Trade fairs - Lenze

The winners of the last competition in Edition 16:
A FIFA World Cup match ball was won by:
Hans Ableggen, Saurer Arbon AG, Arbon, Switzerland
Thomas Lohmann, KHS Kisters Maschinenbau GmbH, Bad Arolsen,
Germany
Jörg Pfeiffer, Wafios AG, Reutlingen, Germany
Winfried Schnieders, Georg Hartmann Maschinenbau GmbH,
Delbrück, Germany
Christian Straßmeier, Sommer Anlagentechnik GmbH, Altheim,
Germany
The solution to the last competition in Edition 16:
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2 1 1 1 1
2 1 2
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Trade fairs
Lenze AG is also taking part at several international
trade fairs. Why not pay us a visit?
Our complete Trade Fair Calendar can be
found on our website at www.Lenze.de.
ProMat
Chicago, USA
8–11.1.2007
INTEL
Milan, Italy
6–10.2.2007
Middle East Electricity
Dubai
11–14.2.2007
WIN
Istanbul, Turkey
8–11.3.2007
ICE
Munich, Germany
27–29.3.2007
Hannover Messe Industrie
Hanover, Germany
16–20.4.2007
www.Lenze.com
Lenze AG
Postfach 10 13 52
D-31763 Hameln, Germany
Phone +49 (0) 51 54/82-0
Fax +49 (0) 51 54/82-28 00
E-mail Lenze@Lenze.de
13168238
DriveIn
Lenze Group customer magazine
White House
Stone-milling machines
fully automated
Zinc, not rust
Simulator reproduces
galvanising processes
Clever cloth
Increased flexibility in car
production
Producing functional
textiles properly
9400 Servo Drives power robotic welding station
No. 17
2007

Servo technology intelligently simplified.
The 9400 Servo Drives
with an audible difference
The click! will revolutionise the way you handle your systems and
processes, making them simpler than ever before. Lenze now offers
you a drive concept which combines efficiency, flexibility and
precision in one clear-cut system. The modular structure enables
the quick, individual configuration of every conceivable production
process – while retaining Lenze’s famous quality. When will you be
clicking?
Lenze@Lenze.de
L-force Your future is our drive
Ice cool
Solve the puzzle by working out how
many ice cubes are in each glass. If you
succeed and are lucky in the draw, you
stand to win James Kakalios’ book
“Physik der Superhelden” (“The Physics
of Superheroes”). We will be giving
away copies of this remarkable science
book to the first ten people drawn who
answered correctly. Send us your solution,
together with your address, on a
postcard or fax by 28 February 2007 at
the latest. We hope you enjoy the quiz!
Recourse to legal action is not permitted.
The task
Eddy Haderer, barkeeper at a wellknown
ski hut in the Austrian Alps, has
a problem. His regulars always love his
creations, but as cocktail connoisseurs
they have their own particular prefer-
ences – especially when it comes to the
amount of ice they take in their drinks.
And, because in high season the same
bunch always meets at the bar for
Happy Hour from 5 o’clock in the afternoon,
they have taken to challenging
Eddy with something new each day.
Today they have presented him
with a diagram and some numbers.
The question to which they demand an
answer is: how many ice cubes should
Eddy put into each glass? But hurry up
Eddy, the group is thirsty and the ice is
starting to melt in the cosy hut!
Write the numbers 0 to 9 in the ten
empty glasses, each number representing
the number of ice cubes to be
placed in each glass. Every glass is connected
to at least one other glass by a
line. And for each glass, Eddy is told the
sum of all the ice cubes contained in
the glasses connected to it.
Competition
Glass 0: 39, glass 1: 8, glass 2: 11, glass
3: 16, glass 4: 15, glass 5: 11, glass 6: 2,
glass 7: 7, glass 8: 12, glass 9: 0
Author James Kakalios is a comic fan
and has been professor of Physics and
Astronomy at the University of
Minnesota since 1988. In his book he
describes how comic-strip heroes
would have to be made if they were to
perform their miraculous feats in the
real world. How strong would
Superman have to be to jump over a
building in one go? Again and again
he draws fascinating insights into
physics from the world of comics –
ranging all the way to quantum
mechanics and string theory.
19
Fax reply
+49 (0)5154 821 605
Lenze AG
DriveIn Editorial
Postfach 10 13 52
D-31763 Hameln
Germany
Company:
Name:
Street:
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If you would like more information about the following articles,
simply complete this form and return it to us.
ò 9400 Servo Drives
ò Power efficiency of electrical drives
ò Mechatronic drive solutions
ò Industrial PCs
Please enter the solution to the quiz here:

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Contents No. 17
Cover story
Flexibility in the garden of robots
9400 Servo Drives
Robotic colleagues
News
BMW chooses Lenze Deto
Factory anniversary
Developers strengthen the Lenze
Group
Cables from Austria
No to environmental poisons
Changes to the Supervisory Board
In action
Stone for the White House
Pack ice
Sticks better, fits better
Zinc, not rust
Able labels
Technology
Curbing electricity costs
Dr. Erhard Tellbüscher,
Chief Executive Officer of Lenze AG:
“Life-cycle costs still receive too little
attention when investments
are made.”
Dear Reader,
Robots have been used for the production
of cars for around 40 years. Recently,
people have succeeded in getting
these versatile machines to perform
more and more complex tasks. Our drive
systems play a fundamental role in
achieving the high level of automation
we see today. KUKA has combined robots
with a rotary table equipped with various
tool holders. This enables different
components to be manufactured flexibly
on one machine without time-consuming
refitting work. You can read more
about the “Turnflex” system in our cover
story which begins on page 8.
Our collaboration with KUKA is an
example of the changes taking place in
the field of drive and automation technology.
Instead of focusing on individual
components, we are cooperating with
our customers to concentrate more on
complete solutions and the benefits
they bring.
Evidence of this development can be
found in the fascinating technical applications
which Falk Steuerungssysteme
GmbH has created using our technology.
By combining electrical engineering,
electronics, software and a long-standing
partnership, they have succeeded in
achieving the precise simulation of
galvanisation processes on a laboratory
scale. You can read more about this on
page 15.
Editorial
If you are able to build machines and
systems for your customers which are
more efficient in their use of energy, it
will be of benefit to you as well. It can
mean, for example, lower power supply
ratings and reduced operating costs.
And ultimately, efforts towards the conservation
of resources are also a social
obligation. The article on page 18 gives
you an idea of just how easily that can
sometimes be achieved. We are involved
in the “Energy efficiency in drive technology”
workgroup which has been
organised by the German Electrical and
Electronic Manufacturers’ Association
(ZVEI), with which we aim to encourage
others to use more economical motor systems.
Life-cycle costs still receive too little
attention when investments are made,
and the long-term potential savings
produced by reductions in power consumption
are rarely taken advantage of.
But it is a potential which we would like
you to discover.
Yours,
Dr. Erhard Tellbüscher,
Chief Executive Officer of Lenze AG
3

