esiBlog – esitron

Machine Concepts Without Control Cabinets for the Hygiene Sector – Compact Drives in Hygienic Design

Annett Graupner — Tue, 05 May 2026 07:35:44 +0000

Until now, the only practical solution for this combination of requirements was to use a control cabinet controller and a corresponding control cabinet, or alternatively to position the drive units next to the machine or conveyor belt behind a protective enclosure. In other words, today you either install the compact drive outside the hygienic area or mount the controller in the control…

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Fun with Drives! No. 8: Decentralized vs. Centralized Servo Controllers

Annett Graupner — Thu, 07 May 2026 07:59:27 +0000

In a nutshell: Decentralized drive controllers offer the following advantages: ✔️Modularity ✔️Lower total cost (fewer cables, no control cabinet) ✔️Less cabling required ✔️Easier scalability Compact drives (i.e., motors with controllers) offer significant advantages, particularly in applications involving long cable runs, modular systems, and production lines—and especially when control…

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Fun with Drives! No. 7: Bus systems

Annett Graupner — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 08:09:14 +0000

A simplified view – geographically: 🗺️ North America → EtherNet/IP, Modbus, and also PROFINET in some cases Europe → PROFINET, EtherCAT, Sercos, Powerlink, CANopen Asia → CC-Link Interesting observation: Many bus systems have emerged around strong automation ecosystems (e.g., Siemens, Rockwell, Beckhoff, Bosch Rexroth, B&R, or Mitsubishi). Of course, the reality today is much…

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Fun with Drives! No. 6: Suspenders-and-Belts Law

Annett Graupner — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 08:40:43 +0000

Or mathematically: Let… S = safety factor Ing = number of engineers involved in a drive design then: S is proportional to |Ing| where… |Ing| = cardinality of I (number of engineers) What do I mean by that? 🙂 In fact, a safety factor is added every time a required performance is specified. The person who calculates it at the machine manufacturer, the person who requests it…

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Fun with Drives! No. 5: Strokes or bits—what matters in encoders?

Annett Graupner — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 08:01:31 +0000

If a manufacturer says they have a 30-bit system, isn’t that great? I’m talking about 1,073,741,824 positions. If that’s not accurate, I don’t know what is. Hmm… maybe not. Because if the encoder only has a few lines—128, for example—the system still won’t be able to position accurately. Why? Because it essentially depends on the number of lines and not the number of bits.

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Fun with Drives! No. 4: Permanent magnet brakes – rated torque vs. “real” holding torque!?

Annett Graupner — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 08:19:11 +0000

And what was the first thing you did when you drove off again? That’s right, you probably applied the brakes a little harder—to “brake” the layer of rust off the pads. And exactly the same phenomenon occurs with holding brakes for electric motors – for example, permanent magnet brakes. In practice, this results in the following: The nominal braking torque of a brake does not always…

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Fun with Drives! No. 3: Is a BLDC the same as a servo motor—or not?

Annett Graupner — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 09:25:44 +0000

So: Yes, it’s the same thing. If you look at the motor side, both variants have the same design: permanent magnets in the rotor and a corresponding stator winding – distributed winding, tooth winding, etc. So where do the two terms actually come from? 🤔 BLDC is used more commonly for simpler motors, originally as a replacement for brush motors. A simpler, often integrated 4-quadrant controller or…

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Fun with Drives! No. 2: Pimp your Drive -> 3 levers to tune up a drive

Annett Graupner — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 10:10:09 +0000

Today I have three insider tips for you: each one will increase performance by around 20%—without improving the motor. 🤯 bient temperature to 20 degrees Celsius. 2️⃣ Neglect/ignore gear derating. 3️⃣ ISO H rating (allow 180 degrees at the winding). Don’t get me wrong. There are cases where it makes sense to limit the ambient temperature. But then please state this openly and don’t hide it in…

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Fun with Drives! No. 1: Data Sheet Topic

Annett Graupner — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 11:16:27 +0000

If you want to classify and compare motors, you must ensure that the data is specified for the same heating of the winding. Heating of 100K (K=Kelvin) at the winding is standard. However, there are also other specifications, e.g., 120K. In this case, the data is no longer truly comparable. Drive hack: When looking at data sheets, pay attention to the same heating of the winding (Delta K).

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Fun with Drives! The new video format from Managing Director Andreas Vonderschmidt

Annett Graupner — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 08:21:03 +0000

Fun with Drives is what this new format is all about—published on LinkedIn, but also available here on the esiBlog. Andreas Vonderschmidt is less concerned with the basics and more with specialist knowledge, “secret” knowledge, and specific drive hacks. Objective: How do you find the best drive solution? What questions do you need to ask, and more importantly, what do you need to know in…

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