Schröder Group upgrades the MAKU folding machine
Clamping at record speed
Wessobrunn-Forst (Germany), 24 February 2026 – If Hans Schröder Maschinenbau has its way, getting started with motorized folding will be much faster and more versatile in the future: The MAKU motorized folding machine has been equipped with a new safety laser system directly on the bending line and clamps the sheet metal much faster before folding. A new clamping beam option also enables the use of goat foot tools and thus the production of boxes.
A comparison test with a similar machine from another manufacturer for thin sheet metal processing has shown that, thanks to the new laser safety concept, the MAKU clamps a sheet almost twice as fast as a conventional folding machine. The light barrier eliminates the need for the pre-stop and the second operation of the foot switch, and the clamping beam lowers at full speed of 65 mm/s. If the safety function is triggered, for example because the hand gets too close to the danger zone, the machine automatically switches to the classic safety mode with pre-stop and the extra slow closing at 10 mm/s.
Rail and goat’s foot
The new clamping beam package opens up the possibility of manufacturing box-shaped workpieces. Instead of the permanently bolted single-piece tinsmith’s or sharpnose blade, a tool clamping system accommodates segmented goat’s foot tools at any position. To make room for this, the zero point of the clamping beam drive is offset by 130 mm in just a few simple steps. In this case, the laser safety system is switched off using the “box folding” function, as a workpiece bent up at the side would otherwise trigger it.
Other special features
The robust MAKU for plumbing and repair shops is available in the versions 2500 × 2.0/3200 × 1.5 (working length × sheet thickness in mm). This folding machine became well-known thanks to its popular two-axis backgauge for au-tomatic tapered bending. In addition to the simple and precise production of plug-in profiles, the machine also offers a function for step-by-step radius bending. Both functions are available with both the standard Classic Bend control and the frequently selected POS2000 Professional graphical control.
