Lang Technik UK has opened a 2,000 sq ft showroom at Wroxton near Banbury to demonstrate the workholding and automation products it supplies to British machining businesses. The converted facility provides a dedicated setting for customers to examine zero-point clamping, five-axis workholding and automation systems during live demonstrations. The company has not disclosed the cost of the conversion or provided a quantified forecast for sales arising from the showroom.
The UK business was established in 2019 by Gareth Barnett and Alena Saroka and opened a Haddenham headquarters in 2024. It now employs nine full-time staff and has appointed Gerry Cook to cover sales in the South East. Danny Brook, Lang Technik UK’s sales director, reports annual demand growth of 10–15% since launch, a company estimate rather than an independently verified turnover figure. The showroom follows increased requests for practical demonstrations of the firm’s automation equipment.
Lang Technik built its UK business around fixtures that grip components securely during machining. It has since broadened the offer to include automation for loading and unloading workpieces, where a consistently located fixture becomes part of the machine tending process. A live demonstration can connect the workholding and loading stages, although the 22 October disclosure does not identify every model installed at Wroxton.
A zero-point clamping system provides a repeatable location between the machine table and a workholding fixture. An operator can prepare the fixture away from the machine and then engage its locating studs in the corresponding plate, avoiding a complete alignment exercise at each changeover. Lang Technik’s Quick•Point range uses a mechanical clamping mechanism, while pneumatic actuation is available for automatic handling. The manufacturer specifies location repeatability of less than 0.005 mm under its stated conditions.
The 0.005 mm figure concerns the location of the clamping interface, not the dimensional tolerance of a completed component. Cutting forces, tool wear, machine behaviour, heat and workpiece deflection can still affect machining accuracy. A repeatable fixture location removes one source of variation during multi-operation work and can shorten the time between jobs, provided contact faces are kept clean and the workpiece remains securely clamped.
Workholding also determines how much of the component a cutter can reach. Lang Technik’s Makro•Grip approach uses a prepared serrated gripping area to secure raw material in a compact five-axis vice. The firm explains that workpieces can be prepared outside the machine using a stamping unit, leaving the machining centre free for productive work. The serrated mechanical engagement helps the clamp resist machining forces while leaving more surfaces accessible, although suitability still depends on material, part geometry and the necessary finish.
Brook singled out pre-stamping technology and the Quick•Point Rail System as examples of customer interest. Pre-stamping prepares the workpiece for the serrated vice outside the machining centre, while the rail system provides alternative positioning without a conventional zero-point base plate. They address different sources of setup delay and can be used separately according to the component geometry, machine arrangement and required access.
The RoboTrex automation family illustrates how repeatable fixture location can support unattended machining. A six-axis robot transfers a prepared vice and workpiece from a storage trolley to the zero-point interface inside a compatible machining centre. Operators can load parts into the trolleys while the machine is cutting, and the robot exchanges them through a programmed cycle. Variants differ in their clamping arrangements and capacity; Lang Technik has not specified which RoboTrex systems, if any, are installed in the Wroxton showroom.
The machine tool still needs a compatible interface for signalling the loading sequence, an accessible loading path and suitable guarding and safety interlocks. Robot-assisted tending therefore involves more than placing a robot beside an existing milling machine. It must coordinate clamping, door position, programme selection and the transfer of the finished part. Lang Technik says its system can be integrated with many existing machines where the required interface is available, but actual retrofit work will vary from one installation to another.
Short production runs and frequent part changes place particular demands on the workholding arrangement. A machining centre may stand idle while an operator cleans contact faces, checks datum positions and exchanges fixtures even when the cutting cycle is short. Preparing fixtures and workpieces alongside production can reduce this interruption. The amount of extra available machining time depends on the existing changeover sequence and on whether the proposed hardware fits the machine.
Lang Technik’s UK customers include suppliers working across Formula 1, automotive engineering, aerospace, defence and medical devices, according to the company. The requirements differ considerably: a prototype component may demand frequent tool changes, while an established production part might be suitable for repeated automated cycles. A demonstration can show the physical handling and fixture interfaces under controlled conditions, but it cannot replace a manufacturing trial using the customer’s own material, tooling and machine constraints.
The Wroxton premises also provide meeting rooms for customer visits. They complement the company’s Haddenham headquarters and are intended for demonstrations rather than component manufacture. Lang Technik has not disclosed the showroom conversion cost or announced new production capacity. Its next challenge is to establish how the demonstrated fixtures and automated loading sequences can be applied to individual machine tools with suitable access, interlocks and control interfaces.
