Control cabinet construction is a field of conflicting priorities with technical possibilities that are incredibly difficult to keep track of, along with fast-paced customer requirements and high cost pressure with tight deadlines. The only conceivable way of overcoming these hurdles would be to successfully transform the possibilities of automation and digitalization into the perfect interplay of product, process and production equipment.

The initiative aims to help tap into potential

The four technology leaders Komax, Weidmüller, Zuken and Armbruster Engineering founded the Smart Cabinet Building Initiative. They network technologies and expertise with a holistic view of value-added processes. A key success factor in practice is to combine fully automated solutions and digital assistance systems, which are used both to guide manual assembly and to control and monitor the tools used. The founders firmly believe that huge efficiency gains can be achieved by harnessing the optimization potential in the interfaces between the individual process steps. The initiative seeks to enable control cabinet manufacturers to achieve this using needs-based, end-to-end solutions.

Faster, more flexible and more economical production

The initiative pursues this goal through its holistic approach to automation. It focuses on development using solutions available today. The four partners cover the complete range of services – from selecting components and prefabricating wire harnesses, components and housings to assisted final assembly and testing before commissioning the control cabinet.

Project partners that perfectly complement one another 

Weidmüller contributes its expertise in the automatic insertion and labeling of terminal strips as well as in manual tasks. Zuken brings its expertise in digital development data, which is needed for fully automatic wire assembly on Komax machines. And Armbruster Engineering complements the initiative with its many years of expertise in assisted assembly.

The smart basis: the digital twin

The indispensable basis for networking the process steps is a complete digital description of the control cabinet and its components. “Digital twins” are being created for this purpose. They are used for one-to-one control of the various process steps. Starting from the digital twin, it is possible to tap into substantial optimization potential. Through targeted cooperation in the Smart Cabinet Building Initiative, it is sometimes possible to make perfect use of the digital twin.

For further information, see www.smart-cabinet-building.com