Suction cup for grabbing boulder question

[BoilerMentor]

Generally in the scheme of FIRST volume vacuums (Like a shop vac, motor driven rotating fan) have been more successful than pressure vacuums (air across venturi or ).

In 2008 as a student on 1741 we used replaced the motor from a conventional vacuum fan housing with a Fischer-Price motor. It generated a vacuum of about 28 inches of water. Obviously a 40" ball makes has a lot more surface area to work with than a 10" ball, but it could still potentially work. A volume vacuum is much more leak tolerant than a pressure vacuum, which is the primary advantage here.

To find components, talk to a local vacuum repair shop. Generally they'll have fan housings with burnt out motors they would be happy to get rid of. It's late in build season, so there isn't a great deal of time to get this implemented, but a 775 motor would probably do a great job in the application.

If you have any questions, let me know. I'd be happy to help.

Good Luck.