December
2007

Landquart; Beat De Coi will be handing over the reins of the CEDES’ group of companies to Dr. Peter Nebiker on January 1 2008. In the role as chairman of the board of CEDES, Beat De Coi will concentrate on the companies’ strategic development. 

Dr. Peter Nebiker, currently manager of Business Unit Elevators, is to be the new CEO of the CEDES’ Group. Several of our employees put questions to the incoming CEO about his plans for the future ... more

November
2007

Landquart; Quality and robustness were the highest priorities when the new cegard/Mini light curtain was conceived. The huge interest shown in the product by hundreds of visitors to the CEDES’ stand at the recent Interlift ’07 exhibition suggests the product is set to be a major success.

Gerhard Bräuer, Product Manager with CEDES’ Business Unit Elevators, describes the evolution of the product as follows:  ... more

October
2007

Landquart; When it comes to compactness in the light curtain world, one name stands out: the Safe400. 

One of the people who has been won over by the Safe400 is Josep Junyent. He works at the SONY plant in Viladecavalls, Spain where he is responsible for maintenance of the production lines. The Japanese company manufactures LCD flatscreen televisions at the factory.  ... more

September
2007

Landquart; The German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen is improving safety on its existing paternoster storage systems with the compact safety components from CEDES.


The socalled paternoster systems are used for the storage of small parts. These storage systems function according to a recirculation principle whereby many parts can be stored optimally in areas with limited floor space. The goods are brought to the operator automatically, reducing setup times substantially. ... more

August
2007

Landquart; Whoever hears the name of Hilti inevitably thinks of the indestructible hammer drill in the red toolbox.

But Hilti means far more than that. Hence the Hilti Group is engaged in development with an eye to the installation of elevator product systems for economic and reliable fixture of guide rails and doors on the wall of the lift shaft. The high priority given to safety and economy in worldwide lift system installations is prompting the Hilti Group to implement a tailored program for the elevator sector.  ... more

July
2007

Landquart; In autumn 2007, CEDES will be heavily present at different well-known fairs. Next to a couple of local exhibitions - which will be visited by CEDES companies  - CEDES also exhibits its new products at some big international exhibitions with its own booth. You are cordially invited to visit us at one or multiple fairs!

July
2007

Landquart; Not far from the source of the Rhine sits the Benedictine monastery Disentis. It was founded around 720 AD and is one of the oldest monasteries in Switzerland. The twin-towered minster and the large convent building attached to it dominate the skyline of the village of Disentis.

No efforts are spared in adapting the monastery to meet the requirements  ... more

June
2007

Landquart; Headlines in recent weeks were not to be ignored. "Will the Upper Rhine valley become Photonics Valley? Or: "New chip Factory Planned in the Upper Rhine Valley – up to 500 Jobs" we read. No wonder, as CEDES CEO Beat de Coi has great plans. In the Upper Rhine Valley, ... more

May
2007

Landquart; With 2.6 million automobiles manufactured last year and more than 130'000 employees, Renault is one of the biggest automobile manufacturers in the world. 

Renault automobiles are manufactured in 27 production facilities in 17 countries. One of which is in Bursa ... more

April
2007

Landquart; Teca-Print Ibérica SA is the Spanish subsidiary of the pad printing machine manufacturer Teca-Print, whose headquarters are in Thayingen in Switzerland. For one customer, who imprints small plastic parts, the imprinting area ... more

February
2007

Landquart; Flat screen TVs and monitors are gradually taking over our living rooms and offices. They are replacing their CRT counterparts more and more thanks to their slenderness and low power consumption.

Samsung Electric in Korea is one of the ... more

January
2007

Landquart; Modernizing existing elevator equipment is more valid today than ever before. This does not simply mean freshening up the aesthetics of the older equipment. Existing elevator equipment often needs to be modernized due to new safety regulations, ... more

January
2007

Landquart; The technical term “Poka Yoke” means the prevention of unintentional errors using technical equipment. So-called “Poka Yoke” systems ... more

November 2006

The tube forming machine at Faurecia with the yellow Safe4 emitter and receiver light curtains

Landquart; Tube forming is a manufacturing process where tubes or pipes are manufactured. In this case, the tubes are produced so that they are trumpet-shaped or flared at both ends. 

