{"id":29054,"date":"2025-02-13T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/highest-darmstadt.de\/news\/uncategorized\/leicht-stabil-praezise-motorspindeln-aus-carbon\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T22:53:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T21:53:16","slug":"light-stable-precise-carbon-motor-spindles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/highest-darmstadt.de\/en\/news\/sucess-story-en\/light-stable-precise-carbon-motor-spindles\/","title":{"rendered":"Light, stable, precise: carbon motor spindles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
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Next year they will be celebrating their tenth anniversary. They were one of the first teams from Darmstadt to receive EXIST funding from the federal government. Carbon-Drive is now supplying its first customers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201cMotor spindles are the premier class of electric motors,\u201d says Martin Klimach, explaining their product: they make tools rotate by directly converting electrical energy into mechanical work. Motor spindles essentially consist of a housing and a shaft to which a grinding or drilling tool can be connected at the front. The spindle contains the shaft, magnets and motor. \u201cIn our case, it is made of carbon and is therefore half as heavy,\u201d says Klimach, describing a key advantage. He points to a spindle that is currently being used for grinding.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n A carbon motor spindle, on which a grinding wheel is mounted here. \u00a9 Anja St\u00f6riko <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Powerful and low-vibration drilling, milling and grinding <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
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Carbon fiber materials – known as carbon for short – are very stiff but light at the same time. The machines made from it are therefore stable, energy-efficient and quiet. Further back in the workshop, a machine winds the carbon fibers into a spindle: thin carbon threads are immersed in a bath of epoxy resin before being wound around a steel core in a stable cross pattern. In this way, plastic and carbon fibers bond together to form a very rigid material – \u201csimilar to reinforced concrete,\u201d explains Klimach. It is also highly precise in the event of temperature fluctuations and therefore does not have to be monitored and compensated for like steel. They have optimized the structure of the various layers at Carbon-Drive. \u201cNowadays, this is easy and inexpensive with appropriate computer calculations,\u201d says co-founder Alexander Brechtel. This development has already enabled carbon fiber to make the leap to mass application in bicycles, cars, skis and surfboards – and now also for engines.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n The carbon fibers are dipped in epoxy resin and wrapped around the steel core to create an extremely stable spindle. \u00a9 Anja St\u00f6riko <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n Founding at the right time <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
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\u201cAt the time we founded the company, carbon was available at competitive prices, there was a lot of experience at Helmut Sch\u00fcrmann’s institute, a major manufacturer showed interest – and Martin’s doctorate was complete,\u201d summarizes Brechtel. Klimach had studied in Darmstadt and came back to Prof. Sch\u00fcrmann’s Institute for Lightweight Construction, \u201cthe carbon luminary\u201d, after a stay abroad. There he designed a carbon shaft as part of his doctorate. In 2012, three years of successful tinkering resulted in an application to the then still relatively new start-up funding program EXIST, which supports the transfer of research from the university. \u201cHIGHEST helped, but was still in the orientation phase,\u201d Klimach smiles. The result was four years of funding for six employees. Industrial engineer Brechtel – \u201cwe met at university sports\u201d – joined Klimach’s team for his Master’s thesis.<\/p>\n

They were founded in June 2016. A research project with the market leader for motor spindles showed the possibilities for their carbon spindles. For the time being, however, much remained the same: The funds from the federal government financed the employees who built the first carbon motor spindle at the university. \u201cThe hard cut came in the second phase of the start-up funding: we had to manage everything ourselves, really make ourselves independent,\u201d says Klimach.<\/p>\n

Since 2018, they have been tenants in a factory building on the outskirts of Weiterstadt, together with other start-ups. \u201cWe exchange ideas, help each other, think outside the box,\u201d says Klimach, describing the constructive collaboration.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n A spindle drill mills computer-controlled holes in a spindle housing. Anja St\u00f6riko <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n New machines – a tricky business in Germany <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
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When EXIST ended in mid-2019, the first customers commissioned certain spindles, such as research institutes. But development took time, so Carbon-Drive had to finance itself with services and simple products. \u201cThere were seriously interested industrial customers at trade fairs – especially after we won an innovation award,\u201d reports Brechtel. But in most cases nothing came of it – \u201cwhen they realized: oops, this is a very small young company\u201d. This is because the industry is very conservative. Machines are at the heart of every production process, so nobody takes any risks.<\/p>\n

Following initial production for research institutes, Carbon-Drive delivered the first spindle to a Swiss machine tool manufacturer last year. It is now going into series production. To do this, they have purchased a new machine that can work in five axis directions under computer control.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that also takes time,\u201d says Brechtel. After all, 40 units with this equipment are now to be built and sold every year. They will then have to prove themselves in everyday use by customers. Carbon-Drive has proven that its carbon spindles are up to 20 percent more productive. But they have not yet been able to achieve a correspondingly higher price. \u201cWe imagined it would be easier,\u201d admits Klimach, \u201despecially as even fewer machines are being ordered during the economic downturn.\u201d The German market is difficult. They now have a joint venture in China. They manufacture there, but control production electronically from Weiterstadt.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n Role model Rennauto <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
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Over the years, Carbon-Drive’s growth has been organic and possible without investor support – cross-financed by research projects, services and small orders. \u201cA ride on the razor’s edge,\u201d admits Brechtel. \u201cBut at some point in racing, carbon cars also became established – there’s a reason for that.\u201d And her arguments in favor of carbon motor spindles sound convincing: Lighter. More precise. More energy efficient. More productive. Faster. Less waste. That’s why their logo is the Colibri, the \u201cKohle-bri\u201d, as Brechtel says with a wink: light, fast and precise.<\/p>\n

Carbon-Drive now has one full-time employee. They also have two patents of their own. They reduced their initially extreme working hours after the birth of their children. \u201cBut it always feels like you’re doing too little,\u201d Klimach points out. But they are self-determined and appreciate that. \u201cI enjoy coming here every day,\u201d adds Brechtel. \u201cCarbon will also prevail in motor spindles,\u201d Klimach is certain. \u201cThe question is whether we will be there,\u201d says Brechtel – without really doubting it.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n This is how Carbon-Drive tests the efficiency of its spindle motors: the deeper the groove without deviations, the more precise the spindle. The Carbon spindle is always clearly ahead. \u00a9 Anja St\u00f6riko <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n Bleib auf dem Laufenden mit dem HIGHEST-Newsletter <\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n

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