The German company SEW-EURODRIVE is an established market leader in the design, manufacturing and assembly of gears and geared motors. In recent years, the company has gone through a remarkable progression: based on their experience as a product supplier of mechatronic drive components they also evolved into a solution provider for machine- and factory automation. Today, the company’s modular automation system MOVI-C serves as the base of its modern machine and factory automation solutions. The core of the system is the UHX progressive controller UHX65A, which can also be equipped with a Profinet master or slave in addition to EtherCat, allowing it to support the seamless integration of many different sensors and actuators. This product innovation will be introduced to the market on the SPS trade show November 2021 in Nuremberg, Germany.
The UHX65A offers up to 4 CPU Cores and is equipped with their real-time operating system MOVIRUN for realtime machine control (PLC, motion, robotics). If a C-Fast memory board is added it offers Windows 10 IoT Enterprise for visualization and other I4.0/IIoT apps. The machine automation solution portfolio includes all SEW drives, motors and gear-motors, as well as the MOVI-PLC I/O System and a modular visualization system with monitors, including web and handheld panels.
SEW-EURODRIVE’s machine automation solution portfolio includes:
Founded in 1931, SEW-EURODRIVE introduced the production and range of gearmotors with a modular system as early as the 1960s. Electronics production began 1980 with the first MOVITRON power converters. In 1996, the MOVIMOT inverter series was introduced, enabling decentralized drives, including gearmotors with integrated drives. Through this SEW-EURODRIVE evolved into a system provider for motion control. In 2017, new servo drives and new servo controllers were launched under the MOVI-C brand. In order to continue on the path from motion control to becoming a solution provider for machine automation, the new business MAXOLUTION Machine Automation was founded in 2018. Today, SEW-EURODRIVE has taken its automation solutions to the next level based on the principles of Industry 4.0. A look at the portfolio offered by the MAXOLUTION Machine Automation business reveals a complete and innovative state-of-the-art portfolio of software, hardware and services for machine automation.
SEW-EURODRIVE does not only offer solutions that enable I.0 / IIoT-based data collection and related applications but is also gaining first-hand experience in its own I 4.0 / IIoT factory in Graben-Neudorf, Germany. The assembly machines and factory planning and delivery process are fully digitized and use all aspects of cyber-physical systems, such as autonomous assistants, edge computers and a dedicated data center. These assistants support the employees in their work, carry detailed information for each work step and can optionally play it back as PDF or video. The assistants connect the assembly stations, supply them with material and immediately dispose of the resulting waste. They can also act autonomously as swarm. The basis for this is also MOVI-C.
Automatic collection and storage of I 4.0 /IIoT sensor data from drive systems (control cabinet and distributed drive systems) is enabled by DriveRadar (Smart) Data Collector software with higher-level protocol interfaces. The DriveRadar data converter converts the recorded data into conventional units and stores the data.
SEW-EURODRIVE has also established the MAXOLUTION System Solution business, which offers products, systems, solutions, and services for customers who want to align and automate their manufacturing and assembly processes or the entire supply chain according to the principles of Industry 4.0.
According to ARC, SEW-EURODRIVE's stringent and sustainable approach is to build a trusting relationship with customers by productively using all automation solutions for machines and corresponding I 4.0/IIoT connectivity and applications at its own assembly plant in Graben-Neudorf, Germany.
MOVI-C is the modular automation solution from SEW-EURODRIVE that covers all aspects: planning, startup, operation and diagnostics of software, electronic controllers, sensors & actuators, drives, servomotors and gearmotors. MOVI-C provides a basis for all factory and machine automation solutions. Here, MOVI-C controllers are a central element for automation.
The MOVI-C progressive controller UHX65A is equipped with a 4 core processor and allows the separation of the machine automation and the visualization or other Windows IoT Apps. In this configuration at least 2 cores are dedicated to the realtime machinery automation including motion control and robotics operating under the RTOS/MOVIRUN, whereas the visualization and other apps like security, networking, logging, 3rd party apps operate on the other 2 cores under Windows 10 IoT Enterprise if the C-Fast memory board is provided. This is a flexible modular approach, because the UHX65A can also be used without Windows 10 IoT Enterprise (without the C-Fast memory board) and provides all 4 cores for a real-time machinery automation application. Both parts of the 4-core processor are connected by a virtual network and a realtime hypervisor from Real-Time-Systems and share the memory. This architecture ensures the real time operation of the machinery automation application regardless of the workload of the Windows IoT applications.
The UHX65A operates with 24 V DC power and offers following interfaces: for the RTOS application 1x EtherCAT/SBusPlus, 1x fieldbus interface, 2x engineering ports for the RTOS (PLC) application and 1x memory card slot. For the Windows IoT Enterprise applications there are one Ethernet port , three x USB ports and also one memory card slot. LED at the front show the status of the controller.
The EtherCat/SBusPlus master interface connects typically to the servo drives, frequency inverters and I/O modules and ensures high performance motion control with lowest jitter. Depending on the motion control performance requirements, up to 16 interpolated and further 16 auxiliary axis can be synchronized. The fieldbus interface can be configured so far as slave for Profinet or EtherNet/IP and Modbus TCP .
New on this UHX65A controller – publicly introduced at the SPS exhibition 2021 in Nuremberg Germany – the fieldbus interface can be ordered also as Profinet I/O or EtherNet/IP master. This opens up the connectivity of the controller to the large world of sensors and actuators with a Profinet interface. A very large number of sensors and actuators comes along with a Profinet slave and also with I/O-Link. Typically, these sensors and actuators are wired to remote multi-connector boxes in the machine with an integrated Profinet slave (I/O Link Gateway), which now can be connected to the Profinet Master of the UHX65A controller.