The German automobile component supplier uses this process for the production of car seats. Here, tubes are flared using tumbling equipment and fixed as struts in the backrest of the car seat. To ensure the operator is not at risk from the moving tool holder, Faurecia installed the Safe4 safety light curtain as a cascading system. The cascading system enables vertical and horizontal monitoring with only one integrated controller.

According to Ulrich Blank, the project leader from CEDES GmbH in Germany, Faurecia were incredibly impressed with, among other things, the optimal flexibility and price-performance ratio of the Safe4 system.

October 2006

FIntegrated  in the customized mounting frame  (Cascading system)

Landquart; Compact safety components safeguard dangerous areas without demanding large amounts of space. But there are elegant safeguarding possibilities available, as this example of a guillotine from Wohlenberg Schneidsysteme GmbH proves.

Light curtain monitors loading area
Diverse safety equipment like a two-hand controller and a  mechanical safety catch ensure safe operation of the guillotine. The loading area is monitored by the Safe400 safety light curtain from CEDES.

With a cross-section of just 15 x 20 mm, Safe400 is the smallest safety light curtain on the market that satisfies safety category 4 in accordance with EN 954-1. Due to the compact dimensions, Safe400 can be integrated perfectly into small machines, without having to make compromises on functionality or design. The emitter and receiver edges of the light curtains are built into a customized mounting frame, which is mounted above the guillotine’s machine table. Wohlenberg procure the mounting frame with the premounted Safe400 emitter and receiver respectively, as a complete component from CEDES GmbH in Rheinhausen (Germany).

One safety controller for all safety components
Wohlenberg also employ SafeC 400 from CEDES as the safety controller. Alongside monitoring the Safe400 safety light curtain, it also monitors all the other safety components, like the two-hand controller and emergency stop button. 

For Wohlenberg, using the SafeC 400 controller simplifies cabling significantly. Furthermore, integration of multiple relays can be eliminated, which additionally increases reliability and  economic efficiency.

Simple backfitting
To backfit existing machinery with Safe400 safety light curtains, the new SafeCIS3 safety controller can be used. This controller, like the light curtains themselves, also boasts incredibly compact dimensions (22.5 x 111 x 110 mm) and due to the simplicity of the system, Wohlenberg can carry out backfitting very quickly and economically. This controller-light curtain combination is the world’s most compact and inexpensive solution on the market today.

August 2006

Flexibility: Renault use the Safe4 safety light curtain in the most diverse configurations

Landquart; The large increase in automating automobile production necessitates the meticulous safeguarding of danger zones. The safety devices have to be absolutely dependable even under complicated conditions. An unscheduled stop of the production line could have fatal consequences for production costs and delivery dates.

For some time the French automobile manufacturer Renault has been using the well proven Safe4 safety light curtain (category 4 according to EN 954-1) from CEDES for the safeguarding of their production lines. Using the built-in laser alignment aid, the setup time, and thus also machine downtime, are kept to an absolute minimum. Renault were impressed above all by the incredible flexibility of the Safe4. No other safety light curtain system can be so easily adapted for such an array of tasks. 

Because the emitter and receiver edges are already available in modular lengths of 120 mm, even small access zones can be inexpensively safeguarded. Additional features such as blanking, L-configuration, perimeter or cascading systems enable an even greater adaptability for the customers’ specific requirements.

June 2006

Perfect production requirements for superior components: the clean room in the CEDES Science Park

Landquart; When CEDES relocated to their new headquarters, a state-of-the-art clean room also went into operation. In the cleanroom, very small surface mounting devices (SMD) are mounted onto the circuit boards. Because of the constant demand for smaller components, requirements for accurately controlled process conditions continuously increase. For a few years now, CEDES have been mounting flip chip components, which represent the future in semiconductor production technology. The smallest of these components boasts dimensions of just 0.9 x 1.1 mm, containing 6 solder pads on this area.
With the construction of the new CEDES Science Park, CEDES have production conditions available that unique in the industry. The semiconductor components are manufactured in a class 1000 cleanroom, i.e. in accordance with US Federal Standard 209b, the number of airborne particles bigger than 0.5 microns per cubic foot (30 x 30 x 30 cm) is maximum 1'000.