4
News
Imprint
Factory
anniversary
When the two-millionth product
rolls off your production
line, a degree of celebration is
called for. In September the
two-millionth Series 8200
frequency inverter was manufactured
at Lenze’s electronics
production facility at Factory
One in Groß Berkel. Today
Lenze builds the latest 8200
vector series in its factory
near Hameln and in the new
Ruitz factory in northern
France. The secret of this
unit’s success is its compact
dimensions and versatility.
Published by
Lenze AG, Postfach 10 13 52,
31763 Hameln, Germany
Editors
Nicole Funck (responsible for the editorial
content), Thorsten Sienk
Contributions to this edition by
Volker Bockskopf, Anita Holland, Isabel
Hornemann, Dr. Edwin Kiel, Ines Oppermann,
Fritz Witte
Contact
Phone: +49 (0)5154 821 476
E-mail: Drivein@Lenze.de
Text/Layout/Typesetting
Patner PR, Hanover
Cover illustration
Kitty Kahane, PEIX GmbH, Berlin
Printed by
Jag Werbung Lenze GmbH & Co KG
Photo credits
BMW, DaimlerChrysler, dpa, Jag Werbung,
Karl Johaentges, Hartung Design, Lenze
Strong growth in sales and operating profit (EBIT)
Lenze clearly benefited from the positive
economic environment in the 2005/2006
trading year (1 May 2005 to 30 April 2006).
The Hamelin-based drives and automation
specialist increased group sales by € 63 million
to € 529 million (previous year: € 466
million). With its 14 per cent growth in sales,
Lenze was able to extend its market share
and exceed even its own expectations. The
operating profit for current business grew by
around €10 million to €39 million. The net income
reported (EBIT) increased by around € 1
million to € 30 million. The Board of Management
of Lenze AG – Dr. Erhard Tellbüscher
(Chairman), Michael Mölleken and Pekka
Paasivaara – presented the latest figures to a
Developers strengthen the
Lenze Group
July saw Lenze’s acquisition
of a majority stake in Schmidhauser
AG, an engineering
company with 40 employees.
The company will continue to
be managed by Davide Cesaretti,
Alex Itten and Kurt Raymann.
It is based in Romanshorn,
a town on Lake Constance
in Switzerland, and
was founded 20 years ago by
Rolf Schmidhauser. Schmidhauser
AG has been an
important and dependable
ally of Lenze since 1994, particularly
in the field of production
development. It was
therefore a natural step to
purchase these shares from
Rolf Schmidhauser, who
turned 65 this year and is
preparing to retire from professional
life.
The company will continue
its activities in the field of
range development. As well
as developing products for
Lenze, this includes work on
mobile applications (such as
hybrid drives) and other customer
solutions.
financial statement press conference in
Hanover.
Lenze has increased its market share in the
important markets. The company sees this
achievement as proof of the success of its
strategy. The main sales market, Europe, contributed
85 per cent of the total sales in the
period (previous year: 87 per cent). Lenze
recorded above average growth rates in the
Asia and North America sales regions. North
America’s share of total sales increased to 9
per cent (previous year: 8 per cent) and that
of Asia to 6 per cent (previous year: 5 per
cent). This means that the Group’s commercial
position has been strengthened in precisely
those regions where fast growth looks
promising in forthcoming years.
BMW chooses
Lenze Deto
Our Austrian subsidiary Lenze
Deto, which is based in Kufstein,
has become the supplier
of controllers for standard
monorail overhead conveyors
within the BMW Group. Technology
from Lenze Deto will
from now on be used in all of
its new factories. The car
maker made its decision on
the basis of the innovative
product itself (the Overhead
Control Unit) as well as Lenze’s
worldwide service and sales
network.
Lenze technology will soon be in use in BMW’s factories.

Cables from Austria
Lenze has taken over the
cable engineering division of
the Austrian company Sträussl,
bringing it one step closer to
becoming a complete supplier
of drive and automation
technology. The new division
supplies products such as
servo standard system cables,
ready-made wiring and cable
sets, cables for three-phase
AC motors, and customised
products.
Germany passed the Law on Electrical and
Electronic Equipment in 2005, thereby establishing
EU environmental directives under
national law. One of the things this stipulates
is that equipment which comes onto
the market after 1 July 2006 may not contain
hazardous substances. Lenze is adhering
voluntarily to this law for all its new products,
even though it is not actually a manu-
Cables are now included in Lenze’s complete range.
No to environmental poisons
Panel PC sets trend
The Command Station Panel
PC made by Lenze Digitec was
voted “Trend 100 Product” of
the year 2006/2007 by readers
of the automation magazine
SPS-Magazin. This title is
awarded to products which
are particularly innovative or
user-friendly, and which represent
a current trend in a
particular way or even set a
new trend themselves. On
facturer in legal sense. The new products are
free from lead, cadmium, chrome VI, mercury
and the brominated flame retardants PBB
and PBDE.
Environmental protection is gradually
becoming an issue in China as well. A strict
Chinese version of the European environmental
directive is due to come into force
there next year.
page 16 you can find out
more about where the Panel
PC is used.
Command Station Panel PC.
Training system
for engineers
News
Kerpen-based enterprise Lucas-
Nülle Lehr- and Messgeräte
GmbH develops, produces
and markets coaching systems
for professional training
purposes on a worldwide
scale. With more than 300
employees this group of companies
is one of the largest in
the industry. Its training systems
are used mainly to educate
specialist workers, technicians
and engineers in the
electrical trades. They incorporate
Lenze Engineering:
the new 9400 Servo Drive
assists in the static and
dynamic simulation of various
applications such as lift
drives, calenders, pumps,
compressors, winders and
centrifugal masses on an
engine test bench. The programming
capabilities of the
L-force Engineer software
enable complex applications
to be implemented quickly.
5

