If there’s one thing the corona pandemic has taught us, it is that laboratories place tremendous importance on high sample throughput rates. Even with highly qualified laboratory personnel, this demand can no longer be met. There’s no getting round the automation of laboratory processes. That’s why MolGen in the Netherlands developed PurePrep TTR, which can prepare 320 patient samples per hour for molecular downstream processing. And ...

The production of tyres and the production of wafers seem to have absolutely nothing to do with each other. In terms of automation technology, however, they use the same technology: Controlled Pneumatics. That is why Festo has further developed compressed air technology to make pneumatics sustainable, resource-saving and energy-efficient.

The software GripperAI from Festo enables "blind bin picking" and thus autonomous handling solutions with almost any robot, cobot or Cartesian gantry. The company ibk Ingenieur Consult GmbH is offering an online configurable robot cell as an entry-level model. This could become the patent solution for many gripping tasks, including customised designs and integration services.

Digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI) are megatrends that can also offer great potential for savings in tyre production. Machine learning algorithms can be implemented in a decentralised manner, for example on the edge, i.e. on the actual module to be monitored. An example is Festo AX. This AI software uses these algorithms to detect anomalies on tyre building machines or in curing presses.

Flexible, robust and offering high performance – the angle seat valve VZXA from Festo controls media flows quickly and reliably up to 230 °C. Its carefully thought-out product design and patented interface enable valve bodies and actuators to be freely combined, with a hot-swap function for quickly exchanging actuator or other spare parts.

The twin cylinder DGTZ from Festo is short, flat and extremely versatile. The versatility is ensured by the mounting options on four sides of this rigid and thus non-rotating twin cylinder that is also maintenance-free.

The configurators for process valve and quarter turn actuator units from Festo make it easier for system planners to find the optimal solution. Simply select a few parameters and the configurators will suggest appropriate combinations, making engineering in the process industry fast, reliable and easy with coordinated and ready-to-install solutions.

The lockdown in spring 2020 meant that the majority of Festo employees had to join the ranks of those working from home. Yet within the space of just four weeks they managed to develop a suitable solution for an emergency ventilator for a COVID-19 treatment, thanks to an agile development process and standard components that were quickly delivered.

Festo has upgraded its PROFINET bus interfaces for the CPX automation platform. The new generation has four new key features based on the new PROFINET controllers and software, with the “S2 system redundancy” being the most important one.  

No one enjoys going to the dentist; young children even less so. To help future dentists and dental assistants deal with children during dental treatments, the Japanese company tmsuk has developed a humanoid robot that realistically simulates the behaviour of young children during these treatments, complete with fidgeting, flinching or closing the mouth. The dummy’s realistic movements are produced using proportional pressure regulators with ...

The term "sustainability" all too often turns into mere lip service. Not so at Wellspect. This world leader in manufacturing solutions for medical continence care has made sustainability an integral part of its corporate strategy and is committed to putting it into practice. No wonder the company’s plant in Mölndal near Gothenburg, Sweden, relies on Festo Energy Saving Services which save Wellspect €37,000 a year in energy costs.

Fast MDx shows how many pathogens can be detected with unrivalled speed without the need for expensive biosecure laboratories. This near-patient testing system, developed by London-based company Fast MDx, cuts the typical 24 to 48 hour waiting time to just one to two hours. The new system uses automation technology from Festo.

The sustainability of cardboard packaging is leading to its increasing use instead of plastic packaging. A key step in the manufacture of folding boxes is the highly precise gluing of the box blanks. The company Baumer hhs is a specialist and global market leader for applications of this type with its dual-piston pump DPP – supported by the proportional valve VPPM from Festo.

The future belongs to human-robot cooperation. System builder BEC developed such a collaborative solution for Siemens Healthineers. It inserts coils weighing several tonnes precisely into the magnets of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines. Electric cylinders from Festo, which ensure the coils are securely gripped, play a crucial role here.  

The decentralised IO system CPX-AP-I allows compact and lightweight I/O modules as well as the decentralised valve terminals from Festo to be integrated into major host systems in a flexible and scalable way. Another advantage of CPX-AP-I is its seamless connectivity from the field level right through to the cloud, providing access to features such as predictive maintenance. This makes digitalisation incredibly easy.

Thanks to high-pressure pneumatics, stretch blow moulding machines achieve an output per blow moulding station of between 1,000 and nearly 3,000 PET bottles per hour. The key to this success is precise control using valves and valve blocks and the proper compressed air preparation. These are supplied by Festo, along with global services, from design engineering tools to operation. At drinktec in Munich in September 2022, innovative digitalisation ...