The clean room fulfills the highest requirements in semiconductor production. A slight over-pressure of 20 Pascal inside the room helps to keep the number of particles very low. Furthermore, the cleanroom may only be entered wearing special clothing through an air-wash sluice. A constant temperature and humidity perform another important contribution to optimum production conditions.      
Juerg Zuest, the Head of Production & Logistics at CEDES, is certain: “The clean room investment will pay for itself very quickly. With the most modern Siemens SMD placement systems, together with highly motivated staff, we are ideally equipped for the future. Using this state-of-the-art infrastructure we can handle the rapidly increasing production volume without problems and further increase our high demands on quality.” In comparison to the competition, CEDES emphasize their competence in SMD technology. According to Zuest, only very, very few comparable enterprises have such optimal production conditions available to them.

May 2006

Outstanding: Tomorrow Square in Shanghai

Landquart; Tomorrow Square is, in the truest sense, one of the most outstanding buildings in Shanghai. With a height of 285 m, it is the third tallest building in the city. The two diagonal squares at the peak give the building a part of its name. Tomorrow square is also secure against earthquakes and typhoons using special constructional stabilizers. The exclusive tower houses the Marriott Hotel, which features 342 rooms and more than 250 executive apartments. 18 elevators provide the comfortable and rapid ascent and descent to the 55 floors. And for the necessary efficiency and safety of these elevators, there are of course various CEDES products in use. So for example, the GLS 126 NT slot type sensor is responsible for the exact, step-free positioning of elevator cabins. Or the thousandfold proven cegard/Max light curtains, each with 114 beams, which provide safety for the elevator  user when they enter or exit an elevator. And as  the ultimate safety device they also feature SMS, which independently monitors the elevator controller and applies the emergency brake if it detects the elevator traveling too quickly. Tomorrow Square with tomorrow’s products from CEDES!

April 2006

                                              
                            ...CEDES ‘new development’ on 15th March 2006.

Landquart; After intensive planning and supervision by Beat De Coi, Jürg Züst and Simon Hartmann, CEDES AG were able to move into the new Headquarters as scheduled. 45'000 cubic meters interior space, 8'700 square meters production and office space, 200 individual rooms, 90 automatic doors and gates, and so on and so forth. A superlative object with an unbelievable amount of details to resolve. Luckily, we parted company early enough from the general contractor, who carried out the feasibility and preparation project. The company put more emphasis on the term ‘general’ than they did the ‘contractor’ term, although this in itself put even more work in the hands of the CEDES planning team. The team of three immersed themselves in the project for approximately a year and a half. Our external construction site manager, Wolfgang Natter from Chur, was a godsend and he took on this huge project with total dedication. Thank you very much, Wolfgang.


Over 60 weekly construction meetings were held, umpteen smaller meeting, hundreds of decisions – mostly under extreme time pressure – had to be made. Decisions ranging from  the three million francs tower to matching toilet brushes had to be decided upon. Additionally, 16 million francs worth of work had to be allocated to more than 60 workmen, contractors and planners.

A huge thank you goes to our architects (Küchel, St. Moritz), to our construction engineers (Edy Tosanco AG Pontresina and Chur), to our electrical planners (Marquart, Buchs), to our HVAC and plumbing planners (Züst, Grüsch), to our surveyors (Donatsch, Landquart), to our representative for building contractors (Hanspeter Grimm, Hinwil) as well as all the companies and workmen who have worked on the project. Sincere thanks also go to all the CEDES employees who have been involved in some way. Now just the outdoor work still needs to be finished.

Incidentally: The expression bijou does not come from us, the construction team of three, but rather from one of our employees. We felt it was rather fitting.

March 2006

Certificate Xizi Otis

Landquart; In 2005, Xizi Otis (China) delivered over 12’000 elevators. Compared with the year before, this corresponds to an increase of 28%. According to Otis, their suppliers also provided an important contribution to this excellent achievement. Particularly highlighted by Otis was CEDES, who received the "Year 2005 Xizi Otis Technical Innovation Award" as recognition for “extraordinary achievements in the area of product innovation”, as it is called by Otis.

We are very proud of this accolade and thank Xizi Otis for the proven trust. 

By the way: Otis uses MiniMax and cegard/Max light curtains for door safety, as well as GLS 126 NT for hoistway information. But also ESPROS and ELS 263 products find their way into Otis elevators.

March 2006

Whether individually

 


...or in series...

Landquart; The ELS 263 through-beam sensor has been proving itself in hard, every day life all round the world for years. Besides the robustness and dependability, the compact dimensions of this tiny sensor particularly impress. 

