Four press types, one control box. EMG Presses has introduced EMG Control, a plug-and-play device that monitors force and displacement during press-fit operations on rack-and-pinion manual presses, manual toggle presses and benchtop pneumatic presses. The company says the unit also deploys in semiautomatic and fully automatic operations.

For assembly plants, the pitch is straightforward: monitoring force and displacement during pressing ensures consistent quality and catches anomalies at the station rather than downstream at inspection. EMG Control measures force, force over distance, force over time, and distance over time. Engineers can view results as bar graphs, numerical values or curves, with measurement history displayed in real time in graph form. A sequence editor gives the operator control over both display and measurement steps.

The detection logic is binary and immediate. If required parameters are not met, the unit flags an anomaly via an optical display, an audible signal, or by locking the press in position. The operator can then isolate the noncompliant part at once — no batching suspect assemblies for later sorting.

Setup effort appears minimal by design. The plug-and-play sensor uses TEDS (transducer electronic data sheet) technology and self-calibrates. Once connected to the display, the system recognizes and configures the sensor automatically, eliminating manual configuration. For plants running multiple part programs, the control supports multi-program management, sequence programming and statistical functions.

Data handling suits traceability requirements. The control unit stores assembly data on board, and users can export records to a PC for analysis, statistics or archiving — relevant for suppliers that must document press-fit results for OEM audits and PPAP submissions.

One detail widens the addressable base beyond EMG's own installed fleet. Although the system was designed primarily for EMG's manual and pneumatic presses, EMG says the control can be adapted to all brands of manual and pneumatic presses. That claim is worth testing against a specific line before committing — retrofit compatibility across press brands often depends on press geometry and tooling, and the company has not published a validated compatibility list.

EMG Control makes its trade-show debut at The Assembly Show, Oct. 27–29 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. EMG Presses is one of several first-time exhibitors and one of several press manufacturers on the floor among more than 200 suppliers of automation, fastening, fastening tools, software, robotics, motion control, workstations, adhesives, dispensing and curing, test and inspection, and plastics joining equipment.

No pricing, availability date or measurement-accuracy specs accompanied the announcement, so plant engineers will need those numbers before fitting the device into a control plan.

What to watch next: whether EMG publishes accuracy and sampling-rate specifications for the TEDS sensor line, and whether retrofit installations on non-EMG presses prove out in volume production after the Rosemont show.