Patent ID: 8292277

Claim:
A method for handling a workpiece having at least one through-opening and being provided as one of a plurality of workpieces in a stack, the method comprising: providing at least one through-opening of the workpiece with a covering prior to, during, or after removal of the workpiece from the stack; placing at least one suction element and the workpiece against each other to form a suction chamber; drawing a vacuum in the suction chamber to fix the workpiece and the suction element to each other with a holding force for subsequent manipulation of the workpiece; wherein the covering is configured to reduce the flow of air through the through-opening to the suction chamber sufficiently so that the vacuum gives rise to the holding force; and feeding the workpiece to a processing device that comprises a bending device or a cutting device, after the workpiece and the suction element have been fixed to each other with the holding force.