Festo now distributing Magswitch magnetic gripping and clamping solution

Festo is now offering Magswitch switchable magnetic gripping and clamping solutions to automotive and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
With Magswitch components, energy costs can be lowered by as much as 90 per cent, throughput can be increased by up to 30 per cent, and capital costs reduced by as much as 25 per cent compared to systems using vacuum cups and pneumatic/electric grippers or clamps. Magswitch switchable magnets improve the productivity and quality of stamping, welding and pick-and-place operations and are designed to last the life of a production line.
Magswitch’s single-sided gripping systems feature true on-and-off magnetic technology that can significantly simplify automated systems in automotive final assembly, body-in-white and auto parts manufacturing – and do it at a lower cost.
“The switchable magnetics portfolio from Magswitch is an important addition to the Festo range of pneumatic and electric grippers and clamps,” said Darren O’Driscoll, product manager, Festo Canada. “The fact these components integrate seamlessly within the Festo automated motion architecture adds additional value.”
Festo/Magswitch solutions offer superior performance in a wide range of applications. In press lines and stamping operations, switchable magnets can handle lubricated sheet metal blanks more effectively than suction cups by gripping through lubrication. In assembly and body-in-white applications, they offer the versatility and simplicity of suction cups while maintaining the reliability and safety of traditional power clamps. In machine tending and pick-and-place, operations can be performed significantly faster with switchable magnetic end-of-arm tools rather than mechanical grippers, power clamps, and suction cups.
Also, single-sided Magswitch clamping tools can deliver higher speed and quality while welding, and when integrated with vision systems, can streamline bin picking and handling randomly arranged components.  And for separating ferromagnetic sheets, Magswitch sheet fanners and variable flux systems decrease downtime significantly and enable double blank detection.
www.festo.com