After years of reliable service in commercial printing, they are now ready to enter the world of newspapers: DriveSys drives, developed by manroland web systems in intense cooperation with Siemens.

They will be used for the first time at DHO (Druckzentrum Hohenlohe-Ostalb) in Crailsheim, Germany, where a COLORMAN autoprint press has been running smoothly since December 2011. The 48-page printing system with three printing towers in satellite design operates at a speed of 45,000 cylinder revolutions per hour, producing 90,000 newspaper copies for the region each day – including six daily editions and numerous advertising journals.

The new motion control and drive system DriveSys is a key contributor to this efficiency and productivity. It offers numerous advantages: its open, modular design makes it easy and efficient to add extensions or introduce new features. What’s more, the system is energy-efficient and thus cost-effective; its flexibility ensures optimum usage and capacity utilization of the presses.

DriveSys also provides an impressive diagnostic system that speeds up both commissioning and troubleshooting. It masters even the most complex systems from commissioning and operation to maintenance, and ensures excellent availability. One of manroland’s main objectives as well as the biggest development challenge was to enable high-speed recording, storage, bundling, processing, visualization, and analysis of large quantities of press and drive data. Nothing was left to chance: prior to installation at the customer site, manroland set up and tested a complete printing tower, including all Siemens components.

Spare parts for DriveSys are available from exclusive spares stock in Germany, China, USA, and Australia. Siemens also provides additional support out of Munich, as needed.