“Festo’sproportional technologymakes
our thermoformingsystemseven faster
andgentler on thematerial.”
ArndZander,HeadofDesignatMaschinenfabrikHerbertMeyer
(A)
andbelow. From there, theblanksare
transferred fullyautomatically toa feed
tableheatedby90 °Cwater.A radiant
heater locateddirectlyabove this table
brings theblanks to their final processing
temperaturewithout any contact. The
flexible combinationof contact and
radiant heat enablesdifferentblank types
tobeheated in themost suitableway,
thusavoiding theproblemof unsightly
pressuremarks.Once theblankhasbeen
uniformlyheated comes themost
important step: thermoforming. For this
step, themain conveyor picksup the
blankusing its24grippers–eight per
sideand four each in the infeedand
outfeedarea–andpositions it on the
lowermould. Theuppermould is then
dropped, pressing theblank into itsfinal
shape. After pressing, themouldsopen
againand themain conveyor transfers the
blank toabeltmovedbya rodlessdrive
DGC-K for coolingand further processing.
Movingasgentlyaspossible
Everygripper on themain conveyor has
four degreesof freedom, canbeopened
and closed individuallyandapproached
verticallyandhorizontallyusing
proportional valves. Thisallows the
system toadjust flexibly todifferent blank
sizes.
A further cylinder typeDGC-K isusedon
thevertical axis. Itsfloatingposition
ensuresperfect adaptationof thegripper
to themould’scontour.Thegripper reacts
flexibly to the tensile forcesexertedby
themouldson theblankduring the
formingprocess. Thegrippers canalsobe
pivotedonanaxisof rotation in the feed
direction. Thisenables them to freely
track themould contour. Thebenefitsof
thisare twofold: firstly it ensuresvery
gentle formingof theblankmaterial
without anyweakspots, andsecondly it
doesawaywith theneed to reprogram
thegrippers for specificproductswhen
changingmoulds. All that needs tobe
adjustedare theblankdimensionsand
the tensile forces. Apositivesideeffect of
the increasedsystemprecision is reduced
material consumption. This isbecause
savingevena fewsquare centimetresof
floor coveringcanveryquicklyaddup to
severalmillioneuroswhendealingwith
thequantitiesused in theautomotive
industry.
Beingslimsavesmoney
Advancedproportional technology from
Festoenables thedrivesof themain
conveyor tomovewithdifferent pressures
dependingon themouldand theblank
material. Thevalve terminal CPX/MPA
permits fully independent adjustment of
the24 individual grippers.When the
product is changed, thesettings for the
specificmaterial andmouldare changed
at thepressof abutton. Thismeans that
