50 years on, Staubli remains focused on developing excellence in connection products and solutions right across the industrial sector
Applications range from air lines to quick mould clamping systems, breathing air equipment to special vehicle hydraulics - and a growing importance in motorsport too.
Quick release couplings were the first diversification for Staubli back in 1956.
Staubli's ancestry was concentrated in the textile sector where they had achieved leading supplier status for the machinery that transforms creative designs into actual textiles through precise and rapid movement of the threads on the weaving loom.
This background in precision engineering attracted them to the couplings sector where meticulous attention to design and close tolerance machining are required to produce connectors that can easily be disconnected without any leakage.
The first Staubli connectors were designed and manufactured in the established textile machinery facilities in France.
The 1960s was a pioneering decade for Staubli Connectors, not only did they introduce a micro coupling that was promoted widely as being 'as thin as a cigarette' (how advertising standards have changed over the years!) they also introduced a coupling that has become almost synonymous with Staubli - the RBE designed for compressed air and fluids and incorporating the now famous Staubli disconnection pushbutton, fitted neatly into the diameter of the socket.
Further design developments lead to the introduction of the RCS safety coupling which extended the operation of the push button further by providing two separate disconnection stages - venting followed by unlocking.
This was a major advance in safety; two distinct actions were required to disconnect - the first to release pressure in the system and the second to release the plug, eliminating any risk of hose whip.
Staubli's R+D guys must have been busy, since this was also the period that saw the introduction of another of Staubli's important main line products - the SBA.
A flat faced, leak free coupling (the first of this type to be introduced) designed for hydraulic systems which was a precursor of the then, yet to be fully appreciated demands, of environmentalists to reduce pollution.
The 70s saw expansion of the established ranges and adaptation for specific applications, Staubli's range boasted connectors for over 350 fluids.
More significant was the first installation of a multi-coupling system used on test benches for automotive engines; this significantly improved the efficiency of the operation, connecting all the services required by the engine in one movement - an application still being supplied today to both the automotive and motorsport sectors but the connectors have been updated and redesigned several times.
1980 saw the introduction of multi couplings for quick mould changing on injection moulding machines.
This equipment reduced machine downtime dramatically and improved safety by making misconnection or wrong connection impossible.
The plastics sector also benefited from the introduction of innovative mould clamping/changing systems.
Initially these were mechanical systems, subsequently supplemented with hydraulically actuated clamping mechanisms.
Later in the 1990s magnetically actuated mould clamping systems were introduced as customer requirements and technologies developed.
Growth of alternative energy technologies in the 1990s prompted Staubli to launch connectors for refuelling of both natural gas and liquefied propane gas which were beginning to be used in road vehicles.
Motorsport was also benefiting from the new couplings on fuel filling, air, hydraulic and cooling circuits.
2002 saw Staubli Connectors make their first acquisition.
The Swiss based Multi-Contact Group was incorporated into activities.
Multi-Contact's world leading expertise in electrical connections complemented perfectly Staubli's experience in all gases and fluids, making Staubli Group the only manufacturer in the world to offer complete solutions in connector technology in all fields - fluids and electricity.
What of the future, the next 50 years? Those R+D guys at Staubli's HQ in Faverges France are still beavering away.
Ongoing modification of the existing range will continue as Staubli responds to the increasing demands from all users for higher performance, easier to use, safer, smaller, more robust products that will perform faultlessly over their entire service life.
Group strategy has always been 'Be proactive - undertake - innovate - act - adapt'.
This maxim has served the Connectors Division well over the past 50 years and will continue to be the hallmark of Staubli's service in the future, it says.
