Category: Clamping Systems

Forster America’s Award-Winning Products for Welding

Posted on by ismuser

Forster 3D Welding Systems has a long, successfully history that includes a number of prestigious awards for their innovative, world-class products.

Forster America caters for a wide range of industries, from aviation, and automotive and transportation industries, to construction-orientated industries that manufacture frames, doors, and windows, as well as railings, fences, and gates.

The company specializes in 3D equipment, particularly modular welding tables and an ingenious 3D clamping system, as well as a state-of-the-art lift, turn, and tilt welding tables and a range of technologically advanced frame welding fixtures, jigs, and welding tools.

Awards Achieved by Forster 3D Welding Systems

Top achievements of the company in terms of awards include:

  • VR Förderpreis Handwerk, a promotional award made annually by the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken Cooperative Financial Group
  • The Bavarian State Prize in 1997 (gold medal)
  • The Bavarian State Prize in 2002 (gold medal)
  • The Bavarian Federal Prize in 2011

The prestigious Bavarian State Prizes are awarded by the Bavarian State Government’s Ministry of Economic Affairs in Germany for highly creative and technologically advanced performance in “craft trades.”

Historically, craft trades were professions that required specific knowledge and skills to undertake and achieve. Recipients nowadays are leading companies that have achieved innovative cutting-edge solutions.

The awards are presented at the annual International Industry and Craft Fair in Munich (IHM) in recognition of outstandingly innovative achievements in various categories including trade, industry, commerce, and services. Generally, recognition is an acknowledgment that the companies that receive the awards are very likely to have long-term economic success.

This is certainly true for Forster America.

The Federal Prize

The most recent award received by Forster 3D Welding Systems was the Federal Prize awarded in 2011 for the company’s railing welding gauge designed for double-sided welding with a bar division.

The award, which includes a cash prize of 5,000 euros was first presented in 1989.

The Bavarian State Prize

Forster 3D Welding Systems was first awarded the Bavarian State Prize Gold Medal in 1997 for the “Forster Welding Table as a construction kit and clamping system for T-slot system.”

Forster’s innovative 3D modular welding tables feature a hugely versatile T-slot tabletop that allows welders to work with the equally innovative 3D clamping system.

The T-slots on the table surface can be adjusted so that components can be used to prepare for under undertake precision welding. The clamping system incorporates a wide range of elements including angles and supports, clamping arms and columns, as well as stops.

Forster won the Bavarian State Prize Gold Medal a second time in 2002. This time it was awarded for the innovative ErgoFix Manipulator, which is an ergonomic rotating, lifting, and tilting welding fixture.

Essentially a very sophisticated welding table, the ErgoFix can be rotated 360 degrees, tilted to 45 degrees, and it is infinitely adjustable in terms of height. Apart from the fact that it enables welders to access every part of the workpiece being welded, it ensures that users maintain an ergonomic posture while they work. Not only is this the best option for good health, but it also encourages optimal welding results.

The VR Prize

This prize is awarded by Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken Cooperative Financial Group to companies that “do an excellent job as an employer to strengthen their region.” The award is in the form of a loan that is intended to promote the business.

It was also awarded for the “Forster Welding Table as a construction kit and clamping system for T-slot system.”

Forster America’s Award-Winning Products Are Available for Your Welding Business

If you want to improve the equipment in your welding workshop, Forster America’s 3D modular welding tables, 3D clamping system, and ErgoFix Manipulator are a good place to start.

Call us today if you want more information.

Advantages of Forster’s T-Slot System

Posted on by ismuser

If you’re searching for the very best welding tables available in the US, you’ll need to consider the materials used to build them, the finish of the table, as well as design elements.

Generic advantages that indicate superior quality include:

  • Good surface hardness
  • Anti-corrosiveness
  • Spatter resistance
  • Overall durability
  • Substantial load capability

In addition to these essential qualities, versatility and an ability to accommodate fixtures and accessories are vital. The ideal will provide a precise method of creating an assembly together with the best stops and clamping fixtures.

Forster America’s Welding Tables

Forster America manufactures highly flexible 3D welding tables that can accommodate the company’s ingenious 3D clamping system elements and other accessories.

Forster’s welding tables are tough, anti-corrosive, and exceptionally durable with good surface hardness. Made from gray cast iron or an aluminum-copper alloy, they can support loads of up to 1.5 tons and 1 ton respectively.

