The engineer with the system concept
An inside look: Matthias Meyering, Head of System Integration at STOBER Antriebstechnik.
The SB6 from STOBER is a full-featured drive controller with impressive control performance. Thanks to its high level of flexibility and functionality, the compact stand-alone device can also greatly reduce the amount of control and therefore development work required. This makes the solution particularly suitable for mechanical engineers who often have to customize systems for their customers. One of the masterminds behind this development is Matthias Meyering, Head of System Integration. His task: merging the world of mechanics with electronics.
Pforzheim, Germany, 27/03/2025 – In order to adapt systems to specific customer requirements, mechanical engineers use a wide variety of components depending on the application, such as analog and digital inputs and outputs. The control system then has to evaluate these signals, which entails considerable additional work in the controller programming. “It would be much easier if we could relieve the controller in these cases and only assign standardized tasks to it in order to reduce this work,” explains Matthias Meyering, Head of System Integration at STÖBER Antriebstechnik. “We can do this using drive controllers to control the movements of each component individually.” The new SB6 drive controller, a stand-alone device with an integrated power supply, offers the complete functionality of drive-based motion control for this purpose. “The drive controller is suitable for machines with up to four axes and low to medium power,” explains Meyering, the clever mind behind this innovation.
The developer
Matthias Meyering has been with the company for 24 years. What does the trained electrical engineer appreciate about his work at the medium-sized drive specialist in Pforzheim? “I think we are simply a bit more flexible than other suppliers. This gives us more opportunities to develop the right solution. That’s what makes us so successful,” he says. Because no two orders are the same, so every solution is unique. Meyering started at STOBER as the head of Application Technology, and a few years later he was responsible for Product Management for electronics. He has been the Head of System Integration for almost two years. What does that mean? “The electronics have to work hand-in-hand with the mechanics. In my role, I see myself as the link between these two disciplines,” explains the STOBER expert. Together with his department, he guarantees that new developments, like the SB6 drive controller, really work.
With this drive controller, STOBER rounds off its portfolio primarily for drive-based motion control. The SB6 features outstanding control performance. In addition, the numerous applications and interfaces reduce the control effort and simplify the work of mechanical engineers considerably. “During development, it was important to us that, above all, customer-specific applications can be implemented flexibly and that the drive controller can map as many interfaces as possible. The new SB6 offers the full range,” says Meyering.
Clever distribution of work
The basic device alone has four digital and one analog input. This in itself is able to reduce the load on a controller by reading in an analog input signal via the drive controller instead of via an additional input/output module of the controller. Certain motion commands can also be stored in the SB6, for example. The controller can therefore focus on recipe management.
Thanks to its compact dimensions, the new device also fits into control cabinets at the extremely low installation depth of 210 millimeters. The drive controller can optionally be equipped with an operating unit consisting of a display and keyboard.
The motor data is parameterized via an electronic nameplate, which is available digitally. For fast, automated commissioning and rapid servicing, an SD card can simply be inserted into the drive controller as an application memory.
“We placed a lot of importance on the fact that users have an open choice of controller,” adds Meyering. The Ethernet-based EtherCAT and PROFINET fieldbus systems are available in the STOBER drive controller as firmware-based variants. With the CiA 402 or PROFIdrive device profiles, the SB6 can be seamlessly integrated into drive controller- or controller-based motion solutions. The STO (Safe Torque Off) and SS1 (Safe Stop 1) safety functions are integrated into the drive controllers, which are also certified in this series for PL e, category 4 in accordance with EN 13849-1 and can be used without function tests that interrupt production. Solutions with digital inputs, Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE) and PROFIsafe are available for controlling the safety functions.
Both linear and rotational synchronous servo motors and Lean motors can be controlled with the new SB6. In order to connect the drive controllers with the synchronous servo motors reliably, STOBER supplied its One Cable Solution (OCS), which the drive specialist has further developed with encoder manufacturer HEIDENHAIN. Thanks to the future-proof HEIDENHAIN EnDat 3 protocol, the hybrid cable can reliably connect motors and drive controllers at a distance of up to 100 meters. Its special feature is that it transmits signals from the motor to the drive controller at a distance of up to 50 meters, without errors or expensive output chokes. “So instead of using two lines, one for transmitting encoder data and one for the electrical power, we use just one hybrid cable, which saves a significant amount of space, especially for use in cable carriers,” says Meyering. “Our new SB6 offers companies a complete system consisting of a drive controller, synchronous servo motor and the appropriate cable, which prevents interface problems, for example.”
Additional analog and digital inputs and outputs as well as additional encoder connections can be added to the drive controller via a terminal module. “Our SB6 is a full-featured single-axis stand-alone drive controller that offers all these possibilities and combines a high degree of flexibility with functionality,” says Meyering in summary.
Captions:
Photo credits: STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG
You can find high-resolution image material for downloading here and here.
Contact data for country-specific publication:
| Germany: | Austria: |
| STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG Kieselbronner Str. 12 75177 Pforzheim, Germany Phone: +49 7231 582-0 sales@stoeber.de www.stoeber.de/en/ | STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH Hauptstraße 41a 4663 Laakirchen, Austria Phone: +43 7613 7600-0 sales@stoeber.at www.stoeber.at |
Media contact/Market overviews:
STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG
Silvia Feder Kieselbronner Str. 12
75177 Pforzheim│Germany
Phone: +49 7231 582-1660
silvia.feder@stoeber.de
www.stoeber.de/en/
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STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG
Solveig Moll
Kieselbronner Str. 12
Phone: +49 7231 582-1183
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www.stoeber.de/en/
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