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Mechanical Technology — September 2015
⎪
Automation, mechatronics and electro-mechanical systems
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The production workflow in the automotive industry is based on just-in-time (JIT) and just-in-sequence (JIS)
processes. The scalable drive solutions from SEW Eurodrive’s Variolution
®
packages offer customers fewer
variables and suppliers during the process of setting up a new assembly line application.
Streamlining automotive manufacturing in SA
SEW-Eurodrive’s Port Elizabeth
branch manager, Francois Sieberhagen,
says that that the product offering ranges
from individual components to complete
packages and system solutions. “Leading
automotive manufacturers choose SEW-
Eurodrive because the company provides
cost-effective drive solutions that deliver
more value over the long-term. We pro‑
vide a modular design and a reduced
number of variants that increases flex‑
ibility and minimises costs.”
The company’s products most com‑
monly used in the local automotive
industry are: standard geared motors;
synchronous and asynchronous servomo‑
tors; Movidrive B application inverters;
Movifit FC decentralised standard invert‑
ers, Movipro SDC decentralised standard
inverters; and Movipro ADC decentralised
application inverters.
Sieberhagen indicates that the latest-
generation SEW-Eurodrive Variolution
packages enable automotive manufactur‑
ers to considerably reduce both the com‑
plexity of their systems as well as their
installation costs. “Our drive technology
and expert knowledge ensures maximum
productivity, energy efficiency and reli‑
ability for clients’ systems,” he continues.
Variolution is essentially ‘packaged-
selling’, whereby 80% of the package is
SEW-Eurodrive’s Port Elizabeth branch manager, Francois Sieberhagen (right) talks
about the automotive industry and the introduction of Variolution packages that enable
automotive manufacturers to considerably reduce the complexity and installation costs
of systems.
T
he automotive industry is based on ‘just-in-
time’ and ‘just-in-sequence’ processes for
material provision and production. ‘Just-
in-time’ is a methodology aimed primarily
at reducing flow times within production as well as
response times from suppliers and to customers,
while ‘just-in-sequence’ is an inventory strategy to
ensure that parts arrive at the correct point and at
the exact time of need on the assembly line.
At any assembly plant, maximum system
availability is essential as any downtime
results in high follow-up costs. SEW-
Eurodrive provides the local automo‑
tive industry with a unique product
portfolio specifically designed to
reliably meet ‘just-in-time’ and
‘just-in sequence’ requirements
of modern automotive plants.