It does indeed We can only respond to the diversi ty of variants and the volatility of volumes with an agile way of manufacturing This is another area in which we must drive digitalization and automation as keys to fl exible and sustainable production Schaeffl er for instance does this in the research project AgiloDrive2 for e motors In this proj ect that s funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Aff airs and Climate Protection we are the leader of the consortium and engaged in ex changes with 17 partners It was launched at the end of 2021 for a term of three years Following its completion we plan to transfer the fi ndings gained from this project directly into electric mo tor production at our Bühl location There at the headquarters of the Automotive Technologies di vision a state of the art globally leading pio neering plant for manufacturing electric motors is being established What makes this e motor factory a globally lead ing pioneering plant as you call it in this area Instead of rigid production lines we emphasize highly fl exible digitized and effi cient technolo gy modules there In the spirit of a plug and pro duce approach they re easily scalable can be fl exibly confi gured thanks to standardized ma chine connections hardware and software inter faces and enable software based interlinking and setup The modular design of the machines allows for a reutilization of the production equipment which is not only economical but also sustainable In all of this the fact that we can directly draw on a lot of know how with our in house special ma chinery engineering unit is a major advantage But of course such forward thinking produc tion facilities are not just about machines but also about people With new qualifi cation methods we plan to facilitate and accelerate the learning pro cess for our colleagues working there Let s get back from manufacturing to the motors themselves once more With IC engines engine power per unit cc and effi ciency have made major leaps in the course of time Can we expect that to be the case with e motors too These propulsion systems and their evolution cannot be compared as easily as that With ICE systems the propulsion power is almost exclu sively focused on the engine In electric cars it s important to always look at the entire electrical Whether in double clutch transmissions hybrid transmissions rear axle steering systems in thermal management or in seat adjustment mechanisms Electric motors are used in many places on modern vehicles and not only there aside from the powertrain The motors we re referring to are brushless EC motors In Bühl Schaeffl er is now producing these multitalented devices in house for use in a mass produced hydrostatic clutch actuator The motor serves to generate the pressure required to actuate the clutch EC motors are defi nitely all rounders and have become indispensable in modern vehicles says Dr Jochen Schröder President of Schaeffl er s E Mobility Division in Bühl because compared to motors with mechanical sliding contacts brushless EC motors have clearly longer life spans deliver higher effi ciency as well as clearly more reliable service The abbreviation EC stands for electronically commutated i e the electronic alternation of voltage from one motor winding to the next Key component for numerous applications to any specific technologies Besides that our customers are asking themselves those ques tions as well At Schaeffler not least due to our determination of being our customers preferred automotive supplier we regard offering power ful solutions in all segments as an obligation to some extent Doesn t the ability to off er such a wide and vari able product range also pose a manufacturing challenge 018

Hinweis: Dies ist eine maschinenlesbare No-Flash Ansicht.
Klicken Sie hier um zur Online-Version zu gelangen.