Markus Bürger, Director of Studies at ESS, Gregor Wohlfart, sales representative at SEW-Eurodrive, and senior teacher Jürgen Mertens from the Mechatronics department at ESS (from left) work closely together to equip the school with didactic modules. © SEW-Eurodrive

"Around 950 pupils attend the various types of school at ESS," explains Headmaster Thomas Edinger. "Our teaching staff consists of 75 teachers who attach great importance to interdisciplinary education in their teaching activities and also encourage students to think outside the box when teaching technical skills." This approach, with which the ESS aims to impart both vocational and study skills, is confirmed by the intensive use of the ESS's technical facilities.

Under the official name "Mechatronic Center Rhine-Neckar", the school operates several workshops, various laboratories for control engineering and product development, as well as four CAD rooms and around 400 student PCs throughout the school, a carpentry workshop, an engine laboratory and even an automotive workshop. "Many of these facilities primarily benefit our technical college, which offers courses in mechanical engineering and automation technology. Because we are an integrated school association under one roof, the training facilities are also available to other types of schools and training courses," explains Thomas Edinger and confirms: "The technical equipment is used intensively."

State-of-the-art equipment

The Rhein-Neckar district is responsible for the facilities at Ehrhart-Schott-Schule. It keeps the infrastructure up to date and equips the premises to meet the demands of modern education. It is supported by a number of companies from the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region, which underlines the close links between industry and the region. "We have been working successfully with SEW-Eurodrive for more than twelve years," reports Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Markus Bürger, Director of Studies at the ESS and Production Technology Advisor at the Karlsruhe Regional Council. "During this time, an intensive and trusting partnership has developed from which both sides benefit."

In fact, the drive and automation manufacturer from Bruchsal is much more than "just" a supplier of laboratory equipment and teaching materials. The company has built up a broad didactics portfolio that covers all aspects of vocational training and qualification. "Technologically, it represents the state of the art," says Markus Bürger. "This is the best way to prepare students for their future careers, for example in project planning, design and maintenance of drive and control technology."

Blended learning

Under the slogan "Learn - Understand - Inspire", SEW-Eurodrive has developed a didactic concept that is more than just a training, teaching or learning aid. Gear unit and electromechanical modules, models and application samples are offered - accompanied by classic, but also electronic-interactive training documents that impart theoretical knowledge and prepare for practical application with exercises and calculation tasks as well as the corresponding solution instructions. The product developers for these didactic concepts from SEW-Eurodrive have understood the requirements of training - this is not about the parameterization and operation of a drive component. Instead, the technology behind the hardware is explained to the trainees in a step-by-step description.

The didactics portfolio has a modular structure. Divided into a total of seven main topics, it offers a high degree of flexibility for professional qualification and at the same time meets the different requirements that various training organizations place on SEW-Eurodrive. Regardless of the individual didactic configuration, the concept is always based on two pillars: the presentation of theory and the transfer of practical knowledge - both together referred to as blended learning.

This integrative approach is consistently implemented at ESS. It begins with the training of teachers, to which SEW-Eurodrive regularly invites them to Bruchsal. Teaching the basics of drive and control technology is supplemented by practical work with the company's electric drive and control technology. This is based on SEW-Eurodrive's current product range and is specially adapted for the didactics portfolio to meet the needs of teachers and learners and for use at individual or group workstations.

Teachers are also involved in the further development of the individual ESS didactic concept, in which they can make the appropriate selection for their subject area from the available gear technology modules, functional section models, application assemblies and multifunctional systems. "At ESS, we work with didactic kits of spur and bevel gearboxes and their functional models, among other things. These include Movi4R-U single-phase frequency inverters and Movidrive B three-phase drive inverters, as well as didactic assemblies of CMP three-phase asynchronous motors and DRS three-phase synchronous motors," summarizes senior lecturer Dipl.-Ing Jürgen Mertens from the Mechatronics department. "In addition, we also use various modified drives from SEW Eurodrive, which we use in our self-developed application models."

Practical experience of drive technology

During practical training, students from different types of schools use the technical equipment in the individual laboratories. Groups of up to ten students are common, with two of them usually sharing a workstation. "The frequency inverter, for example, is mainly used by students from the automation technology department," explains Jürgen Mertens. "In the 'commissioning of drives' practical course, for example, they learn how to mechanically connect a geared motor and commission it electrically. They learn how to integrate and operate the frequency inverter - and thus understand the interaction with the motor. Today's drive systems cannot be subdivided into electronics, electromechanics and mechanics. In terms of qualification, however, this also means that all those working with such a system must not shy away from thinking outside the box. They calculate the current and power consumption and parameterize the inverter so that the drive can start a conveyor belt smoothly, for example."

Building on this, the advanced training is correspondingly more demanding. Among other things, SEW servomotors and linear systems are used here and these are also integrated into communication with an automation system, for example. At the same time, the frequency inverter, for example, is used to teach interdisciplinary skills. At the Ehrhart Schott School, mechanical engineering technicians are also introduced to topics such as electrics and control technology. "They have to calculate currents, learn about different control options and are also made aware of drives and safety technology," explains Jürgen Mertens. "This basic understanding of electrical engineering will help them in their future careers."

Future-proof training

Standing still means going backwards - this statement also applies to technical training and qualification, especially in the age of digitalization, Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things. SEW-Eurodrive's didactic offering has a modular structure so that both theoretical and practical modules can be updated and supplemented at any time. "On the one hand, this applies to the training documents, which we receive from SEW-Eurodrive as a printed class set in addition to the electronic version," says Markus Bürger, "but also to drive and control technology, which is constantly being updated with new technologies and requirements, such as energy efficiency. And, of course, the constant further development is also reflected in the ongoing teacher training with SEW-Eurodrive, because it is only through the interplay of theory and practice that sound training with a view to future professional life and work reality is possible."

Gregor Wohlfart, Sales Engineer Field Service Didactics, SEW-Eurodrive GmbH & Co KG, Bruchsal

¹[C. Anger, W. Geis, A. Plünnecke; Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW): MINT - Spring Report 2012, p. 3]

²[www.iwkoeln.de/studien/gutachten/beitrag/christina-anger-oliver-koppel-axel-pluennecke-mint-fruehjahrsreport-2017-339805.html]