As supply chain disruptions put manufacturing procurement departments under strain, it has never been more crucial to select reliable suppliers. What machinery OEMs should look for in a drive technology supplier is covered here, with commentary from Nigel Evans, Sumitomo Drive Technologies EMEIA Marcoms Manager.
An essential KPI for manufacturing procurement departments is minimising the number of approved suppliers without negatively impacting the supply of critical components and services. This is particularly important for machinery OEMs that need to consistently deliver a first-class customer experience to end-users.
Machinery OEMs should look for the breadth of a supplier’s product portfolio, the specialist expertise of its teams, and its global presence, which enables a partnership approach that ensures smooth supply and repeatable quality for all aspects of their motion control requirements.
“Suppliers need to tick a number of boxes if they want to develop close working relationships with machinery OEMs,” comments Nigel Evans, Sumitomo Drive Technologies EMEIA Marcoms Manager. “As well as supplying products which meet the customer’s technical requirements, they also need to be able to guarantee consistent product quality, standards compliance, ethical business practices, delivery lead times and technical support SLAs. Suppliers also need to demonstrate that they are financially secure with strong leadership to provide customers with peace of mind that risks to their supply chain are minimal.
“Supply chain issues can have negative knock-on effects, which can cause long-term reputational issues, selecting reliable supply partners plays a key role in helping to ensure OEMs can deliver a first-class service to their own customers and maintain their reputations.”
Sumitomo Drive Technologies, part of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, has established strategic alliances with many industry-leading machinery OEMs, delivering energy efficient, precise motion control for a huge range of operational requirements.
“Drive technologies play a critical role in a huge range of machine applications including CNC machining, automated cells, robotic arms, materials handling applications, high-speed packaging, heavy industry and process control, and energy production,” continues Nigel. “We can provide stand-alone products including gears, motors and variable frequency drives (VFDs), and our business model also enables us to provide integrated solutions that combine the very best products and technical expertise for individual customer requirements.
Gears
Sumitomo Drive Technologies offers precision gears, gearmotors and gearboxes from brands including Cyclo, Hansen Industrial Transmission, Paramax, Altax and many more.
“Our extensive product offering enables us to match the right products for individual customer needs,” continues Nigel. “This helps to make the OEM’s life easier as they have access to a vast array of product options from one supplier.”
Sumitomo Drive Technologies is the inventor of the cycloidal gear (Cyclo) which works by sharing the load across the reducer components. This makes them more compact, durable and precise than conventional cog gears. High torques, input speeds and reduction ratios can all be achieved depending on the models selected.
Cycloidal gears are used in a wide range of industries. They can be installed as compact and robust standard gears in machines and systems to create an all-round solution, or integrated into highly specialised designs for specific scenarios. They are also used as backlash-free motion control gears in robotics, machine tools and medical technologies.
Motors
Lafert Group, which became part of Sumitomo Drive Technologies in 2018, provides electric motors designed to meet the particular needs of machinery manufacturers that serve industries including woodworking, CNC machining, marble and ceramics, and glass.
In the industrial machinery sector workpieces can pass over the machining line at high speeds and are subjected to very fast operations. Quick and accurate calibration is essential to ensure the correct speed parameters, positioning, pressure exerted and synchronisation required for precise machining.
Lafert’s range includes compact, high-efficiency motors rated up to IE6, as well as a range of brushless servo motors that is one of the most complete on the market with a range of nominal torques from 0.18 to 390 Nm.
Drives
Variable frequency drives from Sumitomo Drive Technologies brand Invertek Drives are widely included as part of the standard specification in a wide variety of industrial machines. The brand-new Optidrive E4 general purpose drive includes dual-channel Safe Torque-Off (STO) to SIL3, making it the perfect choice for machinery manufacturers who need to ensure their products are compliant with the machinery directive and international product standards.
“By integrating an Optidrive E4 VFD into the machine’s design, manufacturers can be confident that their customers will benefit from precise motor control, energy efficiencies and the highest levels of safety,” comments Nigel.
Integrated Drive Technologies
Sumitomo Drive Technologies operates specialist teams throughout the world. As such, the company has access to a huge wealth of knowledge and experience that can be drawn on to solve even the most complex motion control challenges, with products that benefit from the latest technologies.
“As a manufacturer itself, Sumitomo Drive Technologies recognises the value of strong supplier partnerships,” concludes Nigel. “We don’t just act as a supplier to machinery manufacturers; we work as their motion control partner – working collaboratively with our own teams and our customers to deliver the desired levels of motion control performance for their products, benefitting both them and their end-users.”
Visit the website below to find out more about products and services offered by Sumitomo Drive Technologies throughout the EMEIA region.
