AMK Drives & Controls Ltd (AMK) is a family- owned company with headquarters in Kirchheim/Teck, Germany. The mother company has been one of the market and technology leaders in the electric drive technology, control technology, industrial automation engineering, and automotive areas for more than five decades.

For more than 12 years, the company has used product lifecycle management (PLM) specialist Siemens Digital Industries Software’s Solid Edge® software as its corporate product design platform. AMK chose Solid Edge because the company required compatibility between file formats and easy transfer of data. As a result, there is no need for the bidirectional conversion of files to and from other computer-aided design (CAD) systems and, therefore, no loss of data. At the same time, it saves central processing unit (CPU) time and engineering work.

For the purposes of manufacturing, Solid Edge is used for 3D design of asynchronous motors and other devices and instruments that are necessary for improving machinery and available equipment. By creating 3D models for all components, AMK is able to significantly expedite the computer simulation and assembly of various options and the creation of detailed drawings for manufacturing. Generated drawings are also stored in the manufacturing management system and are used for production management, enabling accurate and updated versions of documentation and specifications, eliminating the possibility of producing products with old revisions.

As an example of the kind of projects AMK takes on, the company developed and implemented the manufacturing of electric hoist and crane motors involving more than 60 types of asynchronous motors with power from 5 to 37 kilowatts (kW).

Using Solid Edge allows AMK to participate in a variety of engineering projects because it can quickly respond to customer needs by adding options for engines, such as encoder (speed and/or position control), forced cooling and nonstandard mounting dimensions.

Some of the tasks are assigned by the headquarters in Germany, and then implemented at the customer location. In the AMK Development Department, the hardware, controllers and servo-drives designed using 3D CAD systems of a third party must be exported to Solid Edge, where the final product is constructed. This includes the latest developments in the field of engineering associated with laser equipment.

AMK also participates in projects as a sub-contractor, helping to develop a wide range of innovative products, including the wave maker for applied research in the fields of ship hydrodynamics, shipping and ocean engineering; modules of automated assembly lines for engines and radiators for some of the world’s leading carmakers; labeling machines for yarn balls; and specialized lathes for making fishing floats. More often than not, these are unique projects that do not offer the option to re-use data. However, by using the synchronous technology capability of Solid Edge, AMK can meet tight deadlines for the design, which provides an appreciable advantage over its competitors.