APMEN interviewed Prof Dr Tim Hosenfeldt, senior VP, corporate innovation, Schaeffler, on the importance of material choice and the application of smart materials in the manufacturing and production sector.

Companies produce large volumes of data every day and this volume continues to increase. By Bert Rosenheinrich, director, engineering, SEA, Schaeffler.

Schaeffler presented solutions for digitalised production and machine monitoring with its ‘Drive Train 4.0 technology exhibition’ at Hannover Messe 2016. These solutions are part of the company’s drive towards predictive maintenance 4.0.

Smart factories are an important spoke in a future decentralised society. Tools are being developed to help accelerate productivity and lower costs. Contributed by Cecilia Tan, marketing and communications manager, Schaeffler (Singapore)

After a nine-year construction period, the new, third channel of the Panama Canal has opened to allow ships with a maximum length of 366 metres and a width of around 50 metres travel this shortcut between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Until now, the passage was restricted to ships that were no more than 290 metres long and 32 metres wide. Bearing solutions from Schaeffler keep the lock gates and valves moving.

Schaeffler’s FAG SmartQB is a ready-to-use monitoring solution for detecting irregularities in electric motors, pumps, and fans. Easy to install, it does not require any specific knowledge about vibration diagnosis. It features an automatically generated plain text messages on the 7-inch display.

With more autonomy to the Southeast Asian operations, Schaeffler hopes to get a further foothold in the region with its offerings. Syed Shah speaks to Mark Gabel, VP industrial and aerospace, Schaeffler Southeast Asia, to get his inputs on the company’s plans and directions for the region in 2016 and beyond.

Schaeffler has developed the MTKUSE telescopic actuator for secondary axes such as in pick-and-place applications or for tool transfer. Three precision linear ball bearing and guideway assemblies are arranged on top of one another, making the possible travel distance more than twice that of the basic actuator.

Within the next decade or so, the machine floor will see connectivity reach new heights with immense amounts of data being driven through networks and on demand – at the touch of a finger. Article contributed by Schaeffler Technologies AG.

Schaeffler has received one of the coveted gold awards in the category value analysis from Toyota Motor Europe. All suppliers are requested to identify cost and quality potential for volume-production products annually in accordance with the Kaizen philosophy.