6
News
Changes to the Supervisory Board
Dr. Rolf Herbert, who has been Chairman
of the Supervisory Board of Lenze
AG since its formation in 2001, has
handed over his position to Dr. Ulrich
Wolters. Dr. Wolters was elected to the
Supervisory Board at the last Shareholder’s
Meeting in November 2006. Dr.
Herbert will remain connected to Lenze
in the future through his involvement in
the Family Board. He has served the
company for 20 years as its Managing
Director, Advisory Board Chairman, and,
since 2001, as the Chairman of the
Supervisory and Family Board.
Dr. Ulrich Wolters has been a member of
the Advisory Board of Lenze for a good
four years now. Prior to that he worked
for 38 years at Aldi Süd, 30 of which
were at management level. Most recently
he chaired the Executive Board of
the Siepmann Foundation, which is the
principal shareholder of the Aldi Süd
group of companies. DriveIn interviewed
the new Chairman of the Super-
visory Board.
Dr. Wolters, what does this new position
mean to you?
To me it is a great honour and also a
great challenge to assume this new
post.
What is your impression of our company?
I have known Lenze for more than 25
years. I consider it an exceptional and
above-average company, especially in
the way it has dealt with difficult times.
What objectives have you set yourself
for your five-year period of office?
I intend to continue what is already
established and develop it dynamically,
while preserving and promoting the
company’s positive corporate culture.
Lenze’s employees identify themselves
very strongly with their company, and
that is a valuable asset that needs to be
protected.
Lenze is a family business. Do you think
that form of company has a future?
Yes, I am convinced that large family-run
businesses are superior in the long term
to stock-exchange-listed joint-stock
companies. Their strength lies in their
corporate policy, which aims at longterm
development. Investments in the
future are given priority over quick profits.
However, shareholders, management
and all of the employees all have
to pull in the same direction.
Which other areas must a company
excel in apart from technology?
Good products are not everything.
Nowadays we must offer lasting,
customer-oriented solutions and present
ourselves as a genuine ally to our
customers. To achieve this we need the
very best employees, who in turn
require ongoing training and development.
What do you hope to gain during your
time at Lenze?
I do of course hope that we all enjoy
lasting success. To me personally it is
important that I enjoy my work. I love
being involved in mechanical engineering,
and I am really looking forward to
the tasks ahead.
And what do you wish for your predecessor,
Dr. Herbert?
Above all I wish him good health and
that he retains his cheerful, thoughtful
and calm disposition – after all, we at
Lenze would like to go on benefiting
from his advice and company in the
future.
Dr. Ulrich Wolters (left) is the newly
elected Chairman of the Lenze
Supervisory Board. He replaces Dr. Rolf
Herbert, who held the office since Lenze
AG was founded in 2001.

Stone for the White House
Integrated automation system makes stonecutters easier to use
Pennsylvania Avenue 1600, Washington,
DC, USA, is perhaps one of the most
famous addresses in the world. That’s
where you will find the White House,
residence and official seat of every
President of the USA since the year
1800. Its foundation stone was laid on
13 October 1792. The most important
material used in its construction was
sandstone, although this can no longer
be seen since the building has been
painted white since the 19th century. It
was this colour which later gave the
building its name.
Such a venerable old building does
of course require maintenance. Environmental
influences eat away at the sandstone
and marble, which has also been
covered over. Specialists are employed
to ensure that the superpower’s headquarters
always looks spick and span.
And wherever the stone becomes
crumbly, new pieces must be put in place.
The stonemasons use special machines
for cutting the replacement blocks.
The new stones are then inserted into
the walls, where they need to be an
exact fit. One of the machines used is a
stonecutter manufactured by Auto-
The site of the White House was chosen
by the first President of the USA, George
Washington. The property on
Pennsylvania Avenue now has 132
rooms, 35 bathrooms, eight staircases,
three lifts, a swimming pool, a tennis
court, a bowling alley and a cinema.
mated Stone Machinery Limited from
Bolton in the United Kingdom. This company
produces machinery for processing
limestone, sandstone, granite and marble,
including saws, cross-cutters and
milling machines.
The latest machine to come from
the British company was developed for
the precise milling of textured stone
such as that used for fireplace surrounds
and ledges on buildings. The cutting
tool is made from extremely hard
polycrystalline diamond and includes a
surrounding water cooling system. It cuts
the stone at up to 9,000 revolutions per
minute.
The machine’s entire automation
system is made by Lenze. At its heart is
the ETC controller which controls both
In action
the movements and the processes. The
machine is operated using a Lenze
industrial PC which is integrated into an
operating station. The software for controlling
the milling machine’s movements
runs on this PC, which also provides
two and three-dimensional visualisation
facilities which enable the
machine operator to view a 3D model of
the tool on the screen, and rotate it.
During the milling process the actual
cut made, and the milling head, are displayed
in real time. ECS drives regulate
tough, dynamic MCS servo motors. The
integrated system is easy to operate,
and the machine can be controlled with
great precision.
www.stone-cutting.com
7

