A look behind the scenes: All set for the launch of the new Ecodesign Directive

The new Ecodesign Directive was launched just in time for July 1, 2021. Much of the drive technology used in machinery must now meet higher energy efficiency requirements. This is a further step towards reducing energy requirements in industry and achieving climate targets. Lenze provides support with a suitable product portfolio and tools to make machines more energy efficient. In addition to the "anniversary version" V4.11 of the drive design tool Drive Solution Designer (DSD) – which is celebrating its twentieth anniversary – the new efficient m550 motor platform is a key factor in this.  

 

The new m550

Before the launch, production at Lenze had to be prepared for the m550 motors. An international project team consisting of representatives from the European production and logistics locations in Germany, Austria, Italy and France, as well as our purchasing department, set the course for a smooth changeover to the new motors. Pre-series production started in Italy in January 2020. Austria followed in March, so that Lenze was already able to supply the first customers in May 2020. This year, the expansion of production capacities in Germany and France followed. A key success factor was the employees at the various locations, who were trained on the new product before production began.

 

Combining the tried and tested with the new

"Although the m550 is a new product from the ground up, it was possible to adopt many proven assembly processes from the old series," says Moritz Pollmann from Lenze Global Industrial Engineering, who is responsible for production of the new m550 at our Extertal plant. "In order to conserve resources, we continue to use some of the existing assembly systems, which we prepared for the new motor with minor conversion measures. In addition, however, we have also commissioned a few new assembly workstations." In the meantime, up to eighty percent of new engines are applied to the transmissions in Extertal. The team will then roll out to the remaining, international plants in fall.

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