In episode 38 of The Downtime, a weekly manufacturing podcast from WTWH Media, co-host Sarah Wynn speaks with Tom Worsnopp, product marketing manager at Festo. The conversation covers Festo’s CMMT-AS servo drives, including the new S3 version and its added safety capabilities.
Drive-level safety and security
Festo introduced its CMMT-AS servo drive series eight years ago with the S1, also known as the basic model. In November 2025, the company announced it was adding a more advanced option, the CMMT-AS-S3, to its portfolio.
“This entire series has had safety functionality since its release,” said Worsnopp. “We’ve always had safe torque off, safe brake control, and safe stop one.”
The S3 builds on the existing series and offers machine builders higher levels of safety while simplifying design, wiring, and certification.
“It’s a separate series, but it exactly mirrors the current series,” Worsnopp explained. “From the smallest drive all the way to the largest drive, we now offer that with additional safety functions.”
The S3 also allows safety to be implemented through hardwired digital inputs or over a safety fieldbus, depending on the application.
“This is our AC servo drive product line. We go from a low of 350 watts up to 12 kilowatts. We can do a huge range of industrial applications,” said Worsnopp. “We support multi-protocol fieldbus, which means you don’t have to select which fieldbus ahead of ordering the product. You just configure it when you are using it.”
READ MORE | Festo updates CMMT-AS servo drives with new safety functions
To prevent unauthorized changes to safety configurations, the S3 introduces password-protected access.
“You don’t want somebody to log into it without any kind of password and modify parameters,” said Worsnopp. “Because that means what safety function you’ve set up in there could potentially just be changed by anyone who has an Ethernet cable and the software.”
This added security layer also aligns with the European Union’s upcoming Cyber Resilience Act, which is raising cybersecurity requirements for industrial devices.
Integrated safety for compact machine designs
Worsnopp explained how advanced safety functions benefit machine builders by allowing for more compact designs without sacrificing operator safety.
“If you want to make a more compact machine, then in that section where they’re breaking the light curtain, and they’re going into the machine, things slow down,” he said. “There’s no chance that they could get struck by something while their hands are in the machine.”
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The CMMT-AS series is part of Festo’s safety portfolio, which also includes actuators, motion systems, and control software, aimed at improving reliability and reducing risk in manufacturing environments.
New year, evolving technologies
In the new year, Worsnopp said Festo plans to continue focusing on drive-integrated safety while keeping an eye on emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.
“We occupy a unique place in industrial automation,” said Worsnopp, regarding Festo’s solutions. “We continue to push and grow what we can offer customers to help them automate their machines.”
Listen to the full episode of The Downtime to hear more from Worsnopp about the CMMT-AS servo drives, integrated safety, and what’s ahead for Festo in 2026.
Episode 38: Serving Looks & Drives | Show notes & time stamps
00:17 – The co-hosts begin the show
02:06 – Wynn highlights Packaging OEM’s conversation with GS1 US’s Teresa Williams from the National Retail Federation’s show about what stood out to her in terms of packaging, which includes AI, RFID, and 2D barcodes
02:47 – Wynn discusses how Bosch Rexroth has expanded its ctrlX OS to support a more modular, app-based approach to packaging machine controls.
03:27 – Kasprzak introduces a piece at Plant Engineering about special considerations for lighting selections in industrial applications from Greg Ward, EIT, Orlando Cruz, PE, and Supasit Jong, PE of CDM Smith
05:03 – Wynn interviews Tom Worsnopp, product marketing manager at Festo, about the new CMMT-AS-S3 servo drive
27:00 – Interview with Worsnopp ends
27:22 – The co-hosts chat about winter weather and how to stay busy inside during frigid temperatures
34:52 – The dynamic duo wrap up the episode
About The Downtime podcast and co-hosts
The Downtime is a weekly manufacturing podcast from WTWH Media that features insights from its automation and controls publications. It’s co-hosted by Wynn, who serves as the senior editor (digital) for Packaging OEM, and Kasprzak, who is the executive editor for Plant Engineering, Control Engineering, and Consulting-Specifying Engineer.
The podcast is available weekly on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Spotify.
Check out The Downtime’s recent episodes
Episode 33: Storytelling the year in packaging and manufacturing
Episode 34: Wrapping up packaging and manufacturing trends for 2025
Episode 35: Schneider Electric on AI, robotics, and digital twins in packaging
Episode 36: How Weintek’s HMIs act as a “universal remote” for packaging OEMs
Episode 37: CAPTRON on sensing technology for washdown environments
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