While we specialize in legacy Indramat units, we can certainly admire the new things Rexroth Bosch is doing with IndraDrive, the successor to Indramat. Their new IndraDrive CL/ML is impressing the industry with its improved energy efficiency and safety features.
This new range of drives speaks to the same industries that Indramat has always been so great for: heavy industry like printing, packaging, plastics, and marine applications. With options from 110 kW to 4 MW, these new drives are well suited to situations where a lot of power and a lot of force are key. The higher wattage requires parallel connections of up to eight drives.
Some of the safety features are optional, so the drives can be matched to their working environment. If human workers will be in the same space, additional Safety on Board features will be needed. If there are no human operators, this is an area where you can economize.
Safe Torque Off, one of the most commonly used safety features and one of the options in the new drives, is considered a standard feature in most European markets, but in the U.S. it serves more as a differentiator for brands. Still, IHS reports that about 80% of servos currently being shipped in the U.S. include this feature, compared with fewer than half in Asian markets.
Energy efficiency is one of the strongest trends, not only in response to rising costs but also in reaction to greater demand for environmentally-friendly practices all along the supply chain for consumer goods.
The multi-watt options are another aspect of the new drive that should appeal to buyers. As more complex tasks require more individual servomotors to provide ever-growing levels of precision, this new family of electric drives will offer the flexibility needed.
Indramat has always been an innovator. The new products show that this hasn’t changed.