IN CONVERSATION WITH THE TWO MANAGING DIRECTORS OF ESITRON-ELECTRONIC GMBH: SAURABH BASU AND DENNIS RAISER

Aspects, facts, future perspectives of the SME on Lake Constance in the field of drive and automation technology

esitron manufactures solutions for drive and positioning technology. They offer an automation system consisting of a controller, servo drives and servo amplifiers with a programmable (web) control panel and large LED display. Key word: potential of sophisticated positioning and automation products - where is esitron headed?

Individual solutions instead of from the standard portfolio, that was and remains the credo of esitron-electronic GmbH.

All versions of the decentralized servo drives with integrated controller from esitron can be connected to a wide variety of fieldbuses. These include Profibus-DP, ProfiNet, CANopen and EtherCAT. Alternatively, up to 15 PLC programs can be stored in the motor, which means that the esiMot can be operated in stand-alone mode.

The Safe Torque Off (STO) safety function can be configured for each motor. This means that a modern security concept can also be implemented in a decentralized manner. Category 3 and performance level e can be achieved with the STO function. The eight digital inputs and two digital outputs can take on internal functions such as limit switches or "ready for operation", or they can be used as decentralized I/Os. The intelligent "all-in-one" design is particularly suitable for complete decentralized solutions. The wide series of 70 W rated power with 24 V DC supply up to a motor power of 4.4 kW (S3) and direct 230 V / 400 V AC mains feed opens up a diverse range of applications. Optionally, there are multiturn absolute encoders, holding brakes or an ATEX-compatible version for zones 2 and 22. Protection class IP65 is standard.

Within a production plant, it is more and more about the implementation in the smallest space and clarity in the control cabinets. How do you see the further development on the market and the challenges of the future?

The direct 230 V or 400 V supply of the larger esitron drives (esiMotXL, esiMotSL) means that there is no bulky feeder module in the control cabinet. In short: no heating and also no space requirement in the control cabinet! It is possible to connect external encoders for applications subject to slip. We offer customer-specific variants from 50 pieces per year, as well as software adaptations according to customer requirements.

The drive technology from esitron stands for German workmanship, for durability and high adaptability to a large number of machines and systems in the field of positioning and automation. How do you assess the life cycle, the maintenance effort and the repair conditions, e.g. for your bestseller, the servo motors of the esiMot series?

We have an operating hours counter for this that not only records the undercurrent time, but also the actual movement, which is important for the gearbox and attached mechanics. Looking to the future, the next engine generation should also be able to make this data available to a cloud.

Keywords efficiency, resilience and sustainability: How would you classify esitron products?

Of course, our greatest interest is to deliver components for machines and systems that work with the highest precision, show little material fatigue and have a long service life. Customer satisfaction is very important to us. We are proud of many long-term cooperations and lasting business relationships. Our customers appreciate the high quality that goes into our products.

We are able to repair drive technology that is up to 10 years old or to supply a functionally compatible successor model. A repair is always under the aspect of economy and sustainability - we leave this decision to our customers.

How do you deal with bottlenecks in the supply chain?

In the more than 30 years that esitron-electronic GmbH has been on the market, we have always practiced long-term material planning. But we are also reaching our limits and cannot keep everything we need for our large number of products in stock. Nevertheless, we have a high delivery reliability, which we want to maintain in the coming years. We have already placed orders with our suppliers for 2024 and 2025, so that they too can plan for the long term. We work very closely with our suppliers to involve them in the procurement process. This is the only way to create long-term cooperation based on solid trust.

The past year has also shown how flexible our team is. We are technically and practically adaptable enough to replace hard-to-find components, such as those used in our servo drives, with alternative currently available units. This is one of the reasons why we managed to maintain our very good delivery performance.