8
Cover story
Flexibility in the garden of robots
Servo technology drives pioneering welding systems in the car
industry
Ever since Henry Ford introduced assembly-line
production in his Highland Park
factory in Detroit in 1913 there has
been a ceaseless flow of innovation in
the field of car production. Most recently,
KUKA Schweissanlagen GmbH, based
in Augsburg, installed several new types
of welding station incorporating an integrated
carousel at the DaimlerChrysler
factories in Bremen and Sindelfingen.
This engineering marvel is known as
Turnflex and it is driven by 9400 Servo
Drives from Lenze.
The Turnflex system consists of a
carousel for tool holders, a “linear unit”,
and several robots. The carousel alone
weighs 12 tonnes and has a diameter of
nine metres. The drives which set this
new device in motion have to deal with
enormous moments of inertia of more
than 100 tonne/m2 , and this they must
do with high precision. It is not often in
mechanical engineering that such large
masses have to be moved.
A carousel accommodates three or
four holders, depending on the design.
These holders accommodate the different
parts for the side section of a car,
and fix them in place fully automatically
using tensioners.
A robot which moves to and fro
along the linear unit picks up the work
pieces and places them on the tool holders
as they pass. The carousel, in turn,
moves these carriers to a linked welding
station, where other KUKA robots
undertake the actual processing of the
pieces of bodywork: positioning geometrically,
lifting from the tool holder,
welding simultaneously. In Germany,
several robots working closely together
are known by experts as a Robotergarten,
or “garden of robots”. As well as
Turnflex: high-speed bodywork production using Lenze technology.
working on the various parts, robots
also move the components around.
The bodywork parts are carried from
the pressing unit to the Turnflex by a
monorail overhead conveyor. The main
advantage of the new system is the
enormous amount of time saved by its
overlapping processes, which reduces
unproductive handling time. While a
handling robot removes the component
after stitch welding, the four welding
robots continue the welding process
itself, during which time the tool holder
is already on its way back to the rotary
table where it can pick up a new part.
The finished component is handed back
to the monorail overhead conveyor.
Turnflex makes the production
process considerably more flexible. For
instance, up to four different components
of a car can be made on one
machine without time-consuming refit-

ting work. The system is capable of
changing a tool holder for different
models fully automatically. It detects
which component has arrived, and
brings the appropriate tool holder into
position accordingly.
Time is money – and changes have
to be made quickly. This is no easy task,
especially since the rotary table can
weigh 17 tonnes including its load. But
in spite of its mass, the table requires
just six to seven seconds for a half rotation.
The asynchronous geared motor
from Lenze which turns the carousel has
a maximum drive power of 22 kW and
delivers the necessary torque of 7,800
Newton metres.
Strength, however, is not all that is
required. Precision is also necessary
when accelerating and braking, since
narrow tolerances must be observed
when the component moves from the
tool holder to the welding station. Four
sensors are attached to the rotary table
for monitoring the positions. A 9400
Servo Drive with a power output of 30 kW
controls the motor and its positioning.
Motion profiles are stored on a pluggable
module. Separating the hardware
The C-Class is the best-seller in the Mercedes-Benz range.
and software in this way has the advantage
that the system can be restarted
very quickly after replacing a controller,
without the new unit requiring lengthy
programming. When the system requires
servicing, this module considerably
reduces expensive downtimes.
Lenze drive technology was also
used in the Turnflex’s internal conveyor
technology which moves the tool holders
in and out. A 10 kW synchronous servo
motor combined with an 11 kW 9400
Servo Drive powers a conveyor belt on
the linear sections. Precise movements
are once again necessary to ensure that
the tool holder hooks exactly into the
belt’s lock, enabling it to be transported
safely.
Safety considerations were high on
the list of priorities when the Turnflex’s
drive technology was designed. Regulations
governing the protection of
persons are very strict. Lenze has
designed its series of controllers in a
modular form, which enables the necessary
safety categories to be fulfilled
easily and reliably using plug-in safety
modules. Their functions satisfy the
demands of IEC 61508 SIL3, and have
Cover story
Servo Drives 9400
The controllers in the 9400 Servo Drive
series are designed as Single Drives and
Multi Drives. The Single Drives combine
mains feed, DC bus and inverter in a single
unit. Integrated filter elements and a brake
chopper facilitate autonomous operation
within decentralised installations. The
Multi Drives have been optimised for centralised,
compact multi-axis installations
with all the benefits of a shared DC bus.
The dimensions of the power section
combined with the intelligent management
of switching frequencies enables peak
currents of up to four times more than the
drive continuous current. The drives support
feedback-based and encoder-free control
processes. The assembly equipment and
drive electronics are kept separate up to a
motor output of 11 kW. This makes them
easier to assemble and install. The mounting
base incorporates all of the power
connections such as mains supply, motor
connections and busbars for the DC bus in
Multi Drives. The series covers an overall
power range of 0.37 to 400 kW.
Servo Drives 9400.
9

