Modular clamping technology pushes to 5,600 productive spindle hours

Minimized non-productive times and more flexibility – how machining specialist Schubert Fertigungstechnik GmbH uses modular workpiece clamping technology from Gressel AG to implement three-shift machining of individual and series parts.

A 500×500 mm interchangeable pallet with a GRESSEL 4-fold clamping tombstone and four gripos machine vices mounted on it.

Piece-count flexible variant production of sophisticated mechanical components for packaging machines and more — this roughly describes the current field of activity of the medium-sized company Schubert Fertigungstechnik GmbH, based in 73566 Bartholomä, Swabia. But it wasn’t always this way. Originally, from 1966 and for many years thereafter, the company primarily focused on building machines for packaging a wide variety of products.
Founded by Otto Höfliger as a branch plant of his Waiblingen-based company, the business later became part of the packaging machinery division of Robert Bosch GmbH. In 1977, it transitioned into a joint venture owned by Crailsheim-based Gerhard Schubert GmbH and Heidenheim-based Carl Edelmann GmbH, before Gerhard Schubert eventually took over the majority stake.
Following this, the company increasingly specialized in parts manufacturing, providing machining expertise to its customers. While the company — now known as Schubert Fertigungstechnik GmbH — continues to serve the packaging technology sector, it has also significantly expanded into other industries such as aerospace and medical technology/optics, offering “precision down to the last detail.”
Manfred Grieser, Managing Partner of the company, which now employs over 80 specialists, explains:
“As a pure contract manufacturing and service company, we focus on parts production as well as the newly launched assembly of components. Around 80% of our output goes into packaging technology, where, as a supplier to the Schubert Group, we naturally face competition from external providers. This is why we emphasize a high level of training and qualification for our employees, maintaining a steady 15% apprenticeship rate to ensure our in-house talent pipeline. Additionally, we invest heavily each year in our state-of-the-art machinery.”
The long-term success of this strategy is evident in the fact that Schubert Fertigungstechnik is now recognized as the center of excellence for manufacturing technology within the entire Schubert Group — entrusted more than ever with handling highly demanding and complex machining tasks.

Clamping solution on a traveling column machine with 24-pot mechanical zero-point clamping system gredoc and special substructures. Multiple multigrip clamping rails are mounted on these substructures for clamping several workpieces and/or small to very large workpieces.

From vise to modular clamping technology kit

But this is only one side of the coin. To ensure machining and manufacturing processes remain efficient and economical, high-quality, powerful equipment for machining and quality assurance is essential — but so is continuous process optimization. Since around 2008, Schubert Fertigungstechnik has been forging its own path in this area, as demonstrated impressively by its collaboration with Swiss workpiece clamping technology specialist Gressel AG, CH-8355 Aadorf.
For years, practical solutions like standard vises were sufficient for Managing Partner Manfred Grieser and Technical Director Bernd Fuchs. However, despite various adaptations, these traditional clamping tools repeatedly proved too inflexible and cumbersome to meet the increasing demands for setup/changeover times, application versatility, and operational flexibility. This became especially apparent with the addition of new CNC horizontal machining centers, prompting a search for alternative clamping technologies.
Markus Lau, Sales Director at Gressel AG, explained:
“Together, we thoroughly evaluated the clamping technology, leading to the development of a tailored concept for future setups. Our modular system played a key role here — it has repeatedly proven its worth and runs like a common thread through all machining requirements.
Whether using gripos machine vises for flexible single-part machining or pendulum setups, tower setups for pallet changers equipped with duogrip double clamps or gripos NC quick-clamping systems, or multigrip single and multi-clamps, centrinos centric clamps, and solinos small-part clamps — with a wide range of sizes and interchangeable jaws, our standard modular system covers the vast majority of machining tasks.”
This modular flexibility allows Schubert Fertigungstechnik to adapt quickly to new requirements, improving productivity while maintaining the precision and quality the company is known for.

An interchangeable pallet 500×500 mm with a mechanical zero point clamping system plate gredoc NRS 400×400 mm and a mounted machine vice gripos 125.

Efficiency increase between 50 and 100% and longer spindle running time

This is indeed the case in daily practice, and it is also worth noting that the modularity of Gressel’s modular clamping technology system extends to all new clamping system components developed since the start of the collaboration in 2008/2009. On the one hand, this speaks for the future-oriented basic concept and the consistent further development of the modular clamping technology system, and on the other hand for the confidence in Gressel’s expertise in detail and system solutions for clamping technology challenges in a period in which CNC, CAD and CAM technology has developed explosively, not to say into completely new spheres. Bernd Fuchs also sees it this way, as he concluded: “When we started with Gressel in 2008, when we equipped our first CNC horizontal machining center, we very soon realized that we could advance into completely new productivity dimensions in the area of 4-axis machining. With the combination of standardized basic clamping systems and individually exchangeable precision jaws, we achieved more than just the required set-up, removal and retooling flexibility almost straight away, but also achieved an overall increase in efficiency of between 50 and even 100%, depending on the workpiece, machining and clamping situation.

A gripos machine vise mounted directly on the machine table as a support for a clamping unit consisting of a base plate and 3 solinos 40 small parts clamps.

With the Gressel modular clamping technology system, we now cover all workpiece dimensions from a few millimetres to 3,600 mm in length (milling/drilling) and piece weights of up to 70 kg. We work all year round in two shifts in semi-automated operation and continue unmanned in the third shift. Depending on the range of parts and processing intensity, we load the machine pallets up to four times a day, resulting in productive spindle runtimes of up to 5,600 hours. As we currently operate three CNC horizontal machining centers, we have a capacity block here that we can use highly flexibly for both single part and series production. Of course, the Gressel modular clamping technology system plays a very large part in this, because the clamping technology components are available at all times and we can respond to any conceivable clamping situation from the Gressel library at very short notice, so to speak.”

From left to right: Markus Lau (Sales Manager GRESSEL AG), Bernd Fuchs (Technical Manager) and Manfred Grieser (former Managing Director, both from SCHUBERT FERTIGUNGSTECHNIK GmbH).

Infos / Contact:
SCHUBERT FERTIGUNGSTECHNIK GmbH / Otto-Höfliger-Straße 1 / DE-73566 Bartholomä / Tel. +49 7173 91366 0 / www.schubert-fertigungstechnik.de