Integrate Engineering, Planning and Manufacturing

In control technology, engineering and manufacturing often fail to communicate with each other as they are often their own separate departments and don’t see the need to communicate with the other. And when they do communicate, information is often transferred by manual lists and printed schematics - even if both departments are highly automated. Therefore, the manufacturing department needs a central engineering platform to enable a seamless, digital data transfer. 

A Functional Project Approach 

The functional project approach has many advantages in engineering and maintenance. All of the information you require for a particular function is available in a common object. Yet, in manufacturing and panel building, we still see that these approaches continue to encounter a lot of resistance. In functional design, the panel builder must search through schematic after schematic to find the right components and work out the best wiring route in the cabinet -a laborious task that requires highly qualified staff. This approach seems useless in traditional panel building. Until recently, that was the most important barrier to overcome after the functional schematic set-up. 

Automating Panel Building

In the past, the shop floor received designs and had to manually work out which items needed ordering and interpreted the manufacturing documentation. This process that, as you can imagine, takes a long time. Nowadays, this process can be automated by using CNC-product machines. The production documentation can be issued to the shop floor directly from the design engineer, which saves a lot of time and minimises mistakes.

But this is only possible by having a digital twin of the cabinet layout. A 2D layout simply isn’t good enough anymore. A 3D design is an absolute must! But what else do you need to automate panel building? Firstly, you should use collision control to calculate both the minimum amount of space required to place a component and the required cooling for the total heat generated in the cabinet. Secondly, you need to use a software that automatically routes the wiring based on the where the components are laid out in the control cabinet. This then automatically updates in the electrical and pneumatic/hydraulic schematics.

Managing CNC Machines 

Once you have completed the engineering process and the 3D prototype of the cabinet, you need to automatically manage the production machines (CNC machine). This includes drilling, milling and punching machines, wire assembly, wiring robots and labelling printers. 

By dividing the product portfolio into functional, reusable components and supporting them with a central, digital engineering platform with 3D prototypes and automated control in production, you can remain competitive for the coming year. By using intelligent software, you can support this integration and make yourself more productive.

Would you like to see how other companies have implemented this?