Festo, perintis global dalam teknologi automasi dan pendidikan teknikal, telah melancarkan secara rasmi siri pemacu servo CMMT-AS-S3, satu pembangunan yang bersedia untuk mentakrifkan semula cara Pengilang Peralatan Asal (OEM) mendekati keselamatan fungsian, reka bentuk sistem dan pensijilan mesin.

Building on the company’s legacy of innovation since its founding in 1925, this new drive series integrates critical safety functions directly into the hardware, significantly reducing the need for external components and complex wiring. This latest addition to Festo's extensive automation portfolio addresses the growing demand for "Performance Level" safety without the traditional trade-offs of complexity and cost.

Bridging the Gap Between Safety and Simplicity

The CMMT-AS servo drive family is engineered to offer OEMs a scalable safety architecture. Manufacturers can now choose between two distinct safety levels tailored to their specific application needs:

• Basic Level (S1): Designed for standard applications, the S1 offers rapid commissioning via simple hardwired digital I/O. It provides essential safety functions for machines requiring a baseline of protection.
• Advanced Level (S3): For complex machinery requiring higher safety integrity, the S3 provides a fully integrated suite of advanced safety functions. This allows for sophisticated configuration options while maintaining a compact footprint.

By embedding these safety layers directly into the drive, Festo eliminates the "safety relay bottleneck." OEMs can now implement safety logic through hardwired I/O or via a PROFIsafe network, allowing for seamless integration with safety PLCs, including those from Siemens.

The Software Advantage: Festo Automation Suite

Hardware is only half the story. Festo has simultaneously upgraded its Festo Automation Suite (FAS) debugging software with an intuitive "Safety Configurator." According to Tom Woznop, Product Market Manager for Electrical Automation at Festo, the user experience has been radically simplified.

"Implementation is surprisingly simple. Users only need to make a few parameter settings in the configurator to activate and verify advanced safety functions within minutes," Woznop explains. "The upcoming Verification Wizard, slated for release in Winter 2025, will take this a step further by automating the generation of required documentation."

This focus on software efficiency is critical for compliance. To ensure that certified configurations remain tamper-proof, every safety setting is password-protected via a dedicated safety engineer login. This ensures parameters remain locked and traceable after validation—a feature that is vital for Festo’s compliance with the impending European Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).

A Legacy of Innovation and Education

The launch of the CMMT-AS-S3 series is backed by Festo’s robust financial commitment to R&D, which consumes approximately 8.8% of the company’s annual turnover. Headquartered in Esslingen, Germany, Festo has been a leading supplier in automation and technical education for nearly a century.

With a presence in Canadian industry for 50 years and a global network serving approximately 56,000 customers through its Festo Didactic division, the company understands the diverse needs of modern manufacturing. The CMMT-AS series is not just a product; it is part of a comprehensive safety ecosystem designed to help OEMs accelerate time-to-market, reduce cabling costs, and build safer, more efficient machines.

Future-Proofing Automation

As the industry moves toward Industry 4.0, the ability to support multi-protocol communication is essential. All CMMT-AS drives are protocol-agnostic, configurable for various industrial communication standards, ensuring they can fit into existing network infrastructures without friction.

By offering a drive that handles both motion control and safety logic in a single unit, Festo is effectively reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) for machine builders. The combination of multi-protocol support, integrated safety, and automated documentation tools positions the CMMT-AS-S3 series as a cornerstone product for the next generation of automated machinery.