Electricity + Control March 2021

CONTROL SYSTEMS + AUTOMATION

Taking standardised electrical designs into new markets Schaeffler Sondermaschinenbau, a company focused on construction of specialised machinery, is standardising its electrical designs across its numerous operating locations – and relying on Eplan Platform to do this.

A s a specialised machinery compa- ny with 1 700 employees working at 13 locations, Schaeffler ranks among the big players in the field of ma- chine building. What’s unusual about it, however, is that until now the company has been serving (almost) only one customer – which indicates that this must be a client with a major international brand. And that is indeed the case. Specialised machinery construction Schaeffler Sondermaschinenbau develops customised machines and plant systems for the entire corporate group: the Schaeffler Group has around 84 200 em­ ployees across 170 locations worldwide and a turnover of €14.4 billion (2019). For this integrated, globally active automotive

Schaeffler Sondermaschinenbau handles around 4 500 projects annually – every one of them is complex and mechatronic, many with robotic components.

and industry supplier, Schaeffler Sondermaschinenbau focuses on assembly systems and testing technology for production lines. Overall, the special-purpose machine division realises most of the in-house production equipment required by the corporate group. Among recent highlights are the development and realisation of complex assembly and testing lines for automotive hybrid modules and for the new electric axle drive systems. And these are just two of

around 4 500 projects that this Schaeffler division handles annually.

Manufacturing expertise The depth of development in production technology has a long tradition at the company. In 1960, brothers Dr Georg and Dr Wilhelm Schaeffler initiated a Department for Production Equipment, which still contributes to the company’s success today. As a Tier 1 supplier for the automotive industry, Schaeffler develops and manufactures very complex products such as roll stabilisers, 48 V drive systems and electric axle modules, all of which are produced to the highest quality standards and under intense cost pressures. A high level of manufacturing expertise is a major advantage here. Around 60% of Schaeffler Sondermaschinenbau’s 1 700 employees around the globe work in development and design for individually customised production solutions. Software is also playing an increasingly important role. IT production solutions are programmed for almost all automated assembly technology projects and the know-how goes much deeper. For instance, the developers created an app for condition monitoring to increase productivity and system availability in demanding production environments.

Eplan Key User Sascha Jäger at the company facility in Bühl, Germany

Stefan Vietz, Electrical Design Engineer at the company site in Erlangen, Germany.

4 Electricity + Control MARCH 2021