With the launch of its drive solution Movigear, SEW Eurodrive is the first company on the market to implement a mechatronic drive product. A market survey conducted by Frost & Sullivan has confirmed the innovative nature of the development by awarding SEW the prize for Product Innovation of the Year 2007.
Developed in 2005-2006, Movigear was introduced to satisfy the complex requirements demanded of horizontal conveyor technology in a wide range of industries, such as automotives, the food and beverage industry and airport logistics. It also highlights the new design and functional options available on the market.
“Thanks to pioneering new technology – including single line installation – Movigear offers a number of benefits over conventional drive solutions,” explain Suman Bhaskar and Kaushik Ghosh, analysts at Frost & Sullivan. “Its compact design, high overload capacity, short commissioning and start-up times, low noise emissions, and smooth housing mean that Movigear delivers a far better performance than conventional drive solutions. What is more, customers also benefit from lower installation and energy costs.”
In contrast to the technological standard applied in decentralised technology today, which needs two separate cables for energy and communication transmission, single line technology requires just one cable, making complicated and costly on-site installation a thing of the past. As there is less cabling work, the costs of the overall system are also kept to a minimum. Furthermore, the simplified system structure cuts the duration of startup from weeks to a matter of days. Thanks to these outstanding characteristics, this innovative technology is very efficient and cost-effective.
“SEW has also developed a new Ethernet-based software for configuring network structures (Movivision), which makes Movigear even easier and more efficient to use,” adds Bhaskar. “Customers can choose from a range of software modules depending on the requirements of their application.”
Although the component costs are slightly higher than those for conventional drive solutions, this system offers customers the opportunity of cutting their overall costs. High-quality network characteristics and control concepts cut startup up times considerably and minimise monitoring and maintenance tasks. The principle of single line installation makes it possible to cut the required cabling work and reduce the number of unit designs required, which in turn lowers installation costs.
“As the software is connected to a higher-level Ethernet communication system, it offers a fast solution for drive tasks, which shortens the startup phase and cuts installation costs,” says Ghosh. “Moreover, the unique design is highly efficient and compensates for the higher procurement costs by providing energy savings throughout its entire life cycle.”
SEW successfully implemented Movigear systems into several projects for the automotive and beverage industries in 2007. The broad range of benefits has created a high level of customer interest which the company says will lead to many new projects during 2008.
The Movigear will be showcased at Electra Mining in September 2008.
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