Working in partnership, Ford and TÜNKERS aimed to design a universal tool for clamping components automatically. This tool, operated using compressed air, was to have a toggle lever mechanism for high clamping forces and guarantee one million working cycles without wear or additional lubrication. After a two-year development phase, clamp production started in May 1968 with the first large quantities for plants built by Ford in Cologne.
The new automatic clamping tool, the patented universal toggle lever clamp, was successfully used in production and reduced manufacturing times and the manual effort in clamping and welding considerably. This automated clamping process using TÜNKERS universal toggle lever clamps was therefore very quickly adopted by other car manufacturers.
Refinement of the toggle lever clamp
The toggle lever clamp was continuously enhanced in the years that followed. One product, for example, was the clamp with flat oval cylinder, which optimized the accessibility of welding guns in the equipment thanks to its narrow profile. This was later followed by the fully enclosed clamp, whose special design securely protected it from extreme dirt caused by the production process, such as welding operations. The core product of clamping technology has enabled TÜNKERS to establish itself in automotive bodywork plants around the world.
Now, since the arrival of industrial robotics, the company offers automation components for the automotive industry, which include, in addition to the toggle lever clamp, products such as conveyor belts, robotic grippers, rotary indexing tables, spot welding guns, punching and clinching tools, and even complete transport systems. With this product range, TÜNKERS sees itself as the market leader in Europe and China in this specialist segment of the automotive industry.
Inventive spirit as standard
TÜNKERS is gradually expanding its range of automation technology. With its newest addition, TÜNKERS-NICKEL GmbH, it has branched into the bonding technology segment. Alongside welding, bonding is establishing itself as one of the most important joining techniques in car body construction, as it is the only way to securely connect different materials such as plastic, aluminum, and other lightweight materials.
TÜNKERS is always on the lookout for new products and markets, as reflected in its slogan “Erfindergeist serienmäßig,” which translates roughly as “Inventive spirit as standard.” This describes how TÜNKERS brings “a new product idea to life every day and a new product to life every week.” This is evidenced by the more than 300 patents in Germany and abroad, which are helping to secure the future of the group of companies and defend its position as a technology leader.
The pneumatic toggle lever clamp
The clamp is used, for instance, in the production of car bodies. It holds the metal sheets in place before and during the welding process. The automotive clamp combines a compact compressed air cylinder with a toggle lever mechanism in one housing. This mechanism intensifies the force in the end position in which the component is clamped. Despite the compact dimensions and the small cylinders, this results in clamping forces of over 200kg. The car body panels, which often do not fit together exactly, can be pressed securely together by this “mini press”. This is necessary to apply a durable weld point and thus a prerequisite for a stable manufacturing process. In the early 1970s, the toggle lever clamp replaced the manual clamping tools used until then, helping automation to successfully penetrate the market and increasing production on welding lines.
Today, pneumatic toggle lever clamps in various designs and sizes are part of the global industry standard in automotive manufacturing. Toggle lever clamps are still the main driver of sales for TÜNKERS today.
(Images and video: TÜNKERS Maschinenbau GmbH)