10
Cover story
been TÜV tested. The safety devices are
separate from the equipment itself.
Pluggable modules equip the inverters
with their safety functions in a single
click.
The integrated safety technology
also increases productivity, since it
enables the motor to be stopped more
quickly. With the integrated safety technology,
the rotary field of the threephase
AC motor is immediately
switched off, so that the motor can no
longer produce any torque. A permanently
loaded DC bus runs throughout,
Robotic colleagues
It was just a few decades ago that robots
belonged to the world of science fiction.
But today’s car factories would be unthinkable
without them. They are used all over
the world in the automotive industry: most
of them work in Japan, followed by Germany
and the USA. They are used primarily
in the production of bodywork.
George Devol registered a patent for an
industrial robot in the USA in 1954. Two
years later he founded the world’s first
robotics company, Unimation, together
with Joseph F. Engelberger, and developed
a working industrial robot called the Unimate.
It was originally used on the production
line of car maker General Motors
where it stacked hot metal parts.
The microprocessor was invented in
1971, and the first pocket calculator, which
mastered only the four fundamental types
of arithmetical operation, was put on the
market that year by Texas Instruments. It
which also enables a quick start-up. For
instance, if a person enters the working
zone of the Turnflex, the system stops
immediately because man and machine
are not permitted to be active within
the zone at the same time. Once the
person has left the working zone the
drives can start up again immediately,
since the DC bus is still loaded. The
Turnflex has passed its first test at the
Bremen and Sindelfingen factories of
DaimlerChrysler’s Mercedes Car Group,
where the system performs welding
tasks during the assembly of bodywork.
was also in that year that the first KUKA
robot took up its post in a Mercedes-Benz
factory. It was a European premiere.
But it was not until the 1980s that
robotic workers really began to feature
strongly in the car manufacturing industry.
Electronic drive and control technology had
developed rapidly, giving the automatons
an ever higher degree of production intelligence.
They made the most of their speed
and accuracy, especially in precision welding
processes. Today’s robots have even
more sensors, even better drive and
automation technology, and can even take
Robots at work on the production of cars.
It’s why the Stuttgart-based carmaker is
once again at the forefront of the production
industry. In 1971 it became the
first European company to use robots
for the production of cars.
www.kuka.de
care of entire work processes in teams. And
they no longer stand isolated next to one
another, but instead work in networks.
Other branches of industry also discovered
robots several years ago. Chemical
companies, for instance, operate automated
lines which conduct complex working
process completely autonomously. Furthermore,
these machines are not restricted to
factory halls. They also explore distant
planets, seek out mineral resources
beneath the ocean, and, as in the case of
the robotic dog Aibo, they serve as toys for
children.

A real innovation: now there is no
longer any need to flood your freezer
when producing ice-cubes at home.
Melitta subsidiary Cofresco Frischhalteprodukte
GmbH & Co. KG has developed
ice cube bags which seem to defy gravity.
If you pour in water and then turn
the bag upside down, it is immediately
sealed without having to be tied shut.
This is achieved by means of a valve
made of plastic film. And, once frozen,
the ice cubes are easier to remove than
their predecessors.
Cofresco is producing these magical little
bags using a completely refitted and
modernised ice-cube bag machine. The
Minden-based company is now using
Lenze drive-based automation. The
machinery was designed and converted
by engineering specialist Falk Steuerungssysteme
GmbH in Stadthagen.
The production of ice-cube bags
involves two primary processes: welding
and perforating. Both production steps
are intermittent. The unwinding of the
unprocessed film and the subsequent
winding up of the completed ice-cube
bags, on the other hand, are both continuous
processes.
The welding station and perforating
device are driven eccentrically and work
synchronously. The welding bar sets the
frequency of the production; the machine
can reach 50 cycles per minute.
After perforation the film is divided into
two strips and fed onto two buffers,
from which it is wound onto standardsized
rolls and packaged.
The data for the process procedure
(Logic Control) is sent to the 9300 series
servo controller via a PROFIBUS-DP. The
8200 vector series frequency inverters
receive their signals from the Lenze
Drive PLC controller, which in turn is connected
to the system controller via a
Profibus. All of the controllers are networked
to one another via the standard
integrated CAN system bus, and they
work using a shared DC bus. “Lenze
dealt with our scenario very simply,”
explains Michael Vogtherr, electrical
engineer at Falk. “We were able to build
the machine without any brake resistors
at all.” The result is fewer components in
the control cabinet, less heat generated,
and lower supply power.
The movements of the servo axis are
controlled decentrally by the Lenze controllers,
which takes the burden off the
central control unit. “The machine uses
cam technology and positioning,” says
Vogtherr. To this end, Falk Steuerungssysteme
used the 9300 Servo PLC which
In action
Titel
Pack ice
Melitta subsidiary Cofresco produces ice-cube bags using Lenze technology
Progressive drinks: self-closing ice cube
bags.
is user-programmable in the languages
of IEC 61131-3. The controllers have preprogrammed
movement functions for
cams, winding and positioning, which
enable parameters to be set quickly.
However, they are also flexible enough
to be programmed by the user down to
the very last bit. “That’s a real asset,”
points out Vogtherr, who draws on the
comprehensive library for standard
functions, then adapts them to customers’
needs.
It is Lenze MCS synchronous servo
motors which provide the movement in
the ice-cube bag machines. To Friedrich
Niedernolte, Director of Electrical
Maintenance at Cofresco, the major
arguments for converting their existing
machines were high availability levels in
multi-shift operations, along with the
new system’s high production speed.
The aim of converting these machines
was not only to adapt the processes to
the new ice-cube bag design, but also to
make them more user-friendly. “It is
important that our staff can operate the
machine quickly, safely and intuitively,”
emphasises the electrical engineer. As
Director of Electrical Maintenance he
pays particular attention to ease of
servicing and to how easily the system
can be adapted to changes of product.
“In fact it is very easy, since software is
used to control the movements,” says
Niedernolte. “The programs are really
easy to modify, and the frequency and
servo controllers are very simple to
operate.”
11

