A brief history of the powerful Sticky Pod suction cups and how they came to become a Sticky
Pod suction cup for our car camera mounts.
Sticky Pod camera mounts rely on highly refined heavy duty, industrial suction
cups that can withstand the harsh environment caused by the forces placed on it during high speed
driving. Unlike most other car camera mounts, the Sticky Pod uses suction cups and not vacuum cups.
The principle behind how they work is the same, but their function is entirely
different:
Principles of a Vacuum
Suction cups and vacuum cups both operate on the same principle. When a lack of
air pressure (vacuum) is present between a smooth non-porous surface and the mounted side of a
suction cup or vacuum cup, the higher atmospheric pressure outside of the cup enables the suction
or vacuum cup to maintain it's grip. The lower the pressure under the suction cup means the greater
the force it takes to remove it from it's mounted surface. It's amazing how a difference in air
pressure can create such a powerful holding force. Then again, think about what happens when you
dive under water. After you travel only 4 or 5 feet below the water's surface, you feel a
tremendous amount of pressure on your ear drums. It's this same pressure above water that makes a
suction cup work as well as it does. When you look at this mathematically, you get some very
impressive results. Normal atmospheric pressure at sea level is 15 pounds per square inch. That
means that every square inch of your body is subjected to 15 pounds of pressure against it. If you
remove 13 pounds per square inch of pressure from the underside of a suction or vacuum cup (leaving
only 2 pounds per square inch), then you're creating 13 pounds per square inch of force against the
topside surface area. Combine this pressure differential with a heavy duty industrial, powerful and
flexible, material and you will have one very tough suction cup. The Sticky Pod suction cups
consist of 7.75 square inches of surface area, combined with a very tough industrial material and
13 pounds per square inch pushing against this surface brings the total holding force per suction
cup to 100.75 pounds at sea level! We use up to 11 suction cups for some of our mounts with the
option to add another 12 to your configuration. When you add all this up, you can see why a Sticky
Pod suction cups works so well.
Suction Cups
Suction cups provide a means of attaching just about anything to a smooth,
non-porous surface without any mechanical intervention. A suction cup has the ability to squeeze
out most or all of the air from the underside between itself and it's mated surface. This is
accomplished by simply applying pressure to the center of the topside of the suction cup as it sits
on the surface you intend to mate it to. This is a very quick and effortless process. You don't
need to be strong or have any special training. Just be sure the suction cup is clean and the
mounting surface is clean. When the suction cup is smooth, clean and well built and your surface is
smooth, clean and non-porous, a suction cup can stay in place indefinitely. The key is to make sure
no air can get between the mounting surface and the suction cup. To achieve a smooth suction cup
surface, the suction cup must be made from the right materials. This is key for maintaining a high
degree of durability. Also, since Sticky Pod suction cups are flexible, they can be mounted to any
curved or flat surface.
Vacuum Cups
Vacuum cups are very different from suction cups, even though they perform a
similar function. Vacuum cups are designed to pickup flat objects only. For example, a piece of
paper or a sheet of glass, metal or plastic. Vacuum cups require a mechanical intervention by the
user to remove the air pressure from their underside. An example of these are the pumps that can be
seen on the side of vacuum cups. Since the air must be removed from under the vacuum cup, the cup
must be preshaped to fit the surface it's being mated to. So if you want to lift flat glass, then
the vacuum cup must have a flat seal to grip the glass. The material surface must be non-porous,
just like suction cups, but the vacuum cup must match the shape of the object on which it is to be
mounted. Since most vacuum cups are designed for a flat surface only, this is why they will never
work well on the outside of a car or any other vehicle with a curved surface. Simply because almost
all vacuum cups are designed for flat surfaces and not the curved surfaces of a car, your holding
power and duration will be dramatically reduced. Any vacuum cup designed for a car would have to be
designed for a very specific curved surface. Also, because the vacuum cup uses a pump to create the
vacuum, it must be constructed of harder, less flexible materials. This severely limits the vacuum
cups capabilities by limiting the number of mounting surfaces.
Discoveries
A great discovery, made by the Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) industry in 2010,
clearly demonstrates how the Sticky Pod suction cups are putting more money in the pockets of their
owners. They discovered that Sticky Pod suction cups will hold their unique tools to the side of
any vehicle for an entire day! That is, once they attach a Sticky Pod suction cup, they never have
to touch it again until they're ready for their next customer. In short, the PDR industry has come
to realize that vacuum cups (their traditional tool of choice) are not designed for strength or
endurance on any vehicle. They have also discovered that not all suction cups are built the same.
High strength, industrial suction cups are not designed, and will never endure as long as a Sticky
Pod suction cup. Why? One word, "Sales". The Sticky Pod suction cups have been selling since May
2003, in that time, only one customer has ever returned their suction cups. This is impressive when
you consider that the Sticky Pod suction cups come with an unconditional money back guarantee
tied to a performance guarantee, and that includes a full shipping refund.
History of Suction and Vacuum Cups
The first cups to use a vacuum would be classified as vacuum cups by today's
definition. In 1663, Otto van Guericke created two massive vacuum cups made out of copper and mated
them together by pumping out the air on the inside of the two halves. He then attached two teams of
horses, eight on each side, and they tried to pull the two halves apart. To the shock of all the
towns people, the horses failed. Then Otto simply opened a relief valve and the two halves fell
apart.
The modern day suction cup, not vacuum cup, as we know it, was invented by J.W.
Greene in 1889. Any guesses what he did with them? Of course, these devices were invented to
enlarge women's breasts! Sounds like a bad spam email, I know, but that's what he did with
them.
I hope this helps you understand the difference between suction cups and vacuum
cups. It's important for you to understand why a Sticky Pod works so well. To buy your Sticky Pod
suction cups, just click here.
Tom Heibel
Sticky Pod Inventor
www.stickypod.com
Local or International: 423-342-6300
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