SMC ZPT16CTSK10-B5-A8 | ZP Series Basic Thin Flat Pad With Ribs 16mm Vertical Inlet With Buffer Silicone Rubber 10mm Stroke Low-Profile

The SMC ZPT16CTSK10-B5-A8 is a thin flat type vacuum pad with ribs from the ZP series, featuring a 16mm pad diameter with silicone rubber construction, vertical vacuum inlet, and 10mm buffer stroke. The "CT" pad shape designation indicates a thin flat profile with integrated ribs (reinforcing ridges on the pad lip), combining the low-profile advantages of thin flat geometry with the enhanced seal conformability and grip stability that ribbed construction provides on textured or slightly uneven workpiece surfaces.

What advantage do ribs provide on a thin flat vacuum pad? The ribbed lip design creates multiple concentric sealing zones around the pad perimeter, significantly improving vacuum seal reliability on surfaces that may have minor imperfections, dust particles, texture, or slight waviness. Unlike smooth flat pads that require nearly perfect surface contact for seal integrity, ribbed pads maintain vacuum even when small gaps exist at individual ribs because adjacent ribs continue to seal. This dramatically improves pick reliability on real-world workpiece surfaces.

Silicone rubber ("S" material code) provides the broadest operating temperature range at -30°C to +180°C, making this pad suitable for handling warm workpieces from processing equipment alongside its textured-surface gripping capabilities. The thin flat profile minimizes pad height for integration into space-constrained tooling where standard-thickness pads would create clearance issues.

The 10mm buffer stroke ("K10") adds moderate compliance for workpiece approach, while the "B5" fitting and "A8" buffer body size the assembly for compact installation. This pad is RoHS compliant and part of SMC's ZPT series covering 2 to 125mm diameters with six materials and four pad designs.