ELS 263 is unique in that up to 20 individual sensor-pairs can be connected together with a simple, cost effective Y-Switch. This feature enables new possibilities at the safeguarding and automation of areas in which the use of opto-edges is not possible due to their size and rigidity. A typical application is safety sluices in airports and other public buildings. 

The electronics, together with the optics, are integrated in the photocell. Thus, no external evaluation device is needed for operation, as is customary for the majority of competitors. ELS 263 are equipped, typically of CEDES, with an ASIC and gold-plated contacts, which result in the  appropriate positive influence on reliability and longevity. ELS 263 is extremely insensitive to extraneous light, and thanks to the snap-in concept, ELS 263 can be mounted in the blink of an eye.

December 2005

Excess monitoring...


height measuring..


position recognition...


with Object100

Landquart; In automatic storage systems it is important that loaded pallets or other product carriers are compactly loaded and there is no overhang of goods. Such excess or overhang can lead to damage or malfunction. 

Thanks to the extremely high sample rate of the Object100 measuring light curtain from CEDES, an object which crosses the invisible excess barrier is immediately detected and a corresponding stop signal is sent to the system control. With it, the risk of damage or  disruption is eliminated early. 

Object100 can however do even more: With the integrated measuring function, the light curtain measures the dimensions of the goods which need to be loaded. With this information the system controller can allocate an ideal storage location to the product carrier for the most efficient use of the storage space. 

The Object100 light curtain is unique in offering the possibility of dimension measuring and overhang monitoring with just one sensor system. Compared to other known systems this is a clear advantage in terms of reliability and cost.


The use of Object100 is not only limited to the logistics  branch. With this versatile light curtain it can also be used, for example, in the wood-working industry, where tree trunks can be processed optimally by predetermining their position and dimensions. In automatic paint-spray lines, Object100 acquires the exact position and size of the component needing to be sprayed. Consequently, the spray nozzle can be positioned exactly, and production time and paint quantities are substantially reduced.


Stand-alone solutions can be conveniently realized with the corresponding ObjectC 100F controller. Using the Configurator-Tool software, light curtains can be configured very quickly according to requirements for length and resolution.

November 2005

Principle of cegard/3D

Landquart; Interlift 2005 is already behind us. This important elevator industry fair was a huge success for us: The fair stand, as always, was very well visited, with lots of good conversations and a great deal of interest in our current products and our newest innovations. What more could you want?
One of the main attractions was our 3D monitoring system cegard/3D. This true 3D system combines and utilizes the advantages of two independent sensor systems. cegard/3D is perfect for applications where, alongside the two dimensional elevator door monitoring, additionally the area in front of the doors also has to be monitored (vestibule monitoring).
In contrast to conventional 3D light curtains, the 3D area does not change during the door closing process.
And another advantage: cegard/3D functions with all the door monitoring systems already installed, independent of whether they are fitted dynamically or statically, whether they are through-beam sensors, light curtains or even mechanical safety edges!

People or objects are dependably detected during the entire door closing procedure. If a person or object is detected in the monitored area, a signal is sent to the door controller. The door is then opened in sufficient time to avoid injury to the person or damage to material.  The modular design of cegard/3D enables current door safeguarding, which is only fitted with one light curtain or through-beam sensor, to be modernized to a 3D system incredibly inexpensively and easily.

• Greatest flexibility

• Detection area freely adjustable

• Increases safety of all commercially available door monitoring systems

• Also ideal for modernizations

Did you miss cegard/3D at the INTERLIFT? No problem! We will happily show you the ingenious 3D monitoring system. Just send an e-Mail to info@cedes.com.

October 2005

CEDES Tower - Hilti climb aboard

Dr. Michael Merz from Hilti (right) and Beat De Coi from CEDES AG look forward to the future collaboration

Landquart; The Hilti Group and CEDES AG have the shared goal to support customers in the elevator industry with the optimization of safety and cost efficiency. To this effect, the two businesses will share CEDES AG’s test tower, which is currently under construction in Landquart, to develop new products and further improve existing ones.

With applications in installation techniques for elevator installations in mind, Hilti had been looking for ways to collect information about the strain on attachment joints during elevator transit. The solution was found in Landquart in the shape of our test tower. 

