Quantitative study on the attachment and detachment of a passive suction cup

• Operation process and force analysis of a suction cup are introduced and conducted.
• Optimal pushing force that ensures the complete attachment of the suction cup is defined.
• An experimental method is developed for the measurement of factors influencing attachment and detachment of suction cups.
• An area measuring method is proposed to calculate the vacuum zone.
• Internal elastic force of the suction cup is experimentally investigated and discussed.

To quantitatively evaluate requirements of a suction cup to achieve attachment and detachment on a wall, this paper presents the force analyses and conducts experimental verification for a common commercially available passive suction cup. The entire operation process, including the initial, pushing, attachment and detachment phases, are presented. By designing and using a test bed, optimal pushing force that ensures complete attachment of the suction cup is defined and experimentally verified. Other factors that influence the attachment and detachment of the suction cup, such as the area of the vacuum zone on the cup-wall contact surface and the internal elastic force from the elastic deformation of the suction cup, are experimentally investigated. The methods proposed in this study can be used on other types of suction cups and are valuable in guiding the design of suction-cup-based devices, such as wall-climbing robots.