Competitive Strength Through Digitalized and Automated Processes

Automation and digitalization offer a clear path forward — even for smaller volumes. The key is making the assembly process more intuitive by introducing it step by step.

Software solutions like WIRE Mind or DLW create a "digital twin" of your cabinet that acts as a central source of truth for your entire team. Instead of requiring experts to decipher complex paper schematics, your team works with assembly-optimized, labeled wire sets where every wire is clearly marked with its source and destination.

The impact is significant: wiring accounts for up to 49% of total working time in cabinet building. Automating wire production can cut per-wire processing time by up to 64% for batch size 1 — and up to 80% for series production — reducing overall throughput time by more than 30%.

Absolutely. Automation is a journey, not a single leap — and it works for every company size.

The best starting point is your data. Cloud-based software lets you centralize project knowledge while ensuring minimum data quality is reached. The data becomes a single source of truth that connects engineering data directly to production. No complex paper documentation, no massive upfront investment.

If you want to see the benefits before investing in equipment, our wire manufacturing service is a practical first step with minimal commitment: you send us your data and receive ready-to-install wire sets. This allows you to break down the project into manageable steps. First, check that data can be digitalized. Then adjust your process with improved wire set sequencing. And finally, invest in the actual equipment once ROI has been confirmed. And as your volume grows, the architecture scales with you.

As soon as your business feels the pressure of the skilled labor shortage or the rising costs of manual errors. While many assume automation is only for high-volume series production, solutions like the Zeta family are designed to work efficiently even for custom panels and batch size 1.

Wiring usually accounts for nearly half of total production time. Introducing automation reduces per-wire processing time by up to 64% for individual panels and up to 80% for series production. Material waste is virtually eliminated, since machines process every wire to exact specifications based on your digital planning data. Automated changeovers for different wire types and integrated inkjet marking keep production flowing without interruption.

Automation also removes common sources of rework. Instead of technicians spending hours interpreting paper schematics, connection information is printed directly on each wire. Machines cut, strip, and crimp to precise digital instructions, and real-time quality monitoring verifies every connection as it's made.

Because machines like the Zeta 620 G2 produce assembly-optimized, labeled wire bundles, less specialized employees can handle wiring tasks — freeing your experts for more complex engineering challenges.

Consider this: wiring can account for up to 49% of total production time. Introducing automation and parallel workstream means your operator will install a wire every 35 s (instead of 266s).

The return on investment goes beyond speed. Machines like the Zeta 620 G2 produce labeled wire bundles of exact length, which means less specialized employees can handle assembly while your experts focus on complex engineering tasks. Material waste from manual cutting errors — often as high as 20% — is virtually eliminated. And integrated changeovers for different wire types keep production flowing without interruption.

Automation also addresses a major source of rework: human error. Manual processing often leads to misidentified connections, incorrect wire lengths, or faulty crimps. WIRE Mind translates engineering data into precise machine instructions, preventing these issues at the source. Built-in sensors verify quality in real time — for example, by checking crimp height — so every wire meets industrial standards before it reaches the assembly stage.

In control panel building, a digital twin is a complete, data-rich virtual replica of your cabinet — created before physical production begins. It contains every component, wire route, connection point, and terminal assignment in one central model. Think of it as a living blueprint: rather than a static drawing that's printed once and handed to the shop floor, the digital twin evolves alongside the project and feeds accurate, up-to-date data into every downstream process.

This matters because traditional workflows rely heavily on paper schematics that are interpreted manually at each stage — planning, cutting, assembly, testing. Every handoff introduces the risk of errors, outdated information, or inconsistent documentation. A digital twin eliminates these gaps by serving as a single source of truth that all systems and team members draw from directly.

In practice, the data flows through three connected stages:

1. The process begins in your ECAD system, where the digital twin is born. Software like DLW or WIRE Mind take this raw production data, define routing paths, and create labeled wire bundles optimized per your production requirement. This is the digital data preparation stage (transforming generic R&D and support data into customized sequenced production wire set).
2. That optimized data is transferred directly to automated wire processing machines such as the Zeta 620 G2. The machine follows the digital instructions to cut, strip, crimp, and label every wire automatically, ensuring repeatable accuracy across every single connection.
3. During assembly, the digital twin continues to guide the process. Technicians follow the information printed directly on each wire rather than referencing paper schematics — making the workflow accessible even to less specialized staff. Finally, the data flow extends to quality assurance. Tools like NT600 or assisted testing software verify that every connection matches the original digital plan, closing the loop from engineering to final test.