Gray cast iron is an excellent material for welding surfaces because it is highly resistant to spatter, minimizing cleanup time. As the cast iron ages, it becomes even more resistant. The high thermal conductivity of the aluminum-copper alloy also ensures a surface that resists spatter. Additionally, while surface hardness is low, the tensile strength of the metal is high and it doesn’t result in ferritic scratches in stainless steel welding – which is where the alloy tables are so useful.

Forster America’s T-Slot System

Forster America’s 3D welding tables feature a T-slot system that allows welders to open up portions of the surface to accommodate parts of a 3D work piece, clamps, and other pieces of equipment. The rails themselves are positioned 100 mm apart. They are also modular and interchangeable, which enables welders to work with critical accuracy.

Traditional welding tables are flat and solid, and they don’t open up in any way. Some feature surfaces with regular chamfered holes that form a grid pattern, sometimes with regular slots between the plates. While these are invaluable for fixing clamps and other equipment accessories, they have limited adjustability. Forster’s T-slot system, on the other hand, is highly versatile and adaptable. It also minimizes downtime, because the system negates the need for constant measuring, re-measuring, correcting, aligning and re-aligning, even the need to mechanically rework components because of mistakes. It simply makes the welding process a lot easier.

The T-slot system is undoubtedly the best solution when welding containers and casings because the metal being welded can be freely positioned right through the table. What this means is that it is possible to access each and every inch of the work piece without using as many clamping elements as would be required with other grid-type welding table systems.

Forster America welding equipment also includes a range of cutting-edge lift tables, vertical turntables, and horizontal rotary tables, all of which can be used with the T-slot system to create custom solutions for even the most challenging welding jobs.

If you want to know more about Forster America’s superior T-slot system, including pricing, contact us now.

 

The Value of Sophisticated Welding Jigs

Posted on by ismuser

One of the traditional welder’s most closely guarded secrets is his jig. Often custom made, it is key to both bending metal and cutting and connecting all the pieces required for any kind of project, big or small. But technology has taken over, and the contemporary welder has the advantage of being able to use the most sophisticated welding jigs, clamps, stops, angles and support elements available today.

Leading manufacturer and supplier of sophisticated welding jigs, Forster America has a wide range of unique fixtures, tools, and accessories that are designed for use with their cutting-edge welding equipment including modular welding tables, frame welding fixtures, rail and fence railing fixtures, and lift, turn and tilt welding tables. These make the old-fashioned welding jigs, made for purpose by welders, redundant.

The value of these sophisticated welding jigs, tools, fixtures, and accessories is that they enable welders to accommodate workpieces of different shapes and sizes, and they can be used to create unique solutions for all their welding needs. They also enable welders to work faster, more easily, and with ultimate accuracy.

Equipment Sets

Welding jigs are essentially tools or devices that are used to hold components in place for cutting and welding. Forster’s range of equipment sets do this and more.

For example, sophisticated equipment sets for stainless steel rack and case manufacturing contain absolutely everything a welder in this industry niche needs including:

  • Clamping arms, clamping columns and clamping towers
  • Adjustable flat clamps and flat stops
  • Aluminum try-squares of various sizes
  • Right-angled brackets and support arms
  • Double slot profiles each with two screws and two T-nuts for assembling on a try-square
  • A continuously adjustable angle and universal angles

There are also very similar equipment sets for rack and case manufacturing with other metal materials that contain the same kinds and numbers of tools and accessories.

Equipment sets for manufacturing stainless steel frames are also similar. They come with a number of bronze-pad clamping arms, flat chromed steel clamps, and precision steel clamping columns, aluminum-finish universal angles, and flat stops, try-squares, edge angles, and quick release clamps, all made of aluminum.

Equipment sets for manufacturing frames made of other types of metal contain everything required for this type of welding including flat clamps, clamping arms and columns, flat clamps and stops, try-squares, edges and universal angles, and quick release clamps with flat stops.

Equipment sets for both stainless steel universal manufacturing and for universal manufacturing using other metals.  Both containing multiple clamps, stops, supports, try-squares, and other items.

Equipment sets for stainless steel tube manufacturing that contain all the tools and fixtures needed for successful stainless steel tube manufacturing. Like the other jigs and equipment sets, these work exceptionally well with Forster’s 3D welding systems and are uniquely versatile.

Equipment sets for tube manufacturing using metals other than stainless steel, also with the full range of tools and other equipment.

