OEM&Lieferant Ausgabe 2/2020

86 Innovations Expertise in electronics Rethinking systems By Thomas The ability to rethink systems is the foundation of every innovation and every step forward. It is not just about new inventions, but above all about looking at existing systems in their entirety. At Thomas, the unit tasked with incorporating new features to make them even better is Electronics Competence & Support, which was set up in summer 2018. Its head, Björn Schuh, explains how these electronic functions in hardware and software will enhance Thomas’ products in the future. Image/Graphik: © Thomas Magnete GmbH Before joining Thomas, you worked for a major automotive supplier and developed the first level 3 autonomous driving con- trol unit. What excites you about your role at Thomas? The Electronics Competence & Support unit is generating new momentum throughout the company. Of course, there were already some electronic components, but expanding the entire development area internally is a very exciting challenge for me personally. I started at Thomas with a blank sheet, so I can help to build the unit up right from the beginning. That’s an amazing opportunity. In my previ- ous role, the interdisciplinary team consisted of 150 employees – at Thomas, there are cur- rently 20 or so, although that number will soon increase. I enjoy taking on challenges like that at home, too. Recently I built a small home server for our house so that we can control the entire technical infrastructure centrally. My two chil- dren love Lego, just like me, and seem to be developing into little tinkerers. Why does it make sense for Thomas to centralize its electronics work? The electronic development of our products is already in full swing in the company. It makes perfect sense for those development activities to span the company’s entire range of business units. Developing electronic solutions requires an enormous build-up of know-how. That has to be centralized. It’s the same for electronics purchasing. We also provide support in key future market areas such as autonomous driving, electromobility, and the electrification of commercial vehicles and construction machinery. Can you give us a concrete example? Whatever the project, electronic features outgrow the lifespan of any single product and therefore have incredible potential. We are currently working flat-out on an electro- magnetic actuator, or an EMA as we call it for short. This is a complex machine control unit, or to be more precise an „X-by-wire system,“ in which our task is to electronically optimize the control signals between the user interface and the actuators. What path does the development process follow in the Electronics unit? We have combined our development and manufacturing expertise with specific sup- porting tools into a V-model (see below). A central role is played by the test phase, which T E I L E N „We combine magnetic actuators and motors with the core competencies of plastics engineering, electronics, and mechanics. You won’t find that combination of expertise in any single one of those markets.“ Why Thomas?