Electronics for Agricultural Machines: global and local - a challenge, not a contradiction - A supplier's view about meeting local needs in a global networked engineering and manufacturing environment

摘要

Bosch Rexroth, a 100% subsidiary of the Bosch Group, is a major supplier for hydraulics and electronics for agricultural machines. Electronics business really started with the breakthrough of the EHC Electro-Hydraulic Hitch Control (also EHR: Elektrohydraulische Hubwerksregelung) in Western Europe in the early 1980's and has been growing since then. As the markets grow and the world economics get more networked, specific requirements are knocking on suppliers' doors: on one hand the need for platform strategies supporting the OEM and their standardization targets, on the other hand the need to fulfill new requirements linked to new markets (e.g. specific products or manufacturing locations) without making compromises on the expected quality. This is illustrated in this paper by two projects which were recently realized by Bosch Rexroth. Firstly, the controller platform of a large OEM - from the first ideas through the deep engineering-to-engineering collaboration between OEM, Bosch Rexroth and Bosch Automotive Electronics leading to the current implementation. Secondly, by the EHC-8 project to adapt an electro-hydraulic hitch control to emerging markets such as India. This project deals with dedicated localization of functions and processes including sales, engineering and manufacturing. In addition to these two projects, an evolution of software architecture concepts shows how to better and faster fulfill new or specific requirements under consideration of both intellectual property and the respective know-how of OEM and supplier. These examples show how the OEM-supplier relationship is becoming a cross-functional collaboration starting at multiple levels in the early stages of new machine developments.