12
In action
Sticks better, fits better
Servo system powers machinery for finishing textiles
Sports kit used to be simply the things
you wore for training or matches. But
nowadays there are a whole range of
special functional fabrics used for different
activities and different seasons.
These textiles have so many characteristics
that they make a cotton T-shirt look
like a historic relic. The production and
processing of high-tech fibres demands
a high level of precision from manufacturing
machinery. The Santex Group,
which specialises in the finishing of fabrics,
makes successful use of Lenze’s
servo technology for its production
machines.
Artificial fibres wick moisture away
from the body while trapping in air,
which prevents unwanted cooling.
Insulation zones retain air and warm up
sensitive parts of the body. These hightech
fibres also incorporate anti-bacterial
and odour-reducing finishes. A whole
range of materials with specific qualities
are combined to this end. The result is
comfortable for consumers, yet challenging
for manufacturers.
The materials manufactured using the
Santex Group’s machines and systems
are used not only to make comfortable
sports clothing but also materials for
many other areas of day-to-day life. They
include soft padding, tough work clothing
and breathable fabrics for car seats.
The positive attributes of these textiles
can often only be achieved by combining
various types and layers of fibres.
It is essential that the materials are
processed with precision. For example,
to give the end product its desired char-
Man-made fibres are woven to produce fabrics that are glued together using specialised machinery.
acteristic, gluing processes such as the
hot-melt procedure (which is used to join
two layers of fabric) must operate with
great accuracy. The glue is applied with
high precision in the necessary patterns
(spot, rhombus or lattice) and over an
area suited to the materials involved.
Only then can the required characteristics
be achieved. Even slight variations
can significantly impair the quality of
the product. Consequences can include
a lack of suppleness or an unpleasant
appearance of the surface of the fabric.
Only a precisely controlled manufacturing
process can ensure that fabrics
glued in multiple layers remain soft,
breathable and pleasant to the touch.
Santex looked closely at other characteristics
important to users when it
designed its coating and laminating

systems. As a result, the Caviflex family
of machines has a wide range of uses.
The machines are characterised by high
processing speeds, reliable operation,
quick installation and commissioning,
and ease of maintenance.
Lenze servo technology plays an
important role in all of this. It is used to
drive the various processes with the
necessary accuracy and synchronicity. In
its Caviflex series, Santex makes use of
MCS servo motors combined with the
ECS servo system manufactured by the
Hameln-based drive specialists. These
controllers cover a power range of
between 1.1 and 13.8 kW, and can be
overloaded by a factor of 3.2. Lenze
supplies the ECS drive system with four
different software versions covering
commonly occurring applications –
almost the entire spectrum from the
simple servo controller all the way to
complex Cam functions. The ECS axis
modules can, however, be used to fulfil
very specific requirements, since it is
possible to program the axis yourself.
The program and control structures are
written in the languages of IEC 61131-3.
Santex chose this option in order to
ensure that the axis modules for all of
its machine models were perfectly suited
to the application.
To Carmelo Nastasi, Director of
Electrical Engineering at Santex, the
advantages of this approach are clear to
see: “Having complete freedom of programming
in the axis controllers was
the only way of satisfying our very particular
requirements with a minimum of
hardware and engineering.” The flexibility
of these drive controllers was a major
factor in helping Santex optimise the
cost side of its Caviflex laminating and
Professional footballers wear functional
fabrics.
coating systems without placing limitations
on their performance or ease of
use.
The result is a system in which users
have access to all four currently used
coating processes in one machine without
time-consuming conversion work.
The time which would otherwise be
used to refit and then restart the
machine can now be used to continue
production. This reduces production
costs. Since all of the ECS axis modules
come with a “Safely deactivated torque”
(safe standstill) function as standard
without additional external components,
maintenance staff can perform their
servicing work on the machine at short
notice without a need for time-consuming
shutdown and switching-off processes.
As well as the high level of flexibility
offered by the drive controllers, the comprehensive
communications support
incorporated into the ECS servo system
enables users to make use of three bus
systems working in parallel. A Caviflex
machine may have up to 22 ECS axis
controllers depending on the version,
and these are supplied with all of the
Sporting textiles
In action
During hard training sessions and while
competing, the clothing of a sportsperson
wicks between 1.5 and 2.5 litres of liquid.
How comfortable the clothing is to wear
from a physiological point of view – which
means the material’s breathability, dampness
and ability to manage heat – plays a
major role in supporting an athlete’s performance.
Traditional clothing made from cotton
absorbs sweat well but does not release
it again effectively. It is for this reason
that functional textiles were developed
from man-made fibres around 25 years
ago.
Optimum comfort and the wicking away
of body moisture can only be achieved if
the various items of clothing complement
one another. The first layer, directly next to
the body, should draw sweat and moisture
away from the skin. The surface area of the
fibres, and thus the fabric’s wicking capacity,
can be increased by changing the fineness
and profile of the fibres. Graduating the
fineness of fibres and threads from the
inside to the outside of the fabric’s crosssection
allows moisture to evaporate even
more effectively.
The functional clothing worn near to the
body is supplemented by weatherproof
jackets. These must of course be breathable,
which is achieved using membrane
systems made up of a range of chemical
fibres. The pores in the material are smaller
than the smallest water drop but larger
than a water molecule, which means that
sweat can pass through to the outside as
vapour. The jackets are made waterproof
by a laminating process in which the membrane
is bonded to the fabric layer. During
the coating process, a thin layer of plastic
(usually polyurethane) is applied in liquid
form straight onto the fabric, where it
hardens. This makes the jacket completely
watertight, but without allowing sweat to
make the inside damp.
www.hohenstein.de
13

14
Im In action Einsatz
necessary operating parameters by the
central system PLC via a pluggable
PROFIBUS port. At the same time, all of
the axis modules can exchange the
information essential to the synchronous
operation of all axes via the integrated
CAN Motion Bus of the ECS axis
modules. This ensures that the high
level of precision required for a perfect
coating is maintained at all points of the
material simultaneously. The visualisation
and operational data is also transmitted
along the similarly integrated
CAN System Bus belonging to the ECS
axis modules. This parallel communication
structure ensures that the user can
switch between different coating
processes and vary the glue application
and distribution patterns as required
while the system is operating and with-
Caviflex machines are safely driven by Lenze technology.
out any loss of time. All that is needed is
to change a few parameters using the
master PLC.
Because the Caviflex machine uses a
hot-melt process, temperatures at the
application rollers and jets can rise as
high as 240 degrees Celsius. Even with
the best available insulation, radiated
heat places a tremendous strain on all
of the components of the machine. It
was in view of this that Santex opted for
Lenze’s MCS series when choosing its
motors. These synchronous servo motors
are insensitive to high temperatures on
account of their robust build.
Hot work: firefighters wear protective
clothing made from special textiles.
Swiss specialist
Santex AG was founded in 1982 in the
town of Tobel, which is situated in the
Thurgau region of Switzerland
between Zurich and St. Gallen. It was
there that one of the most spectacular
success stories in the European
textile machinery industry. Within less
than ten years the company had
become the market leader in equipment
for finishing knitted fabrics. The
company has 145 employees and
generates sales of more than 70 million
Swiss francs.
www.santex.ch

