If manufacturers of automation technology want to create real added value for their customers, digitalisation solutions are the way to do it. “That is why Festo developed the Festo Automation Experience, or Festo AX for short,” explains Dr. Oliver Niese, Vice President Digital Business at Festo. Festo AX boosts the performance of machines and systems, thus making customers even more successful.

These grippers reduce end-effector size, lower cycle time, ensure safety, and offer   new solutions.

"Festo will massively reduce its CO2 footprint over the next two years. As a result, by the end of 2023, all our production and logistics sites as well as the German sales locations and the corporate headquarters in Esslingen will be CO2 neutral", explains the Chairman of the Management Board of Festo SE & Co. KG, Dr. h.c. Oliver Jung, in his end-of-year address to the staff.

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, protective equipment was in short supply. Nursing staff didn’t have enough face masks, protective goggles, full-body protective suits, or hygienic disposable rubber gloves. To overcome at least the shortage of  gloves, AFA Technologies offers packaging machines and automated systems for quality control. The Malaysian company relies on pneumatic valve technology from Festo for its machines.

Adjusting the proximity switches for detecting the end position of a pneumatic cylinder’s piston stroke is often a complex process. Not so with the SDBT-MSX from Festo, the first proximity switch with automatic switching point adjustment.

Festo SE & Co. KG and the joint venture FlexFactory GmbH of MHP, Munich Re and Porsche are consolidating their strategic partnership and entering the market with a joint offering for machine and plant manufacturers as well as plant and equipment operators. The aim of the partnership is to enable the production of a wide range of product variants in a more flexible and cost-efficient manner.

In 2020, Festo was able to increase sales in the "machines and systems for battery production" segment by 40 percent. The demand for automation for battery cell production and other e-vehicle components is increasing continuously. 

With the Handling Guide Online, design engineers can create the right ready-to-install handling system from Festo in record time, whether for a 2D linear and planar surface gantry, a 3D gantry or a new 3D cantilever system. Not only can they now plan extremely compact or extremely dynamic Cartesian robots using the intuitive configuration and ordering software, but they also benefit from the circuit diagram service from Eplan and commissioning files.

Degassing and sealing are core processes in battery cell production that directly follow the initial contacting of the battery cells with electrical voltage. The battery cells are pierced with lances and the forming gas produced during contacting is extracted. Pneumatic and electric actuators from Festo are used to handle and pierce the battery cells.

Precisely gluing smartphone displays, applying thermal paste or gluing micro cameras in place are just a selection of the adhesive processes that represent the dosing and dispensing competencies of ViscoTec. Now the company has brought out cartridge applicator units designed for exact and clean feeding of adhesives, pastes and silicones of different viscosities, supported by a pneumatic control module supplied by Festo right to the ViscoTec assembly ...

Product dimensional inspection skills are key for manufacturing excellence and quality control in a globalized, competitive world. To ensure strict product compliance with design specifications, expertise in product measurement, interpretation of technical drawings, and statistical techniques should become second nature so that workers can correctly apply these skills as soon as they hit the shop floor.  

Recognising digital trends quickly and implementing them with maximum benefit for customers is becoming increasingly important for business success. Festo, a global player in automation and technical education, has opened its new Digital Sales Hub in one of the trend hotspots, Barcelona. With its dynamic environment, the start-up metropolis offers best conditions for this.

For the first time, apprentices in the job profiles of Mechatronics and Industry 4.0 met for the German Championships of WorldSkills Germany. These took place at the Festo Lernzentrum Saar in St. Ingbert at the beginning of October. The respective winning teams will represent Germany at the upcoming vocational championships WorldSkills 2022 and EuroSkills 2023.

Choosing the right drive technology in automation saves money and, at the same time, also protects the climate. So how do users find the right technology that enables them to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the long term? The new CO₂ & TCO Guide from Festo supports machine and system manufacturers to make the choice.

Precise, energy-saving, silent and fast – for the first time, piezo technology makes gas handling in medical technology and laboratory automation truly efficient. What are the differences compared with proportional solenoid valves? How can specialists in medical technology and laboratory automation easily integrate piezo components into their systems and devices? Festo, the automation specialists, will provide clear answers to these and many more ...

The Center of Vocational Excellence in Mechatronics at Festo in Esslingen, Germany, is now the official national training center for the German mechatronics team at the WorldSkills championships. "We do not only qualify our own apprentices, but also apprentices who will make up the national mechatronics team at the next WorldSkills Shanghai 2022," says Stefan Dietl, Head of Training at Festo.