Electricity + Control March 2021

CONTROL SYSTEMS + AUTOMATION

At a glance  Overall, the special-purpose machine division realises most of the in-house production equipment required by the Schaeffler Group.  In opening up to new markets, a high level of manufacturing expertise is a major advantage and software is playing an increasingly important role.  With the standardisation of electrical design software at its various sites the company is developing a common, harmonised infrastructure, which will enable its design teams to collaborate worldwide.

cation assignment are normed, and device management has also been standardised. And it goes almost without saying that every component is stored in the ERP system with all its relevant data. To simplify the design, the team created macros for fre- quently used devices with a clear goal in mind. Each device is assigned a data set that is as comprehensive as possible. This makes manufacturing easi- er. The maxim: “Whoever needs data – whatever type is required – should get it.” This is taking place against the background that, in the future, more external customers will be requesting data, for instance for preliminary acceptance of systems. Standardisation on the device level also leads to components that can be interconnected with a minimum of effort. So if, for example, a customer chooses a controller or an electric motor from another manufacturer, it’s not a problem. Jäger says, “The devices are simply swapped out and all the data of the new components is used.”

The new standard: tablets with Eplan eView support the commissioning technicians. Opening to external clients Until quite recently, Schaeffler Sondermaschinenbau designed and realised almost exclusively in-house projects for the corporate group – and had plenty of to do, as the 4 500 projects annually demonstrate. Now the division is making its know-how accessible to external customers. Director Bernd Wollenick says, “We’re opening up new fields of activity and customer target groups.” The focus is on assembly and testing systems as well as processing machines for grinding and honing in combination with product knowledge in the areas of robotics, vision and handling systems, and production IT. Standardising electrical designs This opening up to customers outside the group was just one of the factors driving the standardisation of the electrical design software at the various company sites. For instance, operations in Erlangen and Bühl in Germany, and Taicang in China, each had developed in their own way. These locations – and others as well – work with Eplan Platform, but use it differently. The goal is to overlay a globally standardised electrical design based on Eplan. A project team of key users is responsible for the task. Stefan Vietz, an electrical design engineer in Erlangen says: “We’re developing a common, harmonised infrastructure on Eplan Platform, which will enable us to collaborate worldwide. It allows us to use our capacities in the best possible way and increase the flexibility at the development sites.” Code-compliant templates, data-enriched macros During the standardisation process, the team oriented itself to global codes and norms, particularly EN 81346: structuring principles and reference designations for industrial systems, installations and equipment and industrial products. Sascha Jäger, Eplan Key User in Bühl says: “We devel- oped code-compliant templates that every employee can understand, including everyone in manufacturing.” Basic information such as equipment identification and plant/lo-

The three-dimensional control cabinet design with Eplan Pro Panel is already being used at some locations.

3D designs for control cabinets In Bühl, Germany, Schaeffler is already using Eplan Pro Panel to create three-dimensional designs of the control cabinets for the production systems. In future, Pro Panel will be used worldwide since its advantages for the company are clear. Jäger gives an example: “If the designer places a frequency inverter onto a mounting panel, the drilling pattern is automatically stored and the data can be transferred to a Perforex system as a DXF file. This saves time in both design and production.” So end-to-end data continuity is addressed – and when Rittal enclosures are

Electricity + Control MARCH 2021

5