Automation Concern Four – “Nobody makes automatic machinery for building control panels”

05Jan

In the final part of this exclusive four-part series, EPLAN looks at automatic machinery and how you could benefit from them.

In reality, there are machines out there that will do much of the grunt work, although, perhaps unsurprisingly, they’re only just starting to establish a foothold in the UK market. All of these machines take data directly from the CAE system, which brings two benefits to the panel builder: potential errors have already been eliminated and costly resources, such as cables, have already been carefully measured to reduce waste.Let’s take a look at some of these machines, which vary from semi-automated to fully automated, and how you could benefit from them.

Machines for wiring

Wiring a control cabinet can be a timely process, accounting for 50 percent of the overall production. However, automated wire processing machines can reduce this and also increase quality!

Semi-automated cutting machines can cut all wires needed for a complete control panel to precisely the right length. This is achieved by using software such as EPLAN Electric P8 to calculate the length and diameter of the wire. This data can then be imported into the machine. Stripping and crimping machines are also available, where boundary conditions are set, such as the length of the strip and the diameter of the wire, to ensure the quality of the output is always consistent.

For those who wish to take the automation further, fully automated wire processing machines are also available and can make wire processing up to eight times faster...

Read the full article in PBSI's January issue