Posted to News on 23rd Mar 2016, 00:00
Schunk gets bigger, better and faster at MACH 2016
At MACH 2016, Schunk will be more than doubling the size of its 2014 stand to accomodate the raft of new products that will be shown alongside established market favourites. On Stand 5024 at MACH 2016 in Hall 5, the innovator in workholding, toolholding and automation technology will be inviting the manufacturing industry to review a host of new products that will receive their UK exhibition premiere at MACH, whilst industry experts will be discussing Schunk's technology that meets the criteria of Industry 4.0.
As the industry benchmark in automation, Schunk recently received a visit from EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger to discuss Industry 4.0. At the forefront of the increasing importance of automation and digitisation and its sustainability, Schunk has set up a 'Smart Factory' task force responsible for strategy development and implementation of new business models.The company has also developed demomnstration cells that incorporate pick & place units, 3-axis gantries, robots and mobile platforms that autonomously cooperate in assembly, inspection, packaging and transport processes. This expertise will be demonstrated in detail at MACH 2016.
As well as new products and production philosophies, Schunk will be drawing customers attention to the latest product lines that will include the PGN-plus universal gripper that has been considered a benchmark for gripping modules. With the MACH debut of the new PGN-plus Permanent, Schunk is raising the technology bar at this year's show.
The SCHUNK PGN-plus Permanent is a robust gripper that reduces operating costs and offers a better performance than the current flagship PGN-plus that will also be shown at MACH. It ensures an excellent repeat accuracy of 0.01mm and its oval piston drive guarantees high forces in confined spaces. SCHUNK underlines the extraordinary performance of this universal gripper with a unique 30-year functional warranty, which is second to none on the market.
The SCHUNK PGN-plus Permanent seamlessly integrates into the PGN-plus family. Nearly the whole range of possible automatic applications can be process-reliably controlled with the universal gripper. This covers applications from machine/system loading in the metal cutting industry and foundries to assembly applications in the automotive and electrical industry through to delicate handling tasks in the medical and pharmaceutical industry.
To complement the PGN-plus at MACH, Schunk will be introducing its new BSWS-MPG-plus standardised finger blanks. The new product features an integrated quick-change jaw system that shortens the time for a jaw change in small parts grippers to less than 30 seconds.
Compared with a conventional jaw change, the system reduces the set-up times by up to 90%. An easily accessible form-fit locking mechanism ensures finger change can be achieved within seconds by a 90° turn of an Allen key. As no through-bores through the entire finger are necessary, unlike other standard solutions, users can benefit from maximum freedom in the design of the finger contour. The Schunk MPG-plus miniature parallel gripper is the most powerful miniature parallel gripper currently available. Compared with similar modules that require the same input, it achieves a significantly higher output, paving the way for increasingly smaller and more efficient systems. The higher force and maximum moment enable longer gripper fingers and higher gripping forces in modules of the same size.
To ensure maximum flexibility, the module can be mounted either on its side or bottom. Both the standard and precision version of the small parts gripper are available in sizes 16 to 64 with finger strokes from 1.5 to 10mm and gripping forces from 25N to 350N. The maximum part weight is between 0.13kg and 1.25kg, depending on the size. If you would like to view some of the new innovations from the market leading toolholding, workholding and gripping specialist, please visit Stand 5024 at MACH 2016.