Zinc, not rust
Lenze technology gets things moving in a hot dip simulator
Steelworks and research institutions are
constantly exploring more effective
processes and new alloys in order to galvanise
steel more effectively. For this
purpose many of them use hot dip simulators
made by the Japanese company
Iwatani. These systems, which incorporate
Lenze servo technology, allow production
processes to be simulated with
high precision. This helps prevent nasty
surprises when moving from the laboratory
to full-scale production.
The Iwatani hot dip process simulator
reproduces the entire sheet galvanising
process in a small space. This includes
cleaning the metal by heating it in a
hydrogen-nitrogen atmosphere before
dipping. Lenze servo technology takes
care of the movement processes within
the system, which was supplied by the
engineering specialists at Falk Steuerungssysteme
GmbH, Stadthagen.
The hot dip simulator makes use of a
9300 Servo PLC series user-programmable
servo inverter. This inverter controls an
MCS series synchronous servo motor, a
little powerhouse which in turn drives a
recirculating ball screw via a toothed
belt. This ball screw takes the metal
sample vertically through the various
zones of the machine. The processes
performed in these zones include heating
the metal by infrared or induction,
and cooling it down after galvanisation.
The 12 x 20 cm metal sample is
dipped at high speed into the zinc bath,
and remains there for only a short time.
It is then removed again in only 120 milliseconds.
“This involves an acceleration
The hot dip process simulator reproduces
large-scale production processes
with great precision.
of 25 m/s2 , which would not be possible
without tough, powerful servo motors.
They’re extremely quick,”explains Martin
Falk, proprietor of the engineering company.
The process makes use of the
entire overload capacity of the motor.
This high speed is necessary in order
to avoid what is known as the “fir-tree
effect” during hot dip galvanising, since
this would distort the laboratory results
enormously. The longer the metal plate
remains in the molten zinc, the thicker
the coating becomes. So if the sample
was dipped slowly into the liquid metal,
it would end up with a much thicker
coating of zinc at the bottom than at
the top. This effect does not actually
occur in practice during sheet metal galvanisation,
since the sheet steel passes
In action
through the zinc bath continuously, and
any given point remains immersed for
the same amount of time.
The way in which the metal sample
touches down onto the surface of the
liquid zinc is crucial to prevent the 460
degrees Celsius molten metal from
splashing. The touch-down position can
be measured using a current sensor. The
measured data is collected via the
inverter and via external subassemblies.
The 9300 Servo PLC is part of a control
assembly consisting of an industrial PC
with a bus connection, and non-central
components. The industrial PC can be
used to precisely define all of the parameters
of the machine such as gas
mixture, temperature zones and times.
This enables product and process
improvements to be simulated at a lost
cost, since very little material is used
and valuable test production capacities
are preserved.
Hard alloys
Steel is everywhere, be it in the form of
cars, bridges or high-rise buildings.
This universal material does, however,
have one great weakness: it rusts. Hot
dip galvanising offers the best protection
against rust. It involves immersing
the steel in zinc heated to more than
450 degrees Celsius. Whilst in this
zinc bath, a metallurgical reaction
takes place, and the resulting iron-zinc
alloy layers are highly durable. Treated
this way, steel is protected against corrosion
for decades, and the protective
coating can resist even severe physical
wear.
15

16
In action
Able labels
Industrial PCs and operating terminals are essential in the identification
of goods
A logistical chain should never break,
otherwise the flow of goods and wares
grinds to a halt. It is important that
every item can be uniquely identified at
every point in the process so that it
reaches its destination reliably. To this
end each item is given a special code. In
the drinks industry, each pallet or crate
is given its own label so that it can continue
safely on its way to the right
supermarket or catering outlet.
Markem GmbH, based in Krefeld, specialises
in the manufacture of fully automatic
labelling systems. The company
belongs to the multinational Markem
Corporation which is based in Keen,
New Hampshire. It supplies systems for
identifying and labelling products, and
has developed a special machine called
the Cimpak 300 Kompakt to meet the
requirements of the drinks industry. This
machine uses Lenze Digitec industrial
PC technology, and is operated using an
industrial PC in conjunction with a
terminal.
The machine can be operated as a
stand-alone system or as part of a network.
The operating terminal shows the
machine operator which production
jobs are still outstanding. The PC in the
control cabinet informs the higher-level
server about every pallet and every completed
production order; this server
then passes the information on to a
merchandise information system.
The Cimpak 300 Kompakt attaches
labels to as many as three adjacent sides
of the pallet without the pallet having
to be rotated. The system maintains a
high printing quality and remains highly
reliable even under the toughest conditions
of use. It can attach plain text, bar
codes, diagrams and real-time information
to the product.
Approximately 120 pallets can be
labelled every hour. Generally speaking
the system is linked to a merchandise
information system. Take a brewery, for
example: this arrangement allows the
identification labels for each batch to be
automatically produced from a higherlevel
production planning system.
Markem uses a different PC for every
labelling machine, so that each one can
operate autonomously if required. This
mode of operation may come into play if
production orders are no longer available
from the supervisory server – during
a network failure, for example.
In the Cimpak, the type CPC 2000
industrial PC is mounted in a protective
control cabinet. The Markem system
makes use of an Intel Low Power processor.
This processor consumes less
electricity and exhibits low heat loss,
meaning that no fan is required.
Machinery used in the drinks industry
has to be extremely resilient and insensitive
to moisture. The drinks may splash
and spray around, and there are also
very strict hygiene requirements, which
means that water and cleaning agents
are used daily. Electrical equipment
must therefore be well protected if it is
to survive. The Cimpak complies with
protection category IP54 in its lower
parts, while the operating terminal and
its aluminium casing fulfils protection
category IP65. The terminal is a display
unit from the Lenze Command Station
product series. A DVI/USB extender links
the unit to the PC in the control cabinet
in real time.
This extender enables machines to
be set up with the appropriate protection
in difficult industrial environments,
and also allows them to be operated
easily and their processes to be
High levels of protection are required in the brewing and drinks industry.

