SEW-EURODRIVE Interviews Qimarox

Recently SEW-EURODRIVE interviewed one of our engineers. Read the result of the interview below.

Compact, space-saving control cabinets and only two cables for communication and power supply gave this customer the possibility to quickly commission the newly delivered drives with less space. By chance, the machine supplier was aware of SEW-EURODRIVE's decentralized technologies and products. Qimarox has been using these himself for years, allowing the company to design, build, test, de-install, and deliver quickly.

Lego blocks    

Berry Jansen, a software engineer at R&D, has been working at Qimarox for 15 years and he examined the entire manufacturing process of the company, with a special focus on standardization and making modular and reusable products. “We want to build modularly, increasing the reusability of system components and reducing lead times. Hence, decentralized technology is of interest to us. This fits in with our strategy to build a system with 'Lego blocks'. The customer wants to get the missing Lego blocks from us.” Qimarox, therefore, supplies them with its modules. “With our broad product range, together with our partners (OEMs and system integrators) we can reach and serve every end-user - anywhere in the world. Because of the standardization of all our products, a machine can always be configured quickly - customer-specific. And our partners don't have to develop anything themselves.”

The advantages of decentralized technology

“What's in the control cabinet is now practically always the same,” says Jansen. “Then it becomes a fixed cost, the calculation is faster and it remains clear and simple for customers. That's not the only advantage. Better testing is possible since the 'Lego blocks' are already completely wired and these modules can be tested without a control cabinet. This saves time in the start-up phase. In addition, the learning curve for integrators is also lower, because they get a complete set. In short, they only need to set the scope of size and weight or the transmission ratio. Also, exchanging parts is easier."

And this is not all. In terms of size, the control cabinet is only a quarter of the size of the control cabinet in central installations, about 1 m wide instead of 4 to 5 m. Jansen: “And we can save an average of 75% on cables. For the palletizer, we now only need 10 cables instead of 40. This results in substantial savings in installation hours and cable material, especially when it comes to shielded cables, also in context of the electromagnetic compatibility.

Cooperation with SEW-EURODRIVE

The cooperation with SEW-EURODRIVE dates back to the beginning. Jansen: “The first machines we manufactured were equipped with SEW drives. SEW has proven itself as a reliable partner due to the good service and active thinking about solutions within our sector. Since Qimarox delivers worldwide, it is important that a partner like SEW does the same and can support when needed."

Decentralized technology was not invented by SEW-EURODRIVE, but SEW, thanks to years of experience and extensive knowledge, has developed products that allow machine builders and manufacturers to make production lines ever faster and cheaper.

Lowrunner LR3

A well-known product is the Lowrunner LR3, a compact palletizing cell that can handle a wide variety of products. Because of the unique way of layer-forming - placing products in a layer - almost all patterns can be made. The machine sets itself up fully automatically. Existing patterns can also be modified through HMI (human-machine interface). But the user can also create completely new patterns by simply entering the product dimensions after which the software generates several patterns. The user chooses his preferred pattern and the machine will then process the products according to this pattern. All is done without the intervention of a programmer.

Lowrunner LR3 Palletizer made by Qimarox

Ambitions

Qimarox has great ambitions. As the market leader, the company intends to continue its growth in the field of vertical conveyors and significantly increase its market share for palletizers.

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Jansen: “We will also continue to work on broadening our product portfolio. Key concepts are innovation, standardization, improvements in width, more widely deployable machines, and capacity expansion to be able to offer more added value, especially in intralogistics. Standardization ensures quality for the user and makes our products available worldwide at the best price. Cooperation with local integration partners ensures the desired support."