Machine loading
Place cast, forged and sawn blanks into lathes, mills and machining centres – deep into the working area and behind the guard door.
Industry
Handling technology for metalworking and machinery
In machining, value is created in the spindle, not on the way to it. Even so, a considerable share of setup time goes into loading, turning and unloading heavy blanks – often on the shop crane, often with two people. A manipulator at the machine turns that into a one-person movement of a few seconds.
- Standard stroke
- 1500 mm
- People on the crane become one on the unit
- 2
- Reaches into the danger zone
- 0
01 — Applications
Bring the workpiece to the machine, not the back.
Typical handling tasks in Metal & machinery — and what they demand technically.
Turning workpieces
Rotate parts between two clampings without setting them down. The balancer holds, the operator turns.
Fixture and chuck changes
Exchange heavy fixtures and chuck jaws during setup – the most common place for crushing injuries at the machine.
Welded and sheet-metal assemblies
Guide large, unwieldy assemblies into the welding fixture and hold them in position until the tack weld holds.
Chip and container handling
Move chip bins, part baskets and washing baskets between machine, washer and measuring station.
Forming and presses
Load and unload blanks and drawn parts without reaching into the press area.
02 — What matters
What Metal & machinery demands of handling technology
The shop crane is the most expensive solution there is
Not to buy – to run. Working on a crane means waiting: for the trolley, for a colleague, for the load to stop swinging. A pick-up that takes eight seconds on a manipulator easily costs three minutes on a crane, because slinging, travelling, aligning and setting down all add up. At twenty changes a shift that is an hour of machine downtime per day and station. A manipulator stands at the machine, is ready without slings and does not swing.
Low reaction means the workpiece stays where you let go
When loading a fixture, the last centimetre decides. A rope balancer that keeps swinging turns loading into searching. Our units are damped through the control so that the load stays where it is released. That spares not only the operator’s nerves but above all the mating faces of the fixture.
Articulated arms where the path is not straight
A machining centre has a guard door, a chip conveyor and usually a control pedestal in the way. A pillar-mounted jib arm cannot get around obstacles like that – a two-section articulated arm folds around them and reaches positions hidden on a straight line. That is why articulated units predominate in machining.
Sizing starts with the floor
A manipulator transfers its tilting moment into the shop floor. At 125 kg over 3.4 m of reach that is more than four kilonewton metres at the base. Before any sizing we therefore check whether the unit will be bolted, anchored or set on a mobile base plate – and we calculate the anchor forces. That is part of the design, not of the installation.
03 — Device catalogue
Start the device finder
Equipment for Metal & machinery
Design, payload and reach — the shortlist for this industry.
Lifting equipment · Manipulators
01
Articulated Arm Hoist
The jointed arm for millimetre-precise handling.
View device
Lifting equipment · Balancers
02
Articulated Rope Unit
Articulated reach meets weightless floating.
View device
Lifting equipment · Manipulators
03
Elbow Articulated Arm
The jointed boom with a wide radius.
View device
Lifting equipment · Mobile
04
I-GO Mobile
Mobile lifting axis for flexible lifting.
View device
04 — Services
From analysis to inspection
01
Design
CAD design in 2D and 3D – from requirements analysis to production-ready drawings.
View
02
Sizing & Custom Solutions
Load, reach, cycle time – plus grippers for anything without a catalogue entry.
View
03
Lifting Technology
Lifting equipment, manipulators and balancers for industry, medical technology and logistics.
View
04
Statutory Inspections
Recurring inspection of your equipment to German accident prevention regulations.
View
05 — Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions from Metal & machinery
Is a manipulator worthwhile if a crane runway already exists?
Usually yes. The crane serves the whole shop, the manipulator serves one station – and that is where seconds count. Count the change frequency: from around ten movements per shift at one station, the fixed unit is more economical because there is no waiting for the crane.
Do the units withstand coolant and chips?
Yes. We supply coolant-resistant versions with encapsulated bearings and protected energy supply. For aggressive media or cleaning processes there are additional coated versions.
Do I need a foundation for the unit?
Usually not. A load-bearing industrial floor is normally sufficient – the pillar is anchored or bolted. We calculate the anchor forces from payload and reach and tell you before you order whether your floor carries them. Where drilling is not possible we use a ballasted mobile base plate.
Can one unit serve several machines?
Yes – via a rail system or a mobile unit on a base plate. Beyond two machines the rail almost always pays off, because it guides the path and the unit does not have to be realigned every time.
06 — Applications
Tasks from this industry
Application
Turning sheet metal at the press brake
It is not the weight that forces two people. It is the area.
Read the case ApplicationSupporting torques up to 600 Nm
The torque goes into the arm – or into the person.
Read the case ApplicationSetting glass panes and glazing
Glass does not forgive a second attempt.
Read the case ApplicationFeeding profiles and tubes to the saw
Six metres of steel is not a weight. It is a lever.
Read the case
07 — Guides
Read more
Contact
We do not know your shop floor yet — but we know the task.
One short conversation usually settles more than three quotations. Call or write — you will reach an engineer directly.