But even these days, things are not at a standstill everywhere. Those who can, continue to work. And some companies are adapting to the difficult circumstances and making the best of them. Existing facilities can often be used to manufacture products that are currently in high demand and urgently needed. And we're not talking about toilet paper - the cellars should actually be full - but medical products or products to protect against infection. Protective clothing and masks, disinfectants, perhaps even ventilators or their components if possible. Plexiglas screens that protect retailers or systems that allow doors to be opened without contact. And of course, even in times of crisis, we need pretty much everything else we need - food, household goods, cosmetics and yes, even toilet paper.

Wherever production takes place - whether with a converted or regular range - there are drives at work. The classic hydraulic pump is just as indispensable as the powerful AC motors or precise servo motors through to the more exotic drives for precise positioning, for example with piezo elements. Servo drives in particular have become very popular, and not just with the advent of robots in manufacturing companies. Controlled drives are used wherever precise movements are required.

The most sophisticated drives are often found where you can't see them. The increasingly powerful collaborative robots are a good example. The many axes all need to be driven, and the drive must be compact, reliable and very precise. This applies not only to the servomotors themselves, but of course to the entire drive train, including all components such as bearings and gears, which have to meet stringent requirements. To ensure that man and machine can work together smoothly, manufacturers must pay particular attention to safety, especially with cobots. At the same time, it should be possible to implement a safety concept efficiently, i.e. as lean as possible, in order to keep the robots compact and as cost-effective as possible.

Another topic in this special issue is decentralized drives, which make flexible and modular production systems possible in the first place. To achieve this, it is important that the individual drives can be networked and master different bus systems. This allows modern systems to be expanded or adapted to new tasks in a short space of time.

Stay healthy and don't let it take away your drive.

You can also find our special issue as an e-paper.