Ernst Grob's machines are used wherever high strength is required and large quantities are manufactured. “Our customers include the automotive industry and agricultural machinery manufacturers,” reveals Bretscher. Thanks to very short changeover times and relatively low tool costs, they are also profitable for smaller quantities. With a certain “tinkerer's mentality” and decades of experience, Ernst Grob develops innovative and sophisticated machines. The latest development is called the A9T and was presented for the first time in fall 2023 in Hanover at EMO, the world's largest trade fair for metalworking. The machine is very often used for solid material processing, but is also suitable for forming sheet metal. The so-called interrupted dividing process is used for roll forming or cold rolling of particularly difficult gearing as well as for gearing on sheet metal parts. A large torque motor developed by Ernst Grob ensures the necessary precision and dynamics. Everything happens at breakneck speed, with the individual impacts of the tools occurring every millisecond. Only a rattling noise can be heard outside the enclosed system. “Recently, a customer could hardly believe that the workpiece actually comes to a standstill each time. His slow-motion video recording finally convinced him,” smiles Bretscher.

The latest generation of the CNC controller SINUMERIK ONE determines the mass inertia of the workpieces and automatically controls the system with the “Auto-Servo-Tuning” function directly from the parts program using a strategy specified by the machine manufacturer. In the past, such tuning measures required specially trained service personnel. This function enables optimum productivity of the machine tool through intelligent dynamic adjustment to different workpiece sizes - without compromising the controller settings.