Pfullendorf, May 15, 2024 – Automation is a hot topic due to the skilled labor shortage. German industry is vying for skilled employees and has long realized that robots can ease the burden on their staff. Robot colleagues handle repetitive and monotonous tasks, while their own staff can expand their expertise and deploy it more profitably. Fifteen students from Hohentwiel Vocational School Singen were able to see these and other possibilities for company automation firsthand at the SPIE ESCAD site in Pfullendorf.
It started with a warm welcome and a brief introduction by Manfred Hirt (Head of Control Technology) and Thorsten Kulik (Head of Lightweight Robotics and Intralogistics). They provided an overview of the SPIE ESCAD business areas, from engineering, robotics, and digitalization, to manufacturing and industrial electronics trade.
Afterwards, the students were guided in small groups around the SPIE ESCAD premises and even received a small history lesson at the SPIE ESCAD history wall in the entrance area. The program that followed focused on three key areas:
Robotics
The first group of students learned, using various SPIE ESCAD reference projects, how robots are used in industry. The practical application was demonstrated in the in-house showroom. The showroom features not only collaborative robots from Doosan Robotics but also autonomous mobile robots from Mobile Industrial Robots. As a special highlight, the students also got a glimpse into the work of colleagues in the adjacent control cabinet workshop.
Software
For the second group, the areas of software development and commissioning were on the agenda. Here, the aspiring technicians were also shown, using reference projects, how test bench technology works. In addition, they learned more about embedded systems, which were explained using the example of “radar technology”.
Engineering
The third group explored the daily work in electrical and mechanical design, and retrofit. Using a completed project, the complete cycle of a system, from project start to completion, was explained step by step and illustrated with pictures and examples.
There was great interest. The students asked numerous questions, which led to lively discussions. In addition to Peter Herr (Deputy Head of Software Department) and Christian Mayer (Team Leader Design), Thomas Strohmaier (Software Developer) was also very satisfied: “”I overheard quiet whispers that the students were very surprised by all the interesting things we do here at SPIE ESCAD and how broad our expertise and activities are.””.
The direct feedback from the students was also positive. According to a final survey, they found their excursion to SPIE ESCAD very informative. The class particularly praised the demonstrations of the autonomous mobile and collaborative robots in the showroom. The detailed insights into the design and development processes were also very well received, with participants finding their visit highly enriching. We are very pleased about this praise. We thank the Hohentwiel Vocational School Singen for their visit and our motivated in-house experts for their support in promoting aspiring technicians.
In the future, SPIE ESCAD plans to hold more events of this kind. Laura Siebenhaller (Recruiting and HR) is convinced that school classes visiting companies has benefits for all involved: “Students get the opportunity to benefit from the expertise and experience of our colleagues, ask questions, or try out products themselves. And in return, we are always happy if one or another interested person liked it so much with us that they want to start working with us after graduation.”
