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Seamless transition from digital twins to configuring electrical cabinet backplanes

Two years ago, the companies Weidmüller, Komax, Zuken and Armbruster Engineering launched the “Smart Cabinet Manufacturing” initiative. Since last November, nVent Hoffman/Steinhauer GmbH has supported the initiative as an established supplier of automation solutions for housing improvements. The initiative aims to address current and future challenges in the field of electrical cabinet assembly by networking technology and expertise across process steps from engineering to wiring.

In this era of rapidly changing customer requirements, costly and price pressure, and tight deadlines, Initiative Partners provides cabinet assemblers with comprehensive solutions to assemble cabinets more quickly, flexibly and economically. The partners explain in detail how they do it, based on a comprehensive production process. In line with the tagline “From digital to physical”, the digital twin is clearly defined first, before the digital is used to automate and assist production.

The design of Zuken’s E3. series products is the basis of the digital twin. Afterwards, machining of the housing was carried out using nVent Hoffman / Steinhauer’s Modcenter. Weidmüller’s RailAssembler and RailLaser are used for the automated assembly and marking of terminal blocks. For this, the data is transferred from the E3 to the Weidmüller configuration software WMC using an automation interface. The workstation system provided by partner Armbruster Engineering guides workers during the installation of cross-links and other accessories.

Automated wire harness processing with Komax’s Omega, which also handles pre-wiring. All components are then assembled on the backplane assembly auxiliary workstation provided by Armbruster Engineering. Using Weidmüller’s Wire Processing Center (Wire Processing Center) to handle project-specific wires, Zuken’s E3.WiringCockpit guides workers in wiring. Overall, using the solution saves 50-90% of time per process step compared to conventional work steps.

The partners have realized these man-hour savings on numerous joint customer projects. Customers appreciate the “omnipotent” ability of “smart cabinet manufacturing”.

From the selection of electrical components to cable handling, pre-assembly of devices and enclosures, to intelligently assisted final assembly and commissioning tests before leaving the factory, the partner covers the entire range of services

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