Developing the best machines - today and tomorrow

Engineers who want to develop the best machines and systems need more than just scalable hardware components and a suitable modular software framework. They also need expertise for future-proof concepts and a range of tools tailored to the challenges of digital transformation. Under the slogan ‘Intuitive Automation’, Lenze, a machine automation specialist with seventy years of experience, showed at the past SPS IPC Drives how it can help its partners today and tomorrow support with its automation platform including the necessary tools and expert knowledge. 

What will the factory of tomorrow look like? And what requirements will the machines have to meet? These were the central questions Lenze focused on at this year's SPS IPC Drives. There, the Hamelin-based manufacturer presented innovative control and drive technology, complete automation solutions and prototypes of the latest tools for an efficient engineering process. Digitalisation and networking capabilities must be expanded for applications in the field of Industrie 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). For this, data consistency is an essential prerequisite. The basis for Lenze's automation platform is formed by open interfaces, uniform information models within the administration application framework and the use of multi-vendor standards such as OPC-UA, MQTT and OMAC/PackML. With a combination of scalable hardware, modular, integrated software and associated networking capabilities, Lenze provides everything for comprehensive Industrie 4.0 and IIoT solutions. In addition, it is possible to create individual applications for customers through Lenze's digitalisation subsidiaries, encoway and LogicLine.

The manufacturer also wanted to use the trade fair, held under the slogan ‘Smart and Digital Automation’, to demonstrate the current state of the art in digital engineering to customers.

From the shop floor to the cloud
Currently, Lenze partners and customers are already able to implement integrated data transfer from production to the cloud. But in doing so, just connecting to a network is certainly not enough - only when data is used in a meaningful way does it create added value. For OEMs, this means developing service models based on data, rethinking their business processes and advising customers on how they can benefit from Industry 4.0 and IIoT. Lenze also supports its partners in this regard. The manufacturer promotes digital transformation in the value chain through specific white papers and experts who share their knowledge with OEMs. How does this digital challenge affect business models? How can digital engineering play a role in time and cost reduction? What should one pay attention to when it comes to cybersecurity in the context of IIoT? And how can software development be founded on new principles? For Lenze, it is as important to help OEMs get the answers to these questions -the brainware- as it is to provide hardware and software.

Lenze is positioning itself as an interesting provider of machine automation and IIoT solutions for the future, taking a leading role in industrial digitalisation.

Bottom line: a chain of integrated tools
However, it is mainly the field of digital engineering that still suffers from a lack of integrated tools. This is where Lenze is active and where it is currently developing a comprehensive set of tools that will allow the information from its ‘digital twin’ to be used at all stages of the lifecycle. The manufacturer also wanted to use the trade fair, held under the slogan ‘Smart and Digital Automation’, to demonstrate and discuss the current state of the art in digital engineering to customers. This will allow the development of tools to be closely aligned with the market so that they become as self-explanatory as possible - in other words, intuitive. Lenze is thus positioning itself as an interesting provider of machine automation and IIoT solutions for the future, taking a leading role in industrial digitalisation.