A tour of 4.0 tech

The MOVI-C® modular automation platform, the IPEM system, new solutions for cyber-physical systems (CPS) and the MOVIESUITE® software environment: SEW-EURODRIVE solutions for the future at SPS (pav. 3 stand E019 and KnowHow 4.0 area).

“Smart Automation for a Smart Factory” is SEW-EURODRIVE’s guiding concept, and it will be well-represented at the SPS automation fair in Parma, a testament to the multinational’s conviction that perfect application of lean production and industry 4.0 concepts can lay the foundation for a modular and efficient production network that fully meets the customer’s needs.
The key to success lies in perfect meshing of man and machine throughout the value chain, from configuration to production and from assembly to delivery - an “agile factory” made possible by cyber-physical aggregators connected within the smart factory.
The profound changes affecting production facilities, dictated by growing demand for flexibility, efficiency and optimized use of consumables, has led to the gradual integration of mobile transport systems with stationary ones through the application of intelligent systems able to communicate with one another and with the various levels of the factory in real time.
As one of the most proactive operators in the field of integrated industrial automation solutions, SEW-EURODRIVE tailors its offer along the following vectors: the new MOVI-C® modular platform for machine automation, the Infrastructure, Power and Energy Management system (IPEM), new solutions for cyber-physical systems (CPS) and the MOVIESUITE® software environment for real and virtual system engineering.

MOVI-C®: a connected and flexible automation solution.
SEW-EURODRIVE offers a complete, easy-to-use platform, arranged in four modules: engineering software, control technology, inverter technology and drive technology.
All these modules are presented at the concern’s stand at 8 thematic islands set up to demonstrate the system’s features and benefits interactively, starting with the all-rounder solution for each topology: single axis automation (typical application: materials handling), motion control (typical application: multiple column hoists, tripod mechanisms, robots), automation module (packaging and processing machinery, complex transportation tasks), EtherCAT® motion slave (series machines with a large number of axes, kinematic calculation in the higher-level PLC).
The tour continues with the “Smart Product Demonstrator”, in which electric motor data will be connected to a cloud that monitors functioning throughout the motors’ life cycle. A dedicated SEW app makes it possible to use a QR code and smart remote control to display two types of SEW gearmotor and their typology, functionalities, benefits, maintenance requirements and technical data.
Another corner is dedicated to a virtual tour of the concern’s recently renovated headquarters in Solaro (MI), which visitors at the stand can embark upon by donning Card Board viewing glasses (SEW 2018 promotional merchandise) and downloading the SEW app on their phone for an augmented reality experience.
Participants will be able to experience firsthand and in real time the assembly processes at the Solaro smart factory, by means of a 360° video that combines virtual reality elements with actual footage.
SEW-EURODRIVE will also present its new MOVIGEAR® decentralized mechatronic drive system, soon to be on the market.

CPS in the KnowHow 4.0 area. The stars of the KnowHow 4.0 area will be cyber-physical systems (CPS). SEW-EURODRIVE Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) have applications in many sectors and provide logistical support to materials logistics (as mobile work tables), to picking operations, to loading/unloading machines and to handling parts and components both internally and externally.
Additionally, they can be subjected to hard and repetitive usage, such as retrieving rough pieces and sorting single part shelves for later processing.
The SEW offer includes technologies for implementing AGVs as mobile assistance systems (MAS) for the most important industrial sectors, handling both heavy and light loads.
One platform will display a model of a stationary AGV and a touchscreen, offering an overview of SEW-EURODRIVE mobile assistants.

Technologies and people serving the market since 1931
SEW-EURODRIVE is a German multinational and a global leader in production and marketing of products and systems for industrial, logistical and process automation. Quality, substance, knowhow and passion are what drive the 17,000 people in 51 countries who together generate a turnover of 2.8 billion euro a year. The company began operating in Italy in 1969 with the Drive Technology Center in Solaro (MI), which housed executive offices, a warehouse and an assembly plant, and secured – along with the Drive Centers in Turin, Bologna, Verona and Caserta, as well as a sales office in Pescara – a strong presence throughout the country. In addition to electromechanical technologies, the group’s product range also includes dedicated electronics based on the concept that only control and regulation technology that is perfectly adapted to drives can offer optimal results. SEW-EURODRIVE Italia is focused on optimizing productivity by implementing the concepts of lean smart manufacturing, efficiency and connectivity in assembly areas and throughout the production cycle, thereby guaranteeing the utmost flexibility and speed to users, as well as very quick delivery.