Potentials of networked clamping technology

To quote Jürgen Förster, Authorised Signatory and Sales Manager at AMF Andreas Maier GmbH & Co. KG, Fellbach, for example: “Most customers have meanwhile comprehended and taken on board the importance and the potential of clamping technology in a process-optimised manufacturing operation. Whereas, for instance, the primary focus used to be on faster machine tools or longer useful lifetimes of the cutting materials, nowadays clamping technology has at least the same perceived importance.”

Automatability, of course, plays a major role in this context. Different retrieval options and concomitantly seamless communication with the machine tool are nowadays considered standard features. As a complete-system vendor of different clamping media, says Jürgen Förster, “we see a very definite trend towards a combination of different clamping methods. Zero-point clamping technology often constitutes the basis, and is supplemented by hydraulic, magnetic or pneumatic systems to form a flexible modularised whole.” Seamless networking and communication between the clamping devices and the machine tool are crucial factors for an optimised manufacturing solution in regard to Industry 4.0 and the associated components. The Sales Manager sees his firm’s remit in its role of a clamping device manufacturer as “using the existing as-is status in the customer’s manufacturing operation as the basis for planning and for optimising the production processes concerned”.

Experience here has shown “that given early involvement of the staff, there are almost no limits to the creativity and willingness to optimise of each individual”. Together with a manufacturer of medical technology, for example, a solution has been developed “in which the result exceeded even our own expectations”. For instance, AMF has fitted the zero-point clamping modules with position sensors, thus assuring automated manufacturing with robot loading in a dependable process.

“We’re looking forward to this year’s EMO in Hannover”, says Jürgen Förster, “where we shall be showcasing our corporate capabilities and our expertise in all the different facets of clamping technology. In addition, the topic of ‘affordable automation solutions for existing machine tools’ is a keynote issue. Low-cost automation, including loading, gripping, storing, clamping and identification, is the guiding principle here.”