(Siemens: Plano, TX) -- Siemens, a leading technology company, and SuperTrak CONVEYANCE, a market leader in linear motion conveyance, announced a new strategic collaboration to maximize product range and machine throughput, shortening cycle time for machine building and manufacturing customers.

The companies partnered to offer the market a smart conveyance system that can be installed as a transport technology on production machines—and it’s also integrated in the TIA portal. The carriers are powered by linear motors and move flexibly between stations during the production process.

The SuperTrak Horizon3 closed-loop magnetic transport system enables high-performance, cost-effective, and space-saving machine designs for manufacturers. By combining the mechatronic system with Siemens’ Simatic controller and motion-control functionalities of the TIA portal, all components work together seamlessly to help machine builders achieve optimal conveyance solutions.

Connecting the SuperTrak CONVEYANCE platform to the TIA portal enables end users to easily implement synchronized motion tasks.

Rainer Brehm, CEO of factory automation at Siemens, says, “By leveraging Siemens’ strengths in automation and digitalization alongside SuperTrak CONVEYANCE’s expertise in smart conveyance, we’ll help solve the manufacturing challenges our customers face on a daily basis. Together we’re enabling manufacturers to build and deploy high-performing and innovative automation and transport systems that increase throughput and reduce operational costs.”

Ben Hope, director of product commercialization at SuperTrak CONVEYANCE, says, “Smart conveyance enables a more effective process design that helps machine builders and manufacturers achieve higher performance in a smaller footprint. Combining that with full integration in the TIA portal, users can now utilize our technology together with Siemens’ motion-control tools.”

Siemens Xcelerator: Reducing engineering complexity for machine builders

Combining Siemens’ hardware and software solutions from the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio with the SuperTrak CONVEYANCE system yields a fully integrated, demand-oriented conveyance solution. The closed-loop linear transport system offers a variety of layout options. It’s designed for smaller payloads and products and can carry up to 3 kg per shuttle. The carrier pitch is reduced to a minimum size of 50 mm, allowing objects to be handled at high speed in a much closer range to achieve the high throughput numbers required by packaging customers.

Connecting the SuperTrak CONVEYANCE platform with the Siemens TIA portal and integrating it in the Simatic S7-1500T controller allows users to easily implement synchronized motion tasks with additional motion-control axes by using real-time communication. Each shuttle can be controlled independently through the use of technology objects in TIA portal. Technology objects enable different motion sequences, such as grouping of multiple shuttles or clamping a product between two shuttles for a filling process.

A 3D simulation and animation of the system’s production process and shuttle workflow provides machine builders with valuable insights into the ideal layout of the system, required shuttle numbers, and throughput figures.

The SuperTrak CONVEYANCE system with Siemens automation helps machine builders and manufacturers increase productivity and product quality so they can remain competitive while simplifying and reducing engineering effort.