A wide variety of clamping elements, as well as angles, support elements, and clamping columns and clamping arms, are available separately, enabling welders to access every part of their welding tables without any effort.

Whether you need a sophisticated 3D welding system or just equipment sets that will enable you to set up your own unique jig, Forster America is certain to have exactly what you need. Give us a call today.

Improve Your Company’s Productivity With Solutions from Forster America

Posted on by ismuser

Any company that is serious about welding will want to maximize efficiency to improve their company’s productivity. The question is, what sort of welding solutions are available that can help companies up their game by increasing precision, and reducing downtime?

Forster America has a selection of innovative products that are designed to make welding jobs faster and more efficient. Some of the solutions they offer are:

  • 3D Modular welding tables that adjust for every position using only a few additional components.
  • Ergofix welding manipulators that adjust to different heights, rotate a full 360 degrees, and tilt to accommodate the most demanding jobs.
  • Frame welding fixtures that enable welders to work on even the largest workpieces from every side.
  • Awesome equipment sets including clamps and brackets you probably thought didn’t exist.

Modular Welding Tables

Imagine a welding table with a surface that moves exactly the way you need it to so that you can adjust the position of your workpiece. Imagine a welding table that uses a specialized lift, horizontal rotary, or vertical turntable that will cope with any possibility you might face when doing a customized project.

Forster America’s superbly different 3D modular welding tables are available in non-ferric gray cast iron or aluminum/copper alloy, which is ideal for stainless steel processing. Sizes range from 118 inches x 59 inches to 39 inches x 47 inches for both types.

Ergofix Welding Manipulators

Ergonomics, as a science, strive to ensure we use less physical effort to do things. By minimizing strain, ergonomics help to keep our bodies healthy and more relaxed. Welding equipment that is designed to help people work more ergonomically is not only better for their physical health, but it will also improve productivity.

Forster America’s Ergofix welding manipulator features a table that is infinitely adjustable in height, and it can be tilted to a 45-degree angle to make access to the workpiece much easier. It can also be rotated a full 360 degrees. For the welder, it provides the opportunity to maintain a perfect ergonomic posture regularly, with no more bending or neck straining. These machines work with hydraulics, which also makes them ultra-easy to operate.

Frame Welding Fixtures

Forster America offers frame welding and railing welding fixtures that enable workers to make quick, easy adjustments on all four sides of rectangular frames. The most significant advantage is that all angles are exposed, making them easily accessible.

Frame welding fixtures may be swiveled substantially, from 225 to 360 degrees, depending on the size of the workpiece. There are several different frame fixture sizes with maximum working loads and pivot ranges. Most are pneumatic with brakes that lock manually, though the largest model has an electric motor.

The company also offers highly innovative railing welding fixtures that are designed specifically for jobs including railings and banisters, handrails, stakes, and so on. These fixtures are available in carbon steel, stainless steel, or aluminum, which makes them more versatile than any other welding solution for these particular product designs. It is possible to streamline production by up to 50 percent with these fantastic fixtures.

Equipment Sets

A modular welding table from Forster America will undoubtedly help you to up your game. But it gets better than that. The company’s equipment sets provide a versatile way to customize your welding table with clamping systems and various brackets and supporting arms, depending on your needs. Sets are available for steel, for universal welding, for frame welding, pipework, and for rack and case. Take your pick.

So, if you are serious about welding, and serious about improving your company’s productivity, you know which specialist company to call for a top quality solution. Forster America will have a solution to meet your needs.

How to Streamline Your Operation Using 3D Modular Welding Tables

Posted on by ismuser

Welding equipment has come a long way in the past few decades. Instead of being simply functional and utilitarian, today you can buy welding tables, jigs, and accessories that are designed ergonomically to improve working conditions, streamline the production process, and minimize downtime.

Forster America’s 3D modular welding tables are particularly effective because they can be adjusted for any welding project, making them ideal for all those jobs that require absolute precision. They also support various table parts and a number of components that enable welders to achieve custom solutions for jobs. This makes precise measuring, aligning, and correcting, or mechanically reworking complicated work pieces considerably easier.

