Controller
Putting safety at the forefront
At the SPS trade fair in Nuremberg Stober presented four new products in addition to efficient drive solutions.
At SPS, Stober showcased the new SB6 drive controller, which is suitable for applications with one to four axes for small and medium-sized companies. The new stand-alone solution packs numerous functions into one space-saving unit. It minimizes the control effort needed considerably. Thanks to its compact dimensions, it fits into control cabinets at an installation depth as low as 210 millimeters. On request, Stober can equip the SB6 with an operating unit. All safety functions can be used up to SIL 3 PL e (cat. 4). Both linear as well as rotational synchronous servo, lean and asynchronous motors can be controlled. Commissioning is made easier by an SD card as the application memory, which can simply be plugged into the SB6. Another special feature is the number of digital and analog inputs and outputs. This Stober drive controller thus offers a full functional range.
In Nuremberg, visitors had also the opportunity to find out more about the tried-and-tested 6th generation of SC6 and SI6 drive controllers. The SC6 is a compact stand-alone controller for up to two drive axes with nominal output currents of up to 19 A. The SI6 is also slim, dynamic and suitable for multi-axis drive systems, with nominal output currents of up to 50 A. Tasks with more than four axes, such as in packaging systems, can thus be solved economically. In cooperation with Pilz GmbH, Stober has developed the SX6 safety module for both controllers, taking the safety level to new heights, in line with the motto “Level up Your Safety”. Controllers can be used in safety-relevant applications up to SIL 3, PL e (category 4) in accordance with DIN 61800-5-2 or DIN EN ISO 13849-1. Among other things, Stober has revised the switch-off channel of the Safe Torque Off (STO) stop function. At 20 milliseconds, this is now even faster than products from market competitors. The short worst case response time allows for minimized safety distances. The SX6 module also offers the option of automating commissioning using an optional SD card.
Another exhibit was the KS helical bevel gear unit, which Stober now offers in both a one- and two-stage version, in keeping with the motto “Power without Compromise”. The series features robust bearing technology and high-quality gearing. This makes KS gear units extremely resilient and tilt-resistant. Compared to the two-stage variant, the one-stage version enables significantly higher speeds at the output and a larger gear ratio range of 200 to 400. The gear units can also be directly attached to different Stober motors. Thanks to the space-saving drive, engineers benefit from a lower weight, more torque and, as a result, increased power density. The mass moment of inertia of the gear unit is lower due to the absence of the motor adapter, meaning that the full dynamics of the drive can be used.
Stober presented newly developed gear racks with twice the number of fastening bores. They feature a screw connection bore every 62.5 millimeters instead of every 125 millimeters as usual. This doubles the contact pressure of the component on the machine body. Pinning is not necessary, but remains an option thanks to the existing bores. This ensures increased safety and maximum ease of installation.
What’s more, in cooperation with Siemens, the drive specialist showed its full connectivity with Siemens Motion solutions using a digital twin. In order to be able to implement even complex applications, Stober supports drive connection via PROFIdrive and with PROFIsafe. The model includes various components from the drive specialist, such as helical bevel and planetary geared motors as well as the SC6 and SI6 series drive controllers. Siemens supplied the necessary software for the provision of CAD data and for the actual simulation, which is shown on a separate display.