The Marquardt Group, manufacturer of mechatronic control elements and authorization systems for automotive, mobile machinery and other application areas, is introducing 'The Hermes Standard' throughout its production, using SELMA-SMEMA Hermes Bridge from Scheid IT in Laichingen.
With its product portfolio, the family-owned company Marquardt is one of the world's leading experts in mechatronics, electromobility and digital networking. The product portfolio ranges from control elements, switches, driving authorization systems, lighting and battery management systems in the automotive sector as well as numerous innovations in other areas such as trucks, off-road, power tools, household appliances, domestic technology & HVAC, cleaning technology, medical technology, garden tools and drive technology.
The wide-ranging field of activity requires a great deal of flexibility in the production processes. With the introduction of the IPC-HERMES-9852 standard, it is now possible to pass PCB-related data from machine to machine within electronics production via an open protocol based on TCP/IP and XML data. The previously used SMEMA standard is being replaced.
Many manufacturers of production equipment for SMT production have long been offering machines that have already integrated Hermes. However, this only applies to new acquisitions. This is why Scheid IT has developed the SELMA-SMEMA Hermes Bridge product. It can help to close the gap caused by machines that are not Hermes-capable. Selma communicates with non-Hermes-capable devices via SMEMA and converts these signals into Hermes telegrams. This makes it possible to switch to the Hermes standard without having to replace all production equipment.
"We are now able to exchange data seamlessly and loss-free across the entire SMT line. The entire production process is transparent and traceable. Electronic assemblies can thus be manufactured more efficiently and cost-effectively - the right step towards Industry 4.0," says Holger Gerst, process technologist at Marquardt's headquarters in Rietheim-Weilheim.