How 3D Modular Welding Tables Work

Forster’s 3D modular welding tables are constructed with slats comprising a T-slot system that is ideal for welding containers and casings and other complex designs. All you do is slide them sideways to accommodate the various accessories. These include:

  • 30 mm and 50 mm diameter clamping arms
  • 30 mm and 50 mm steel pipes including several that are made specifically for 3D clamping
  • A range of right-angled brackets of various sizes to meet a plethora of needs
  • Horizontal, flat, quick-release, and C clamps that fulfill every possible clamping requirement
  • A variety of stops including flat and universal stops
  • A number of other elements including V-block supports, support feet that can accommodate two cast rails to extend the modular table, table extension plates, cover plates, and adjustable angle pieces that lock

They can also be used with horizontal rotary tables, vertical turntables, and lift tables that add to the versatility of the 3D modular design.

The lifting/tilting tables are particularly useful because they can be used with specialist jigs, and can be adjusted to any degree or height. The lift and turn function is operated hydraulically so there is absolutely no effort required on the part of the welder. Streamlining an operation has never been easier.

Specifications of 3D Modular Welding Tables

Forster America’s 3D tables are available in aluminum copper (Al/Cu) alloy for welding stainless steel and in gray cast iron. Design and sizes are the same for both:

  • A width of 59 inches for a table that is 118 inches long
  • A width of 47 inches for a range of lengths: 39, 71, 79, 95, and 118 inches.

The Al/Cu welding tables feature slatted tops that are made from a combination of carbon steel and an aluminum alloy. The benefit of using this type of table when working on stainless steel is that the clamping system prevents any contact with ferritic materials that would otherwise likely cause corrosion in the form of pitting or scratching. This makes them safe and reliable. Additionally, the material has a very high tensile strength combined with a low surface hardness. Because thermal conductivity is high, there is minimal danger of spatter attaching to the table.

The top of special gray cast iron welding tables is also highly resistant to spatter. The material has a very low expansion point when it is exposed to heat, which adds to reliability.

If you are interested in using 3D modular tables in your welding workshop, call Forster America today. We’ll help you choose the best solution for your needs.

The Best Clamps for Welding Workshops

Posted on by ismuser

All welding operations require effective clamping systems that enable welders to keep their work pieces in place. High quality, precision welding projects are totally dependent on clamps and clamping systems. Without them, the metal cannot be held in place properly, and the likelihood of error will be increased. This will impact negatively on efficiency, productivity and the company’s bottom line.

In a nutshell, not all clamps are made equal. So which are the best?

The Innovative 3D Clamping System From Forster America

Forster America has a range of modular welding tables, including their signature modular 3D tables that are designed with an innovative T-slot top. These, in turn, accommodate the company’s unique 3D clamping system.

Instead of having to find a suitable place to clamp the metal to be welded, the slats on the 3D welding table accommodate Forster America clamps in the simplest way possible. Whether you need a flat clamp, a C-clamp, a flange clamp, or a basic horizontal clamp, these are made to slide between the slats in the table. Better still, because the tables can be accessed from all sides, and easily adjusted to different positions, once you’ve clamped the work piece, you can just keep on working.

The Best Six Clamps for Welding Workshops

Clamps come in a variety of shapes and forms to suit a wide range of needs. But not all clamps are suitable for welding. In fact many are better suited to woodwork.

Forster America’s 3D clamping system for welding is limited but incredibly versatile. Whether you need to clamp large pieces of sheet metal or small components, there is a clamp that will do the job. They are all most effective when used in conjunction with the Forster America 3D welding table and include:

  • A 50 mm-diameter (2”) horizontal clamp that fits on a clamping pole and is perfect for application of horizontal clamping forces. It can be used at different heights and is easy to adjust continuously.
  • A 30 mm-diameter (1.2”) horizontal clamp that is suitable for applying force on steel and bronze pads.
  • A 50 mm-diameter (2”) x 600 mm (23.6”) flange clamp with a clutch and contact surface made from stainless steel that can be used to position flanges of any size. Suitable bolt sizes range from 97 mm to 355 mm (3.8” to 12”) with a bore diameter of 13mm (0.5”).
  • A flat clamp that is incredibly effective for holding flat components tightly in position. It has a throat depth of 200 mm (7.8”) and an adjustable clamping range of 110 mm (4.3”).
  • A C-clamp that is perfect for clamping flat components to right-angled brackets. It has a throat depth of 70 mm (2.7”) and an adjustable clamping range of 60 mm (2.3”).
  • An invaluable quick-release clamp that can be positioned freely along any x- or y-axis with the flat stop. It is ideal for clamping small components and sheet steel.

