Development &
design

RETHINKING YOUR DRIVE

From the initial idea to the finished product, we have the goal of meeting requirements in such a way that our solutions enable a balanced use of components and thus achieve balance in the system. Our understanding of the system and the entire powertrain, including the interfaces, enables us to provide holistic and customer-oriented solutions. Implementing future technologies from the very first idea starts with us.

We view and understand customer requirements holistically
With our experience from various and often complex projects, we help to define the requirements in collaboration with our customers and to fulfil them in a target-oriented way.

Our products are characterised by intelligent tuning of performance between requirements-specific, commercial and production factors. The focus here is always on optimising the cost-benefit ratio.

Our many years of experience and the skills we have acquired enable us to implement solutions for customer-specific drive solutions. These solutions are used in a variety of projects and industries.

The integration of existing know-how and, where necessary, subsystems into a coherent new drive solution rounds off our expertise.

MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER ...

In collaboration with you, we analyse and optimise the key task of your application. Specifications are precisely evaluated and consistently implemented by our experienced engineers. We fulfil your wishes in a targeted manner.

Under what circumstances ...

... is a special drive far more cost-effective than a standard transmission or a standard modification?

Why should you design your product around the transmission design? A lot of money can be saved if your product development is not made more expensive by costly adaptations to standard transmissions. An individually designed transmission is functionally subordinate to the product and adapted to all specifications. This results in solutions with the best possible added value.

Ideas are converted into solutions for technological and costing evaluation. The implementation is, of course, computer-aided using 3D-CAD. Data exchange interfaces are available here for importing and exporting from and to a variety of formats. The data can be transmitted in encrypted form via the internet using your own FTP server.

Further aids are available for assessing designs: Programs for gearing design and optimisation. Geometric and functional design of gearing to customer requirements such as running properties, wear, service life or strength are used. The same naturally applies to calculating other machine components such as bearings and shafts.

Programs for simulating motion sequences as well as static and dynamic strength tests are in use. Development loops can thus be reduced and omitted in a targeted manner. The first prototypes already show the significant characteristics of the later series production articles.

In the first phase of prototype production, 3D printing models can be generated. They give you an exact idea of the end product and serve as the basis for discussion in order to accelerate the development process.

Based on the released concept design, your prototypes are manufactured by our experts from the prototyping department. The idea is to carry out a process which is as close to series production as possible in order to obtain valid test results in the qualification phase.

Qualification is carried out according to coordinated load profiles, supported by state-of-the-art measuring equipment and testing facilities (e.g., acoustic and climatic chambers). The findings from these investigations form the basis for the further development and industrialisation of your product.

Key processes in manufacturing

PRODUCTION

In addition to the production of standard transmissions, our production is specially designed for custom applications. Special technological processes guarantee an exceptionally high degree of flexibility and quality assurance.

The use of individual finishing techniques and automation processes means that our production facilities add value in terms of quality and at the same time cost-efficiency. Our key processes are:

TURNING

Short and long CNC lathes with bar loaders are capable of handling complete machining operations from a bar diameter of 3 mm to 65 mm.

Machines with loading gantries are available for larger parts up to a diameter of 160 mm.

MILLING

The programs for the CNC machining centres can be generated directly from the 3D data model.

Machines with up to 5 axes and quick-change clamping devices are available, so that prototypes and serial articles can be manufactured under optimum economic conditions.

ROLLING AND FORMING

Roller burnishing as an economical finishing process for smoothed surfaces such as spindles.

HOT-GAS WELDING

This method is used to safely join plastic housing parts. With the help of the hot gas welding process, we achieve leak tightness classes up to IP 69. This process is used to prolong the service life of drive units that are exposed to extreme ambient temperatures.

GEAR CUTTING

Our portfolio is rounded off by the following manufacturing technologies:

Gear cutting of worm gears, gear wheels, bevel gears or special gear parts in the module range from module 0.2 to module 3.

REAMING

We have mastered the reaming process for producing spline grooves, polygonal and polygonal profiles, calibrating bores, and outside reaming.

ASSEMBLY

Assemblies and the final assembly of drives in annual quantities from 500 units up to 500.000 units per year. Depending on the application, assembly can be manual, semi-automated or fully automated.

CONNECTED TECHNOLOGIES

In addition to steels, we also process stainless steels and non-ferrous metals, plastics. Of course, we also refine products by hardening or grinding, for example. Complex plastic housings up to protection class IP 69 can be firmly joined together using hot gas welding.

Depending on the specific requirements of our customers, we use machining production technologies, plastic injection moulding, zinc die casting, aluminium casting or sintering technologies. Here, too, each process is adapted to the individual requirements and optimised accordingly.

Measuring technology

MODERN MEASURING INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS

Measuring and simulating

Modern measuring systems are becoming increasingly complex. A production-oriented test environment with application-oriented measurement technology offers the best conditions for the highest quality demands.

In order to assure the quality of the numerically simulated gearing design, the geometry of the manufactured parts is measured during production and the surfaces are checked to ensure the defined running behaviour, a noise-optimised function and an optimum contact pattern.

In the assembly department, we use a large number of specialised workstations which are precisely tailored to the customer's individual requirements. The mechanical layout, the control of the test bench as well as the required documentation are designed and released in our test equipment construction department.

During the development phases – e.g. when testing prototypes – we make use of a large number of special test benches and measuring techniques. Furthermore, we use an acoustic chamber with first-class equipment, climatic chambers and special simulation software as early as the development phase. Through individual solutions, our experts in development and construction create optimal product results in line with your requirements.

Our experience from innumerable projects, technical costing and simulations based on jointly developed load and test collectives are the basis for successful qualification and for a robust product in series production.

We offer you the following metrology options:

Acoustic chamber with structure-borne and airborne sound measurement
Gearing measuring machine
Environmental simulation cabinet
Optical wave measuring machine
CNC image processing measuring device
Profile measuring device
Hardness measurement
CNC coordinate measuring machine
Surface and roughness tester

The PRIMUS principle:
transparent process
design

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The efficiency of PRIMUS’s development capability makes the process design clear. Short decision-making paths and closely interlinked processes ensure results at the highest level. Even for time-critical projects.