Going Hands-On with Heidenhain and Acu-Rite Solutions

Display and demonstration go hand-in-hand at Heidenhain Corp.’s booth in the South Building. Not only has the company added additional video content to its booth, attendees also have more opportunities to interact with this year’s Heidenhain offerings.

In particular, Heidenhain has set up TNC7 demonstration displays. These displays not only show customers how the company’s tools and controls would work in a shop environment, they enable attendees to try their hand at toolpath creation with Heidenhain’s conversational controls and digital twin modules. Beyond the TNC7, the company is shining a spotlight on its Acu-Rite brand, now rebranded as Acu-Rite Solutions. At the show, Acu-Rite Solutions is pairing one of its TurnPWR controls with a cobot that uses Heidenhain’s encoders.

Gisbert Ledvon, Heidenhain’s vice-president of marketing, notes that the encoders, like much of the company’s other recent internal machine components, are designed to reduce a machine’s carbon footprint. He notes that this has already proved especially valuable for shops doing business in Europe, where carbon tariffs have increased the prices of imports. For everyone else, these components also offer additional, immediately apparent benefits — such as an optical system for its encoders that can measure in dirty and dusty environments, eliminating the need for air compressors and their costly operation. He also says that more reliable motion control will help reduce scrap.

Heidenhain is including products both from its main product line and Acu-Rite Solutions at this year’s Student Summit. In addition to showing off machined components, the company is running games with prizes to grab students’ attention. Heidenhain is also reaching out to teachers and schools at the Student Summit, offering ways for them to obtain Heidenhain and Acu-Rite Solutions technology for their programs at discounted prices — even approaching the break-even point in several circumstances.