Indramat GmbH, now part of

Bosch Rexroth Bosch Rexroth AG is an engineering firm based in Lohr am Main in Germany. It is the result of a merger on 1 May 2001 between Mannesmann Rexroth AG and the Automation Technology Business Unit of Robert Bosch GmbH, and is a wholly owned subsidiar ...

, was an industrial control firm founded in 1958, based in

Neuwied Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...

(am Rhein),

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. Its name is a German abbreviation meaning “ Gesellschaft zur INDustrialisierung-RAtionalisierung und AutoMATisierung“ (Association for Industrialization, Rationalization, and Automation). The

core business The core business of an organization is an idealized construct intended to express that organization's "main" or "essential" activity. Core business process means that a business's success depends not only on how well each department performs its ...

was the production of industrial

servo drive A servo drive is an electronic amplifier used to power electric servomechanisms. A servo drive monitors the feedback signal from the servomechanism and continually adjusts for deviation from expected behavior. Function A servo drive receives a c ...

s and

motion control Motion control is a sub-field of automation, encompassing the systems or sub-systems involved in moving parts of machines in a controlled manner. Motion control systems are extensively used in a variety of fields for automation purposes, includi ...

s for use on

machine tools A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, boring, grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some sort of tool that does the cutting or shaping. Al ...

machine press A forming press, commonly shortened to press, is a machine tool that changes the shape of a work-piece by the application of pressure. The operator of a forming press is known as a press-tool setter, often shortened to tool-setter. Presses ...

es,

printing presses A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the c ...

, food packaging machinery, as well as

assembly line An assembly line is a manufacturing process (often called a ''progressive assembly'') in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation where the parts are added in sequ ...

s and

material handling Material handling involves short-distance movement within the confines of a building or between a building and a transportation vehicle. It uses a wide range of manual, semi-automated, and automated equipment and includes consideration of the pro ...

equipment. Indramat was acquired by the

hydraulic Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counter ...

company Rexroth in 1965, for Rexroth to gain competence in machine control. At that time, Indramat was moved to the German town of

Lohr am Main Lohr am Main (officially: ''Lohr a. Main'') is a town in the Main-Spessart district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and the seat (but not a member) of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (muni ...

, Rexroth’s headquarters. In 1968 Rexroth, including Indramat GmbH, was taken over by

Mannesmann AG Mannesmann was a German industrial conglomerate. It was originally established as a manufacturer of steel pipes in 1890 under the name "Deutsch-Österreichische Mannesmannröhren-Werke AG". (Loosely translated: "German-Austrian Mannesmann pip ...

. In 2001, after the hostile takeover of Mannesmann by

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

, the industrial portion of Mannesmann was acquired by

Robert Bosch GmbH Robert Bosch GmbH (; ), commonly known as Bosch and stylized as BOSCH, is a German multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Germany. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart in 1886. Bosch i ...

, including Rexroth and Indramat. The new entity was named

, and Indramat GmbH became the Electric Drives and Controls Technology Group under Bosch Rexroth. The name Indramat was no longer used, however Bosch Rexroth Electric Drives and Controls continues to produce and support products originally marketed under the Indramat brand, and newer product families such as the IndraDrive, IndraDyn, and IndraControl are named in recognition of their heritage. In 2001 Indramat employed 1,500, with a turnover of 261 million Euro. Exports constituted 52% of the business. Indramat gained recognition in Germany and Central Europe starting in the 1970s as a supplier of DC servo drives and control systems, especially in the areas of sheet steel processing, and 3-dimensional tracing controls. A key feature of the Indramat servo is the programming module (called a “Personality Module” in the North American market), which contained all variable settings required to match the servo amplifier with a given motor. This feature greatly simplified the commissioning process. In 1979 Indramat released a brushless drive servo system, which it branded as an “AC Servo”. This product gained acceptance in

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % su ...

Powertrain A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...

manufacturing, bringing Indramat global recognition. Indramat is also recognized for distributed

CNC Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a pie ...

s for automotive Powertrain manufacturing, and electronic line shaft technology for commercial printing presses.

External links

Bosch Rexroth Electric Drives and Controls

References

{{Bosch Engineering companies of Germany Electronics companies of Germany German brands Manufacturing companies of Germany Electronics companies established in 1958 Robert Bosch GmbH 1958 establishments in West Germany