The extremely compact rotary gripper module EHMD is the ideal choice in many life science applications where small objects need to be gripped and turned in confined spaces. For example, it can be used in laboratory automation to open a variety of sample vials with ease. The Z module automatically adjusts to the thread pitches of the caps, eliminating changeover times.

Opening sample vessels and pipetting liquid samples in the same workspace saves space in laboratories. This can now be achieved with the three-dimensional gantry EXCL from Festo, which has a small footprint for table-top devices and PCB-based motion control.

Dosing, aspirating and controlling extremely small quantities of aggressive liquids and gases is not a problem with the media-separated solenoid valve VYKA from Festo. This compact powerhouse has a width of only 7 mm and can dose and aspirate the extremely small amounts of liquid very precisely. It also meets the strict requirements for leak-tightness for gas applications.

Seeds are the new gold. Why is that? Plant-based foods can feed an ever-growing world population. But climate change, pests and diseases threaten plant breeding. To help develop resistant seeds and make them available to agriculture, plant breeders need vast amounts of DNA. That is precisely why Synchron Lab has developed the "DNA factory", which is automated with handling gantries, electric axes, pneumatic grippers and sensors from Festo.

Higher demands on throughput and precision – this is only possible with more automation in laboratory technology. Sensapex already equips more than 800 customers worldwide with high-precision micromanipulators, microscopes, and pressure controllers – from neuroscience research to in vitro fertilization (IVF) – to name only a few application examples. To work successfully the pressure controllers from Sensapex rely on the decentralized ...

In Europe, Germany's mechatronics experts are simply top: at the European Skills Championship EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 in Poland last September, Daniel Schmid and Timo Oßwald, both apprentices at Festo, won the gold medal in the skill mechatronics. They thus completed the extremely successful record of the German national team, which came second behind Switzerland in the 'Best of Nations' ranking in 42 trades.

Siemens Xcelerator, the open digital business platform, creates an open ecosystem for collaboration between customers, Siemens, and certified partners, from large technology companies to independent software developers. Festo and Siemens announced their latest partnership at this year’s Hannover Messe trade fair. Festo has joined the Industrial Edge ecosystem. To kick this off, Festo is offering the Festo AX Data access app, effective ...

Oliver Jung (61) will leave his position as Chairman of the Management Board of Festo SE & Co. KG as planned on expiry of his current mandate. The Supervisory Board has appointed Thomas Böck (52) as his successor. Mr. Böck will join the family-owned company as the new Chairman of the Management Board on 1 January 2024.

The FLAIROP (Federated Learning for Robot Picking) research project, which was sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, was concluded at Festo in Esslingen-Berkheim. At the event, all project participants – as well as interested public – were on site or presented their results live from Canada.

"The shortage of skilled workers is a challenge for companies in Europe. We need to invest much more in education and training. That is why I propose to make 2023 the European Year of Skills," said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The highlight of this Year of Skills will be the 8th EuroSkills competition of professions in September in Gdańsk, Poland. Mechatronics is one of the most attractive and promising skills, and it will be ...

According to estimates, by 2025 some 600,000 tons of used batteries from electric passenger cars need to be recycled. Since batteries are energy storage devices made from valuable raw materials, this inevitably raises the question of sustainability. Festo therefore offers modular automation concepts not only for cell producing, assembling battery modules and packs, and platform integration, but also for disassembling and recycling or separating the ...

The success and reputation of electric vehicle manufacturers depend on the safe and flawless functioning of batteries. HAHN Automation Group has therefore developed a battery tester that carries out a complete test of the mobile energy storage units fully automatically. A 3-axis gantry for optical and leak tests, consisting of electric drives from Festo, takes centre stage.

Standardisation is a recipe for success for a fruitful collaboration between packaging machine manufacturers and automation specialists. The strategic partnership between Syntegon and Festo is a great example of this. Thanks to this cooperation, Syntegon was able to simplify its processes and manage the challenges posed by the pandemic and the supply chain crisis more effectively.

The Festo Group achieved double-digit growth for another year in a row. Sales rose by 13.4% to €3.81 billion in 2022 (previous year €3.36 billion). Festo intends to continue growing in 2023. Innovative automation is the enabler for the industrial transformation towards renewable energies, sustainable production, hydrogen and circular economy.

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.