Whether FSoE or Software: The Product and its Manager
Three questions to... Tobias Wenneker, new Product Manager Drive Controller
Since 2019 Tobias Wenneker is one of the product managers for drive controllers at KEB Automation. What fascinates and drives him, he reveals in our short interview.
Tobias Wenneker – Product Manager Drives
Drive Controller COMBIVERT F6/S6 PRO with encoderless safety functions
Software tool COMBIVIS 6 for operation, commissioning, diagnosis and administration of KEB drive controllers
What fascinates you about product management?
Clearly the very varied and multifaceted work. It is fascinating, for example, to incorporate the technical content resulting from market and customer requirements into products. Actively making and maintaining contacts is an important element for me. This applies both internally at KEB as well as externally – for example, during specialist presentations or directly at the customer's premises. This is the only way to get a feeling for trends and requirements.
You have recently started as a new product manager. What are your tasks?
Currently, I am primarily concerned with the further development of our new products in the field of drive controllers. Particularly in the area of software functions, customer requirements are resulting in developments that are to be incorporated into new software versions of the drives. Working out these functions in a targeted manner – together with various departments such as Development and Sales – is one of my main tasks at the moment. This also includes adapting and extending our software tool COMBIVIS 6 with new wizards and functions. It is the central tool for operation, commissioning, diagnosis and administration of our products.
What new developments and functions are you currently focusing on?
The issue of encoderless safety is currently a major part. We implement the associated safety functions directly in the drive. The basis for these functions is the safe protocol Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE). Our COMBIVERT F6 Drive Controllers or the S6 Servo Drives, as the PRO device variant, offer the possibility of using many functions even without an external encoder. In addition, we continuously optimize the control of motor technologies, such as IPM and synchronous reluctance motors in the entire speed control range of the respective application.
Interview by Kristin Gabel.
Tobias Wenneker (32) is a long-serving KEB employee. After his apprenticeship as an electronic technician for devices and systems he trained as a part-time certified technician. In more than ten years in service he got to know the KEB portfolio with all its possibilities. On the road with customers worldwide, commissioning of KEB products, troubleshooting, service partner search as well as customer and service partner training were part of his business before he changed to product management.