SEW-EURODRIVE offers the modular MOVI-PLC I/O system, which connects to the EtherCat/SBusPlus master of the controller UHX65A. A large variety of modules is available: digital input and output modules, analog input and output modules, safety modules, function modules and of course modules for power supply and bus coupling modules for EtherCAT/SBusPlus. Functional modules include for example a direct connection to a full resistance bridge like those used in strain sensors. Safety modules provide SIL3/PL e level. The communication uses the FSoE (Fail Safe over EtherCAT) protocol and thus can connect to 3rd party safety controllers.
Next to drives, motors and gearmotors, the machine automation portfolio of SEW-EURODRIVE offers several visualization devices. There are three Web Operator Panels available in different sizes 7”, 10” and 15”, an operator panel 15” and two handheld terminals. Specifically, the handheld devices allow machine automation solutions using robots. The handheld devices include the safety aspect and are being used to manually control/jog single and multiple axis in the vicinity of the axis/device. When safety is not required, general fine tuning can be performed with the web-visualization and tablets. Just like the engineering of a machine or robot application with the engineering software, the visualization comes along with a visualization designer.
A specific focus of the ARC deep dive into the machine automation portfolio has been the design, engineering, and diagnostics software to find out how the SEW-EURODRIVE tools support cost-effective engineering.
SEW-EURODRIVE offers with its MOVISUITE engineering software a user-friendly approach. Both the machine automation project and the visualization can be realized using the IEC 61131-3 engineering tool of CODESYS, seamless integrated inside MOVISUITE.
However, what makes the difference in regards of usability and cost-efficient design of the applications are the SEW MOVIKIT software modules both for the machine application design and for the visualization. SEW-EURODRIVES offers a large number of such pre-designed and pre-configured software modules MOVIKIT for many functions and visualization objects. Such modules save time when it comes to complex functions like a robotics-kinematics. What comes along with this MOVIKIT approach is the automatic interface of the visualization to the variables of related devices in the machine application. For robotics applications SEW-EURODRIVE offers a separate robotics-monitor, using a standard robot programming language and including a 3D visualization as also several MOVIKITs.
SEW-EURODRIVE was awarded twice the Handling Award in 2019 and 2020 by the “handling” magazine in Germany for the usability and functionality of the MOVIKIT software modules Robotics and AntiSlosh. MOVIKIT Robotics is a standardized solution for the MOVI-C modular automation system enabling universal control of a wide range of serial and parallel robot kinematics. MOVIKIT AntiSlosh is a software module to avoid sloshing and spilling of liquids in containers during transportation using intelligent coordination technology to create optimum motion profiles adapted to a liquid's physical properties.
With its established market position in the gears and geared motors market, SEW-EURODRIVE is always in close contact to the machine building industry and end users worldwide. Core industries are transport and logistics, machines in food & beverage, airport baggage handling, crane technology, wastewater technology and now with its machine automation solution of course also other machinery industries like packaging or wood working or intralogistics.
Due to the nature of their business, contact to customers until recently have mainly been with the mechanical engineering or maintenance departments. Yet, machine automation is a matter of a partnership with the automation and electronics departments at the customers and end users. To support this the SEW-EURODRIVE business MAXOLUTION Machine Automation is in the meantime well positioned with sales and technical staff in Europe and has started the roll-out in the US. Of course, worldwide automation partners for machine automation can assist in sales and service as well. In the SEW DriveAcademy in-house staff as well as the staff of customers, end-users and system-integrators can be trained in all aspects of the machine automation portfolio.
In ARC’s opinion SEW-EURODRIVE has professionally laid the grounds to be successful in the machine automation business with:
ARC of course has been interested what comes next on the roadmap. The business MAXOLUTION Machine Automation is engaged in various working groups of OPC UA and is closely monitoring the pace in which the ECO system of TSN develops. Further to this it is planned to enhance the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise part of the UHX65A controller with SEW’s Drive Radar Data Collector to use this controller also as an Edge Controller.
In the opinion of ARC, SEW-EURODRIVE is well prepared to support their clients with machine automation solutions during their digital 4.0/IIoT transformation journey.
Following brand names / trademarks are registered by SEW-EURODRIVE GmbH & Co KG:
MOVI-C, MOVIRUN, MOVISUITE, MOVI-PLC, MOVIKIT, MAXOLUTION, DriveRadar, DriveAcademy.
The owner-managed family business SEW-EURODRIVE, based in Bruchsal, Germany, was founded in 1931. With sales of more than 3.1 billion Euros (2020/2021), the company is one of the global market leaders in the drive technology/drive automation sector whilst maintaining strong local roots in the region. SEW-EURODRIVE employs more than 18,000 employees worldwide, of those around 600 work in research and development. The company has a network of 17 production plants and 85 Drive Technology Centers in 52 countries around the world.
Electric motors formed the beginnings of the company. In the meantime, they offer much more, and their range of products and services has grown significantly covering gearmotors, gear units, motors, components for decentralized installation, electronically controlled drives, mechanical variable-speed gearmotors. Furthermore SEW-EURODRIVE offers drive solutions that involve a lot of engineering, factory automation equipment, for example AGVs (automated guided vehicles), and supplementary services and service offerings including Industry 4.0 consulting. Today, SEW-EURODRIVE stands for product and solution orientation based on Industry 4.0, its modular system, process orientation with precise coordination of consulting, products, solutions, delivery time, training, and service support.
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Keywords: SEW-EURODRIVE, Drive Technology, Drive Automation, Machine Automation, Automation Solutions, Servo Controllers, Servo Drives, Modular Automation, Progressive Controller, Multicore Controller, Controller, Automation, ARC Advisory Group.