Systems, methods, and vacuum chucks for transferring flexible elongate bodies

A vacuum chuck for transferring a flexible elongate body, the vacuum chuck comprising:

• an elongate rigid support;
• a vertically oriented vacuum surface including a plurality of vacuum holes, wherein the vertically oriented vacuum surface extends along a length of the elongate rigid support, is supported by the elongate rigid support, and is configured to contact a vertical surface of the flexible elongate body during transfer of the flexible elongate body by the vacuum chuck;
• a vacuum manifold in fluid communication with the plurality of vacuum holes and configured to apply a retention vacuum to the plurality of vacuum holes to retain the flexible elongate body on the vertically oriented vacuum surface during transfer of the flexible elongate body by the vacuum chuck;
• and
• a skirt seal that extends along a length of the vertically oriented vacuum surface, wherein the skirt seal is sized and located to form a fluid seal with the flexible elongate body;
• wherein the vertically oriented vacuum surface is a first vertically oriented vacuum surface, and further wherein the vacuum chuck includes a second vertically oriented vacuum surface, wherein the first vertically oriented vacuum surface and the second vertically oriented vacuum surface face away from one another, and further wherein the elongate rigid support extends at least partially between the first vertically oriented vacuum surface and the second vertically oriented vacuum surface.