Innovative drive solutions for the digital revolution

Intelligent drive technology is the prerequisite for digitalisation and automation of production, because it
enables networked or autonomous production processes in “smart factories” and keeps them running. As a
leading supplier in the sector, NORD DRIVESYSTEMS provides pioneering drive solutions (hardware and
software) and supports customers with its communication and application know-how for networking and
connection of their Industry 4.0 environments.


Intelligent, networked drives from NORD enable continuous condition monitoring and therefore form the
basis for predictive maintenance
NORD DRIVESYSTEMS has the drive units of the future and provides its customers with intelligent
digitalised production with advanced maintenance concepts and new services. All NORD drives are Industry
4.0 READY and can be directly integrated as active components in Industry 4.0 environments throughout the
world. The prerequisites for this are the internal PLC as decentralised intelligence and the extensive range of
communication options. The drive units are compatible with all common field buses and Ethernet-based
protocols and provide analogue and digital interfaces for sensors and actuators. Thanks to the integrated
PLC in the drive electronics they can provide autonomous control of sequences and movements and reduce
the load on the central control system. As well as this, the drive systems are scalable, so that they can be
individually adapted to the automation application with regard to complexity, quantity and size. NORD drives
are prepared for integration into a cloud and can be connected to various external cloud systems.

Action instead of reaction
Fast, efficient and comprehensive evaluation of analogue and digital data by the intelligent PLC in the drive
electronics forms the basis for modern maintenance and servicing concepts such as condition monitoring
and predictive maintenance. Due to continuous monitoring of the field level, linking of communication,
sensors, process data and vital parameters of the drive, deviations from the normal state can be quickly
detected. Drive operators therefore have the possibility of responding in good time before damage or
breakdowns occur. Condition-oriented maintenance replaces time-based maintenance. This results in many
benefits for users such as an increase in plant availability, prevention of unscheduled down times, improved
planning of service and maintenance as well as a significant reduction in maintenance and repair costs.
Virtual sensors
At present NORD is investigating sensorless monitoring of oil ageing and the condition of geared motors with
virtual sensors. The aim is a predictive maintenance concept which determines the optimum oil change and
maintenance intervals for each individual geared motor, oriented to the actual condition of the geared motor
and the gear oil. For this, intelligent algorithms evaluate the operating data of the frequency inverter and
determine the oil temperature from this information. Without the hardware costs for external sensors, oil

ageing and the optimum time for replacing the gear unit lubricant can be determined with great reliability.
Tests have shown that the oil temperature as measured in tests can be reliably calculated.
NORD application test area
NORD DRIVESYSTEMS demonstrates the function and opportunities of predictive maintenance, virtual
sensors, drive networking and other Industry 4.0 concepts to its customers in its in-house application test
area at its headquarters in Bargteheide near Hamburg. With the scalable system a large variety of operating
modes and operating states can be tested in real time. Geared motors and frequency inverters can be
examined or algorithms can be tested and validated under real-life conditions.
Thanks to the integrated PLC, the NORD: drives can form master-slave groups, which communicate with
each other intelligently and take on independent control tasks
The NORD DRIVESYSTEMS application test area consists of an oval conveyor belt with rising and falling
sections, as well as a bypass section with input and discharge points from the main route

Meta title:
NORD: Innovative drive solutions for the digital revolution
Meta description:
Networked, autonomous, scalable – intelligent drive technology from NORD DRIVESYSTEMS is Industry 4.0
READY to power smart factories. More!
Keywords: NORD DRIVESYSTEMS, drive, drives, drive technology, drive solution, drive solutions, gear
unit, geared motor, frequency inverter, Industry 4.0, digitalisation, digital revolution, smart factory, PLC,
intelligent drives, decentralised intelligence, decentralisation, condition monitoring, predictive maintenance,
virtual sensors, application test area

Deeplinks:
https://www.nord.com/cms/media/documents/bw/S6060_DE_0218_Screen.pdf
https://www.nord.com/cms/de/product_catalogue/drive_electronics/decentral_drive_solutions_1/pdop_decent
ral_drive_solutions.jsp
https://www.nord.com/cms/en/solutions/future_trends/industrie_40/customer_benefit/cp_kundennutzen_nord
_predictive_maintenance.jsp

Social media
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/getriebebau-nord-gmbh-&-co-kg/
LinkedIn links: @Getriebebau NORD GmbH & Co. KG
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NORD_Drive
Twitter links: @NORD_Drive
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/NORDDRIVESYSTEMS

About NORD DRIVESYSTEMS
With more than 3,900 employees, NORD DRIVESYSTEMS has been developing, producing and selling
drive technology for over 50 years, and is one of the leading global full-service providers in the industry. In
addition to standard drives, NORD delivers application-specific concepts and solutions for special
requirements such as energy-saving drives or explosion-protected systems. In the 2017 financial year annual
sales amounted to 630 million Euros. NORD now has subsidiaries and sales partners in 89 countries
worldwide. The extensive sales and service network guarantees optimal availability, enabling short delivery
times and customer-oriented service. NORD produces a very diverse range of drives for torques from 10 Nm
up to over 250 kNm, provides electric motors in the power range of 0.12 kW to 1,000 kW, and manufactures
frequency inverters with the required power electronics of up to 160 kW. Inverter solutions are available for
conventional control cabinet installations as well as for decentralised, fully-integrated drive units.
www.nord.com