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For more than 2,200 products worldwide: always in stock, attractively priced and delivered quickly
Don’t waste any more time during the design processes. Thanks to digitalisation and our online engineering tools, you can find the product you need in next to no time, design an axis gantry in a flash or transfer CAD/ECAD data straight into your plans at the click of a mouse. Here is an overview of the key tools.
With the Handling Guide Online, you can configure and order your handling system in record time. It encompasses all the knowledge of our experts. Just enter the data for your application and the Handling Guide Online automatically works out suitable solutions. You then simply select the system you want, which you can order immediately through the Online Shop. This reduces your engineering time and effort to a minimum and guides you to the right handling system in record time.
GN Thermoforming Equipment, located in Chester, Canada, is the global market leader for thin, thermoformed plastic objects. When the latest thermoforming system, the GN800, was developed in 2016, GN decided to look for new technologies for the pick & place system and came across Festo and the Handling Guide Online. This enables these systems to be designed and integrated into the machine in no time at all. The proposed solutions enabled GN to achieve the desired increase in productivity as well as the ability to execute at least 45 picks per minute.
New technologies wanted. Efficiency booster found.
The containers that are made by GN’s machines using thin plastic and a heat-forming process have a huge variety of applications, including in the food industry. Specially developed tools press the heated plastic into the desired shape. At the customer's request, the engineers at GN also develop pick & place solutions that stack finished products as they come out of the machine – known as robotic stackers.
Faster engineering, simpler ordering
Thanks to rapid engineering, the time-to-market for the GN800 was shorter, even with robotic stacking. The documentation provided by the Handling Guide saves time too. Laborious searching, for example for spare parts, is no longer necessary. At the same time, development costs are reduced because the design of the linear gantry has already been established and employees can concentrate on other important design elements. Purchasing also benefits from the decision to design the pick & place solutions using the Handling Guide Online. The fact that there’s just one single part number for the entire linear gantry simplifies ordering and data management, and makes them less expensive as well.
Quick assembly and more space in production
Pre-tested solutions from the Handling Guide Online are pre-assembled and delivered in one piece to facilitate quick installation and short set-up times. This reduces the previous installation time of four working days to four hours. Last but not least, the automatically optimised sizing feature of the handling systems from Festo means the GN800 is smaller and thus takes up considerably less space than the previous solutions. Overhead costs are reduced as a result and there is more space at the production location.
Reduced costs and faster time to market
The Handling Guide Online offers advantages along the entire value chain. The management team at GN is very satisfied with this solution. Not only do the cost reductions play an important role for GN, but also other factors such as the faster time to market and potential time savings for GN’s employees and customers.
From manually actuated process valves to fully automated ones, the new configurator makes selecting the optimum solution child’s play. Simply select your parameters and the configurator will immediately suggest appropriate combinations, making engineering faster, safer and easier.
The image processing software Camera Configuration Studio delivers fast and reliable results for your imaging tasks. This digital tool enables you to configure inspection programs and define, log and adjust all processes, from image recording to the input and output parameters, and simulate them in advance on the PC.
In addition, the hardware, which includes our high-resolution smart camera SBRD and the specially designed machine vision controller, opens up new options in automation and robotics. The complete image processing program SBRD is suitable for beginners and professionals.
You may have already asked yourself if there isn't a quicker and more accurate way to calculate the optimal pneumatic control chain. There is! And not just with one design version, but up to three that are suitable for your application, thanks to the Pneumatic Sizing tool from Festo.
By entering three application parameters such as load, stroke and positioning time, you will get up to three suggestions: the perfectly precise result, as well as the performance and eco versions. This makes designing your pneumatic control chain child’s play.
The Automation Suite makes things easy for you, since you only need one piece of software to parameterise, program and maintain Festo components. The basic functions of all Festo components are already integrated, so you can start straight away. Configure and parameterise a fully operable drive system in five steps: the electric components are added by dragging and dropping them, then linked together and connected to the controller.
The user-friendly interface has a uniform design and modular structure. You can also configure the Automation Suite individually. To do this, simply install plug-ins and extensions directly from the software. You can integrate the servo drive CMMT-AS into the controller program of the CPX-E with just two clicks. The optional CODESYS add-on enables the motion control and robotic functions to be programmed for CPX-E.
PositioningDrives speeds up your project engineering and prevents design errors. By choosing the right components, energy efficiency is also improved. Designing drive mechanisms, gear units and motors separately can increase the safety factors and result in oversized electric drive systems. After entering just a few application parameters, you receive several suggestions from which you can choose the right solution. You then simply save the results list that has all the information such as the motion profile, dynamic load data, product characteristics and a bill of materials.
