Despite a multitude of options, there are still many hurdles standing in the way - time is always in short supply, and employees are often overworked. Keeping things "EASY", in line with its main theme for this year, the Japanese company Yaskawa is bringing its latest developments in drive technology and robotics to Hannover to demonstrate how companies can very easily benefit from consistently easy-to-use components within the context of state-of-the-art Industry 4.0. These innovations are set to symbolize simple programmability, rapid commissioning and optimum ease of use. The best example of this is the new GA500 inverter drive, which is making its debut in Hannover, and the i3 mechatronics solution "YASKAWA Cockpit", which is available to customers as an enhanced "Edition 1" version from summer 2019 onwards.

The GA500 is a new and particularly compact addition to the current generation of inverter drives and is perfect for industrial applications. The handy inverter is said to offer 800 parameters and thus a wide range of functions that help provide the ideal solution for almost any drive application. Moreover, despite its versatility, it can be easily configured in five minutes by answering simple questions. Not only does the inverter's ease of use greatly simplify the commissioning process in industrial production; it also significantly shortens it. What's more, the GA500 is designed to be compatible with all motor types, including permanent magnet motors.

The i3 mechatronics solution "YASKAWA Cockpit," which made its debut at last year's Hannover Messe, is also making an appearance at the Yaskawa stand in 2019, as an upgraded "Edition 1" version of the software will be available to customers from summer 2019. This software can be used to capture data in real time from components, robots and entire systems - including products from third-party suppliers - and then display and evaluate the information thus generated in a visually appealing, easily understandable and meaningful way.

The fact that robotics play such an important role in achieving simple and flexible automation is clearly demonstrated in YASKAWA's wide range of robotic exhibits. The showcased solutions range from machine feeding systems and collaborative robots - some mobile and some mounted on an AGV (automated guided vehicle) – to a collection of planned products from YASKAWA's first line of robotics produced in Europe. Visitors to HANNOVER MESSE 2019 can also check out the prototype of a new and larger Motoman HC20 collaborative robot.