Daren Manternach, sales executive for Halter CNC Robotics LLC, visited with Cutting Tool Engineering Publisher Dennis Spaeth during IMTS 2018 to chat about the Halter LoadAssistant and the role the load tending robotic cell has played in the company's growth within the U.S. market.

The LoadAssistant features a rigid industrial construction, a rotating loading table, a Fanuc 6-axis robot arm, and full enclosure and protection. The system also offers 2-finger grippers for rectangular workpieces and 3-finger grippers for round workpieces. In addition, the Halter SmartControl interface is said to offer intuitive and graphical programming in 12 steps.

Though the company was making just its second official appearance at IMTS this year, Manternach said Halter CNC Robotics boasts more than 40 LoadAssistant installations within the United States, "and we're on track to have 60-plus by the end of the year."