Forster America’s 3D tables and clamps are made to incredibly precise standards. So if you want the best clamps for your welding workshop, you know who to go to.

Vacuum Clamping System that Reduces Distortion

Posted on by ismuser

Whether you do the work manually or use a robot to do the welding for you, working with sheet metal parts can be an extremely challenging task. But it doesn’t have to be. Now a new high temperature, Vakufix vacuum-clamping system is available, that will simplify the process, even when parts need to be clamped at a three-dimensional level, in the critical heat affected zone (HAZ). The new system also reduces thermal distortion, which is a huge plus, particularly when welders work with stainless steel plate.

Introducing the Vakufix Vacuum Clamping System

Vacufix on Welding Table

Now available from Forster America, Vakufix is a sophisticated clamping system intended for both manual and automated robotic welding of sheet metal plates. It is a patented product, and totally unique in terms of the way it works. Unlike any other existing welding clamping option, the Vakufix vacuum clamping system is incredibly versatile and can be used for every possible sheet manufacturing operation, using any type of metal including steel, stainless steel, and aluminum.

Suitable for use in an extremely high temperature range, Vakufix provides maximum accessibility to all welding seams. This is because none of the seams are covered with clamping arms the way they are with most conventional clamping systems. Additionally, all sheet metal parts are secured to the vacuum plate easily and fast. Because the process utilizes a ball valve, it results in the use of a very small vacuum surface. This, in turn, means that any necessary correction required in positioning the sheet metal parts is considerably quicker and easier than it would normally be using conventional clamps. It also minimizes the damage that it is often caused by normal clamps that would need to be rectified.

Once the parts have been correctly positioned, and traction-related forces become active, the vacuum area immediately increases. This results in each of the vacuum plates generating adhesive mechanical forces as strong as 40 kg to 45 kg. This is a particularly reliable method of reducing thermal distortion, and is a boon to those involved in stainless steel processing and manufacturing items from stainless steel.

Vacuum plates are used with compressed air for component pick-up that involves integrated voltage on the inside of the work piece. Each of the plates incorporates an “elastic” stainless steel shim that acts as a sealing surface; this can be replaced very easily if it wears out.

Best of all, Vakufix can be used with Forster America’s state-of-the-art T-slot tables, which speeds up the operation as a whole, ultimately increasing the bottom line.

Vakufix Vacuum Clamping System

Forster America has two different options available for the Vakufix vacuum clamping system. The clamping system is:

  1. Supplied with a clamping table or plate, as well as a pump, and air chamber.
  2. Customized to specific work pieces, together with all the necessary accessories. If there is a change to the work piece, the clamping system can be adapted either by the customer or by Forster America, depending on complexity.

If you would like to know more about Forster America’s Vakufix vacuum clamping system or would like to order a system for your welding workshop, please contact us.

Forster’s Vacuum Clamping System Allows for Multiple Capabilities

Posted on by ismuser

One of the most difficult parts of welding is keeping all the pieces where they need to be while you work. If something shifts at the wrong time then you can ruin your weld and possibly the whole project. There are a multitude of different methods that welders use to secure materials but none that match Forster’s new vacuum clamping system.

Forster offers their Vakufix system in two different configurations:

  1. A set that includes the pump, air chamber and clamping table.
  2. A set that has been customized to the working piece and includes all of the accessories.

Forster Vacuum Clamping System VacufixThe Vakufix system is the first to utilize high temperature vacuum clamping plates. They allow a user to quickly and securely clamp parts directly in the line of heat on a 3D level. This is a crucial feature if you are trying to manufacture sheet metal. Other systems can hold the material in place but the Vakufix system will hold the material in place while giving the welder complete access to the seams. In a normal system, the clamping arm causes problems because they always seem to be in the way.

Since the sheet metal parts are held in place with a very small vacuum surface, it is easy to move them around and correct their position. If traction related forces become active the vacuum area will automatically increase to compensate. Each vacuum plate can generate anywhere from 40 to 45 kg. This will cut down on the thermal distortion which causes so many problems when processing stainless steel. For component pick-up with integrated voltage on the interior side, vacuum plates with compressed air are used. The high-temperature-vacuum plate is equipped with an elastic stainless steel shim as sealing surface, which can easily be replaced.

If you need to secure your sheet metal parts while still having full access to the welds, you should look into the revolutionary Vakufix system. Call Forster today if you have any questions about the specifications or pricing.