Enjoying the challenge
An inside look: Stephan Dilger, Head of Firmware/Software at STOBER.
The SB6 from STOBER is a full-featured drive controller with impressive control performance. Thanks to its high level of flexibility and functionality, the compact stand-alone device can also greatly reduce the amount of control and thus the development work required. This makes the solution particularly suitable for mechanical engineers who often have to customize systems for their customers. The mastermind behind it is Stephan Dilger, Head of Firmware/Software at STOBER.
Pforzheim, Germany, 2025-03-27 – In order to adapt systems to specific customer requirements, mechanical engineers use a wide variety of components depending on the application, such as analog and digital inputs and outputs. The control system then has to evaluate the signals, which involves considerable additional work when programming it. “It would be much easier if we could lighten the controller’s load here and assign only standardized tasks to it in order to reduce this amount of work,” explains Stephan Dilger, Head of Firmware/Software and Deputy Department Head at STOBER. “This is possible by using drive controllers to control the movements of each component individually.” The new SB6 drive controller is a stand-alone device with an integrated power supply which offers the complete functionality of drive-based motion control for this purpose. The SB6 is suitable for machines with up to four axes and low to medium power. Notably, it features outstanding control performance.
The man behind it
Stephan Dilger has been with the company for almost 35 years. What does the electrical engineer appreciate about his work at the medium-sized drive specialist in Pforzheim? “At STOBER, I have a lot of freedom to make decisions and can contribute my own ideas.” His team consists of four employees who are responsible for the firmware and two who take care of the software. Rather atypical for the software industry, in addition to the veteran employees, even the “recent” hires have been with the company for several years.
Dilger started at STOBER as group manager of System Technology, then became Deputy Head of Development before taking up his current position in 2005. “We developers have a very special bond with our products – which includes the SB6 drive controller, of course,” says the STOBER expert. He was involved in the concept for the first generation of controllers. “Initially, I was only responsible for the firmware, but since the fifth generation I have also been responsible for the hardware of the drive controllers. This will certainly continue until the next generation.”
The previous generation had been slowly reaching the limits of its capabilities – in terms of resources, disk space and processor run time. The SB6 has the same process architecture as the STOBER SI6 series of multi-axis drive controllers. This means that there is still plenty of room for future advancements.
The developer and his team received support from Matthias Meyering. The task of the head of the System Integration department was to integrate the SB6 into the STOBER system. He previously worked as a product manager and contributed valuable knowledge of market and customer requirements from the sales department. “We placed a lot of importance on the fact that users have an open choice of controller,” says Meyering. The EtherCAT and PROFINET fieldbus systems are available in the STOBER drive controller as firmware-based variants. With the CiA 402 or PROFIdrive device profiles, the SB6 can be seamlessly integrated into drive controller- or controller-based motion solutions.
Clever distribution of work
The basic device alone has four digital and one analog input. This in itself is able to reduce the load on a controller by reading in an analog input signal via the drive controller instead of via an additional input/output module of the controller. Additional analog and digital inputs and outputs as well as additional encoder connections can be added to the drive controller via a terminal module. Certain motion commands can also be stored in the SB6, for example. The controller can therefore focus on recipe management. “Our SB6 is a full-featured single-axis stand-alone drive controller that offers all these possibilities and combines a high degree of flexibility with functionality,” says Meyering in summary.
Thanks to its compact dimensions, the new device fits into control cabinets at the extremely low installation depth of 210 millimeters. Dilger says, “We created an appealing design for our device. And because we did away with connections on the front panel, this does not have a negative impact on the depth of the housing.” The controller can optionally be equipped with an operating unit consisting of a display and keyboard. The motor data is parameterized via an electronic nameplate, which is available digitally. For fast, automated commissioning and rapid servicing, an SD card can simply be inserted into the drive controller as an application memory.
“We have the highest component density in a single device to date,” says Dilger enthusiastically. “It’s impressive how many electronics we were able to pack into the compact housing.” This was an exciting challenge for his team. What’s more, the STO (Safe Torque Off) and SS1 (Safe Stop 1) safety functions are integrated into the drive controllers, which are also certified in this series for PL e, category 4 in accordance with EN 13849-1 and can be used without function tests that interrupt production. Solutions with digital inputs, Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE) and PROFIsafe are available for controlling the safety functions.
Simplified and space-saving
The new SB6 can be used to control both linear and rotational synchronous servo and Lean motors. In order to connect the drive controllers with the synchronous servo motors reliably, STOBER supplied its One Cable Solution (OCS), which the drive specialist has further developed with encoder manufacturer HEIDENHAIN. The hybrid cable reliably transmits signals without interference at a distance of up to 50 meters – without expensive chokes. The future-proof HEIDENHAIN EnDat® 3 ensures high quality in transmission, diagnostics, safety and performance.
“So instead of using two lines, one for transmitting encoder data and one for the electrical power, we use just one hybrid cable. This saves a significant amount of space, especially when used in energy chains,” explains Meyering. “Our new SB6 offers companies a complete system consisting of a drive controller, synchronous servo motor and the appropriate cable, which prevents interface problems, for example.”
Captions:
Photo credits: STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG
You can find high-resolution image material for downloading here.
STOBER develops and produces precise, highly efficient drive components and systems, including gearboxes, motors, gear racks and drive controllers for custom solutions. They are used in various industries, including automation and robotics, as well as the plastics, packaging and machine tool industries. STOBER has 14 locations and 80 service partners in over 40 countries. In addition to its headquarters in Pforzheim, Germany, there are also production facilities in Hungary and the US. The family-owned company currently employs around 1,000 people worldwide.
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| Germany: | Austria: |
| STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG Kieselbronner Str. 12 75177 Pforzheim, Germany Phone: +49 7231 582-0 sales@stoeber.de www.stober.com | STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH Hauptstraße 41a 4663 Laakirchen, Austria Phone: +43 7613 7600-0 sales@stoeber.at www.stoeber.at |
| Switzerland: | |
| STÖBER Schweiz AG Rugghölzli 2 5453 Remetschwil, Switzerland Phone: +41 56 496 9650 sales@stoeber.ch www.stober.ch |
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