"For challenging tasks in thermoforming, ILLIG is your best bet," is a frequent refrain from manufacturers of branded goods. ILLIG Maschinenbau is a pioneer and market leader in the manufacture of machines and tools for producing plastic packaging using thermoforming. Its new thermoforming system RedLine RDF 85 now enables the use of off-system tool systems. This is how the company is setting new standards in flexibility. Also integrated is a ...

The decentralised pressure and vacuum generator PGVA from Festo is a compact complete solution for laboratory automation. It integrates compressor, air preparation including filter system, reservoir and electronic pressure and vacuum control in the smallest of spaces.

If you want to be fit for Industry 4.0, you need a plan. The I4.0 curriculum combines a wide variety of learning paths that Festo Didactic has developed for training and continued education in an industrial context, such as for the profession of the mechatronics engineer. Festo Didactic’s flexible learning also enables people in professional life to keep pace with rapid technological developments for continued learning throughout their careers ...

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.

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.