visualised. A twin-LAN cable suffices for
this link, enabling USB and image
information to be transmitted in high
quality. Markem uses this type of cable
to control the Cimpak and to visualise
the operating status on the operating
terminal, which is mounted up to 30
metres away from the machine. The
Cimpak includes a scanner for the monitoring
of bar codes. If labels cannot be
read properly, they are produced again
and affixed by means of a pneumatic unit.
Because of the modular design of its
system platform, Lenze is able to put
together IPC and operating solutions
exactly as customers require, in a complete
package. CPU performance can be
adapted to requirements, for instance,
as can the size of displays and memory;
and various Windows operating systems
can be used. This technology is supplied
in the form of a control cabinet PC and
monitor panel, or as a free-standing
operating unit with an integrated industrial
PC – depending on the design of
the machinery. A wide range of port
modules and numerous input devices
makes it easy to adapt the system to its
place of use and to the operating concept.
The Lenze Digitec platform strategy
One-stop automation
allows specialised customer requirements
to be met by employing the
appropriate combination of proven
standard components. The software
screens can even be adapted to the customer’s
own corporate design.
www.markem.de
In action
The integration of Lenze Digitec Controls GmbH (formally Digitec) into the Lenze
Group has enabled the Hameln-based drive specialist to supply PC-based
automation systems. This enables users to make their automation concepts
either drive-based or PC-based. Whichever they choose, Lenze can supply all of
the components.
Lenze’s range of industrial PCs is based on a platform strategy which uses
tried-and-tested hardware and software standards. The modular design makes
it easier to plan the automation systems and integrate them into existing technology.
The Embedded Line units are designed for direct installation into command
panels, machines and systems. They are available as stand-alone industrial PCs,
monitor panels and thin clients in protection class IP65 (frontal).
The Command Station series includes operating stations with a high protection
category (IP65) which are protected against dust and spray. The attractive
aluminium casings have numerous ports. These devices are available as monitor
panels and as industrial PCs with separate 15 to 19-inch screens.
Every pallet is labelled. The “Cimpak 300 Kompakt”.
17

18
Technology
Curbing electricity costs
Motors are classified according to power consumption/
Speed control reduces life-cycle costs still further
Industrial electricity prices have rocketed
in Europe recently, with rises of up to
35 per cent. This makes it worth considering
ways of saving electricity which
really pay off.
According to the German Electrical and
Electronic Manufacturers’ Association
(ZVEI), electrical drive systems consume
around two-thirds of all industrial electricity.
Power consumption can be
reduced considerably using efficient
motors and inverters for controlling
speeds. In fact, speed regulation
accounts for around a third of the overall
potential savings. Energy-saving
motors constitute another ten per cent,
while the reduction of mechanical losses
represents the lion’s share at 60 per cent.
Nowadays around a third of all drive
systems sold are speed-controlled,
although barely ten per cent of those
already at work in the factories themselves
are speed-controlled, a figure
which is increasing as older systems are
replaced and modernised. One of the
factors which has brought about this
change is the consideration of processes,
expenses and therefore costs throughout
the entire life cycle of machinery.
Lenze has dealt systematically with
the theme of life cycle costs over recent
years. After analysing a typical life cycle,
cost factors which can be influenced by
drive systems are identified and systematically
reduced in the development of
products and processes. This in turn produces
financial benefits for machine
builders and operators.
Lenze will be classifying its motors
according to energy consumption from
now on. CEMEP, the European Committee
of Manufacturers of Electronic Machines
and Power Electronics, has established a
system of categorising electrical motors.
Motors are allocated to Efficiency Classes
1, 2 and 3. Class 1 is only for motors with
extremely low losses and therefore low
operating costs. All of Lenze’s MCS synchronous
servo motors already fall well
within this category. This means a reduction
of energy losses of up to 40 per
cent in comparison with conventional
Class 3 motors.
However, surveys have shown that
steps to improve the power efficiency of
motor systems are often neglected,
even where they would be extremely
profitable. One of the reasons for this is
that life-cycle costs are given too little
consideration when investments are
made. Long-term potential savings
brought about by reduced power consumption
are often ignored. The German
Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’
Association aims to promote a
sustainable way of looking at this mat-
ter and has to this end recruited experts
whose job it is to work out how energy
can be used more efficiently. The framework
for this is provided by the European
regulations entitled “Definition of
requirements for the environmentally
compatible design of electrically powered
products”.
The Executive Committee of the
ZVEI has laid down a general strategy
based on three pillars. “We are continuing
to focus on efficiency-optimised,
low-loss motors and in particular on
speed regulation in order to achieve an
optimum operating point adjustment
under partial loads as well as full load,”
explains Dr. Edwin Kiel, Director of
Innovation at Lenze AG and also Head of
the “Energy efficiency in drive technology”
work group at ZVEI. “The third
pillar is continuing to increase people’s
awareness of this issue, and pursuing
collaborative ventures with users and
other related engineering disciplines,”
says Dr. Kiel in summary.
Three steps to saving
energy
˘ Only use motors of Efficiency Class 1
or 2.
˘ Friction-type connections between
gears and motors (geared motors)
reduce mechanical losses.
˘ Combine the motor with a frequency
or servo inverter so that it can be
operated in accordance with
demand.
Perfectly engineered electrical motors
reduce power consumption.