Get a Grip on Workhandling

Machine tool builders are moving away from hydraulics and pneumatics to conserve energy and reduce costs. They are opting for gripping and clamping systems powered by electricity. When electrical components replace larger ones associated with hydraulics and pneumatics, they get a more compact, space-saving clamping and gripping system that requires minimal maintenance. Shops eliminate the need to clean, replace or dispose of hydraulic fluids and avoid any risk of environmental contamination from system leakage. The absence of hydraulics also makes for a clean, oil-free and quieter workplace.

Machine tools equipped with electric clamping or gripping systems generally consume less energy. Unlike hydraulic clamping cylinders that require constant power to maintain necessary operating pressure, electrical clamps use energy only when in actual use. As a result, in the course of a year and based on three shifts of operation, a shop could potentially save as much as 13,000 kWh—the approximate power consumption of four small family households—on one machine tool.

To read about Röhm Products of America Inc.’s e-Quipment line of electrical clamping and gripping systems, visit “e-Technology Energizes the Future of Gripping and Clamping.”