product.

Hand crank width adjustments are included on all standard Grippers.  Adjustable height bases, side shift bases, and motorized adjustments are also available as options on all Grippers.  Specialty configurations for incline angles other than 90-degrees, Mini-Grippers for small elevation changes, Straight Grippers for product transfers, Turn Disc Grippers for high speeds, as well as Wash Down models and Gripper Rinsers are all available as custom engineered solutions.