Develops and manufactures camera-controlled flexible feeding systems for bulk small parts in industrial automation.
flexfactory ag
Dietikon (CH) · Reutlingen (DE) · Nashville, TN (US)New on Amplifa
About flexfactory
flexfactory ag was founded in 1999 by Felix Büchi and specializes in flexible, camera-controlled feeding systems for bulk small parts. The flexfeeder XQ series (XQ125, XQ185, XQ250, XQ350) as well as the industry variants XQ ESD, XQ MED, XQS, XQM and XQE consist of a feeding system, camera system and the feedware XOS software as an integrated complete system. Parts of approximately 0.5 to 120 mm or up to approx. 150 mm and approx. 100 g are fed – made of plastic, metal or rubber. The feeding rate reaches up to 60 parts/min per feeder and up to 100 parts/min with two feeders per robot; over 5000 feeders are in use worldwide. Development and manufacturing take place entirely at the headquarters in Dietikon (Switzerland); the flexfeeder GmbH test center in Reutlingen offers robot-based test cells, training and support, and the flexfactory LLC branch in Nashville serves the US market. Customers are found in electrical engineering, the automotive industry, medical technology, the watch and jewelry industry, cosmetics as well as the consumer goods and packaging industry.
- Site
- Dietikon
- Processes
- Flexible feeding of bulk parts (small and very small parts), Camera-controlled part recognition and sorting, Automated discharge of defective parts (NiO parts), Flexible feeding technology for bulk small parts (0.5–120 mm or up to approx. 150 mm), Test center with robot-based test cells, Training (1 day, also on-site), Support and consulting, Recipe teaching/parameterization at the test center
- Materials
- Steel, Plastic (PVC, plastic hose clamps, PVC clips), Rubber (rubber seals), flexfeeder XQ series, flexfeeder XQE / XQ ESD, flexfeeder XQM / XQ MED, anyfeed SX, feedware XOS Software
- Founded
- 1999
- Industries
- Electrical engineering, Automotive industry, Dental and medical technology, Jewelry and watch industry, Personal care and cosmetics industry, Consumer goods and packaging industry
- 01
Development of feeding system, camera system and software
- 02
Manufacturing in Dietikon
- 03
Parameterization/recipe teaching at the test center
- 04
Integration via robot plug-ins and feedware XOS
- 05
Training, support and consulting
- 06
Partner network for on-site integration
Part Materials and Technologies
flexfeeder XQ series
Four feeder sizes (XQ125–XQ350) as a fully integrated complete system with camera, lighting and control.
flexfeeder XQE / XQ ESD
Industry variant for the electronics industry with antistatic behavior.
flexfeeder XQM / XQ MED
Industry variant for medical technology, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, e.g. with FDA-approved feeding plates.
anyfeed SX
First-generation modular feeding platform for system integrators and OEMs.
feedware XOS Software
Central platform for control, monitoring and robot integration of all feeders.
Locations
Dietikon
CHHeadquarters: development, manufacturing, administration
- Part weight / size
- Parts up to approx. 150 mm and approx. 100 g
- Lot size
- Prototype to high-volume production
- Materials
- Feeding systems for plastic, metal and rubber parts
- flexfeeder XQ125
- flexfeeder XQ185
- flexfeeder XQ250
- flexfeeder XQ350
- flexfeeder XQ ESD
- flexfeeder XQ MED
- flexfeeder XQS
- flexfeeder XQM
- flexfeeder XQE
- anyfeed SX
Reutlingen
DEflexfeeder GmbH: test center, training, support, consulting (Technologiepark Reutlingen)
- Robot-based test cells
Nashville, TN
USflexfactory LLC: sales/US branch
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flexible feeding of bulk parts (small and very small parts)Assembly | – | approx. 150 mm | approx. 100 g | – | Plastic, Metal, Rubber |
| Camera-controlled part recognition and sortingInspection | – | – | – | – | – |
| Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Automated discharge of defective parts (NiO parts)Inspection | – | – | – | – | – |
11 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flexfeeder XQ125 (flexible feeding system) | flexfactory flexfeeder XQ125 | – | – | – | Dietikon, Switzerland |
| Flexfeeder XQ185 (flexible feeding system) | flexfactory flexfeeder XQ185 | – | – | – | Dietikon, Switzerland |
| Flexfeeder XQ250 (flexible feeding system) | flexfactory flexfeeder XQ250 | – | – | – | Dietikon, Switzerland |
| Flexfeeder XQ350 (flexible feeding system) | flexfactory flexfeeder XQ350 | – | – | – | Dietikon, Switzerland |
| Flexfeeder XQ ESD (industry variant, antistatic) | flexfactory flexfeeder XQ ESD | – | – | – | Dietikon, Switzerland |
| Flexfeeder XQ MED (industry variant for medical technology) | flexfactory flexfeeder XQ MED | – | – | – | Dietikon, Switzerland |
| Flexfeeder XQS (for the most common applications) | flexfactory flexfeeder XQS | – | – | – | Dietikon, Switzerland |
| Flexfeeder XQM (medical technology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare) | flexfactory flexfeeder XQM | – | – | – | Dietikon, Switzerland |
| Flexfeeder XQE (electronics industry) | flexfactory flexfeeder XQE | – | – | – | Dietikon, Switzerland |
| anyfeed SX (modular feeding platform, first generation) | flexfactory anyfeed SX | – | – | – | – |
| Robot-based test cells (test center) | flexfactory | – | – | – | Reutlingen, Germany |
Additional services
History
- 1999
Founded by Felix Büchi, pioneer of feeding technology, with numerous own patents
- 2022
Opening of the flexfeeder X test center
- 2024
Release of new robot plug-ins for Omron (July) and Stäubli (August)