CEDES and Hilti both strive for the optimization of customer oriented solutions for the safety of elevator design. Both companies place a high priority on the functional safety and reliability of the product systems, and with these a solid foundation for cooperation is set.

 Hilti will test various product systems for their functional safety in elevator operation, inclusive of emergency situations. The knowledge gained will be used to develop tailor-made installation systems for elevator design. With it, Hilti can competently provide advice to customers in the elevator industry, provide a contribution to safety in elevator design and support the fitter at the development of economic installation processes.

August 2005

CEDES construction site (top view)

Landquart; The five buildings making up the new headquarters of CEDES AG are continuing to take shape. 4 out of the 5 buildings already have the 2nd floors finished. And the tower is growing and growing. 

The new development project is right on schedule and nothing stands in the way of our relocation to the Kantonsstrasse 14, Landquart, in March 2006.

The construction advancements can be watched here with updates every quarter of an hour.

Webcam to the construction site

August 2005

Process/Eco - Ideal for projection control

Landquart; With the light curtain system cegard/Process Eco objects are reliably detected without having to make compromises for dependability. The light curtain system is universally applicable, and with a cross section of just 12 x 16 mm can be integrated almost anywhere.

A typical application example is in logistics, where the cegard/Process Eco can be used to count packages or to monitor excess or material over-hang on pallets. But the cegard/Process Eco light curtain system can also be used in machine building, e.g. for the monitoring of sag or slack span in sheet metal production. 
Besides a large choice of standard system lengths, measuring heights for OEM applications of between 105 mm and 10 m are possible. Depending on requirement, three different control methods can be chosen, which are equipped with relay or PNP outputs. 

Would you like more information about cegard/Process Eco? We will happily show you more.

May 2005

The compact  ELS 261sensor from CEDES is universally applicable

Landquart; Sensors from the opto-sensor manufacturer CEDES are being used in National Gardening Show (Buga) in Munich. In the “Garden Whisperer” exhibit, the ELS 261 sensor makes flowers speak.
The ELS 261 sensor is normally used for the safeguarding of automatic doors. Because of the compactness, the simple mounting possibilities and the excellent price / performance ratio, it is also ideal for many other uses. An example of one of these ‚other applications’ can be seen, respectively heard, at the German National Gardening Show. 

As soon as someone approaches a plant in the “Garden Whisperer” part of the National Gardening Show, it begins to speak. In this way a rose tells the listener how it got its name, or some rosemary might explain where it originates and what cooking recipes it goes well with.

Mai 2005

Landquart; According to the Swiss Business magazine „BILANZ“, CEDES, the optosensor manufacturer based in Landquart, belongs amongst the best SMBs in Switzerland.

In Switzerland, there are no less than  305'807 small and medium-sized businesses (SMB). According to a report in the 8/05 issue of the Swiss Business magazine BILANZ,  the company from Landquart is one of the top companies in this group in Switzerland.

The good appraisal is the result of a poll, which BILANZ carried out with the business consultants BDO Visura and KPMG as well as the SMB institute of the University of St. Gallen and the institute for young entrepreneurs (IFJ). The magazine wanted to know from the four, which their personal favourites are. The two consultancy companies and the institutes evaluated their choice of SMBs according to different criteria. So, in order to get a good placing, such aspects such as revenue, innovation or  differentiation to competition were taken into account.

CEDES AG are portrayed in detail under the title of innovation in the special issue “KMU – Extra” of the same magazine.

January 2005

Beat De Coi (CEO CEDES AG, right) with a Mrs Brutloff and Mr Schroff (Architects) 

Landquart; On the 31th January 2005, at 14.00 the first foundation for the new building development of the opto-sensor manufacturer CEDES AG was laid.

The new building is planned to be ready in time for the 20th anniversary celebrations in April 2006. Spread over 5 buildings with more than 180 rooms, there will be enough space for a total of 250 work places. Additionally, the growth of success and flexibility of the business has been accounted for in the planning. So if required the amount of work spaces can be doubled to 500 work stations with a further extension, without the unimposing design of the building being effected.

The new building is very special. For example, the fastest elevator in Switzerland will be installed in the 50 meter tall test tower. This tower enables the developers at CEDES new possibilites, be it for new research and development or for the optimization of current products. Access control will be carried out by a brand-new, self-developed system from CEDES AG, which is based on the multi-award winning 3D camera technology.

Webcam to the construction site

November
2004