The result is a connected workflow where data moves seamlessly from the first click to the final test. This allows you to parallelize work steps — preparing wire bundles while the cabinet is being mechanically assembled.

By moving their expertise from their heads into your digital workflow — where it becomes a permanent asset of your company.

Through digitalization, your senior engineers define routing paths and standardized rules for wire bundling. This knowledge is stored in a central system — a single source of truth — that drives production long after they've moved on.

In practice, this means their experience is built directly into the process. Automated machines produce wire bundles based on optimized rules your experts defined. Digital tools provide technicians with step-by-step instructions in a visual format, replacing the need for constant guidance from senior staff. And because connection information is printed directly onto each labeled wire, even less specialized employees can deliver high-quality results — significantly reducing training time.

The added benefit: instead of spending their remaining years on repetitive manual instruction, your senior engineers are freed to focus on high-value engineering tasks.

By establishing a direct digital bridge between your engineering data and the production floor. Software like WIRE Mind imports your design data from ECAD systems such as from EPLAN, Zuken, ETAP, Siemens... to name a few, optimizes it into production-ready bundles, and sends it directly to automated wire processing machines. If your connection lists are incomplete, DLW can calculate precise wire lengths from 2D drawings or high-resolution images, ensuring your data is ready for automated pre-assembly even for batch size 1 projects.

This digital workflow also eliminates manual wire labeling. Integrated marking systems label every wire with its source and destination during processing, so your team can wire the cabinet based purely on the information printed on each wire.

The efficiency gains are significant. Digitalization allow data preparation, mechanical assembly, fabrication of the wire bundles and wire routing to be run in parallel. Reducing the overall wiring time of the cabinet by up to 64% and manual wiring time by up to 80%. And because the process is data-driven and intuitive, less specialized employees can deliver high-quality results.

By building quality directly into the process rather than just checking it at the end. Automated Zeta machines use precise engineering data to cut, strip, and crimp every wire with industrial-grade repeatability. Each wire is clearly labeled with its source and destination during processing, so assembly workers can wire the cabinet based purely on the information printed on the wire — without referencing paper schematics.

Integrated sensors — such as the KT236 — verify each connection in real time, stopping errors at the source before a faulty wire ever reaches the assembly stage. Specialized equipment measures crimp height, pull-out force, and crimp force to ensure each connection meets exact specifications. Our quality solutions tie it all together: they connect your measurement devices to the production process and only release wire sets for assembly once the measured values match your target data.

The result is a continuous quality chain from engineering data to final test — reducing rework, shortening troubleshooting time, and making the assembly process accessible even to less specialized staff.

These two standards are the most important regulatory frameworks for control panel builders serving international markets — but they differ in scope and philosophy:

UL 508A is the safety standard for industrial control panels in the United States and Canada. It covers electrical safety, mechanical strength, and fire resistance, and follows a prescriptive approach: it defines requirements for electrical spacing, short-circuit protection, and component selection — only UL-listed parts can be used. Compliance requires detailed electrical schematics, component lists with UL markings, layout drawings, and SCCR (short-circuit current rating) calculations.

IEC 61439 is the international standard for low-voltage switchgear and controlgear assemblies, widely adopted in Europe as EN 61439. Its scope is broader than UL 508A, covering entire electrical assemblies including switchgear and distribution boards. Rather than prescribing construction rules, it emphasizes performance-based design verification through testing, comparison with a verified reference design, or engineering assessment. For the European market, compliance also requires a Declaration of Conformity and a technical file referencing the Low Voltage Directive and the EMC Directive.

If your panels ship globally, designing for both standards from the start saves significant rework later.

The complexity of dual compliance is one more reason why a data-driven, digitalized workflow pays off. When your engineering data flows from a single source of truth into production, you reduce the risk of manual errors that lead to non-conformance — regardless of which standard applies.