Platform for the metalworking industry
Making companies unburdened across the sign building value chain
Some customers prefer to make their boards themselves, while others have this job done by Rittal's specialists.

Unburdening manufacturing companies across the sign building value chain

Collaborate on customer use cases in the Rittal Application Center

Rittal, a world player in enclosure technology and IT infrastructure, is inaugurating the brand new Rittal Application Center (RAC) at its Belgian headquarters in Lokeren. This is not just a demonstration room, but a live production area where machines perform customization to order in real life. There, customers can combine the expertise of their team with the know-how of sister companies Rittal and Eplan, as strong partners for sustainable control and panel construction across the entire value chain: from engineering to procurement, production and operation.

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Panel building and switchgear manufacturers come to the Rittal Application Center with their projects, where customized solutions are sought together.

"Panel building and switchgear manufacturers come to our Rittal Application Center with their projects, where we then collaborate on customized solutions. There they get practical answers to the most diverse technical issues they face today. Ultimately, we want to help them increase the efficiency of their workflow and reduce costs, without sacrificing quality and accuracy," says Mario Van Bever, business development & marketing manager. "For those manufacturing companies, Eplan and Rittal form a unique one-stop shop, providing both the software and hardware to automate their production process in-house. The software house focuses on engineering software that allows cabinet systems to be drawn completely in 3D. We ourselves offer, in addition to a wide range of quality cabinet systems and enclosures for industrial use, also several intelligent production machines that use data from the software for almost fully automated production of cabinet systems."

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Board builders create designs with Pro Panel from Eplan. The data from those drawings form the basis for production in the Rittal Application Center.

Producing from 3D designs

Some customers prefer to make their boards themselves, while others have this job done by Rittal specialists. After all, the mechanical operations and cabling of the boards take a lot of time, and finding suitable personnel remains a major challenge. The engineering software Pro Panel is a handy tool that allows panel builders to design the interior layout of their enclosures themselves. All of Rittal's components are integrated into the software. The data from the drawings are then forwarded to the Rittal Application Center, as the basis for a production order. 

"Indeed, our CNC-controlled Perforex machine tools extract all the necessary parameters for drilling and tapping recesses in cabinets and mounting plates from Eplan's 3D designs. All the operator has to do is place the plate or door on the machine and press the start button," explains Mario Van Bever. "This automation results in significant time savings in drilling and milling, and guarantees a quality finish and accuracy that an operator can never achieve manually. The Secarex machine also cuts cable trays, cable tray covers and mounting rails quickly, accurately and ergonomically."

Automated wire confection

The demand for automation is also increasing in wire manufacturing. This is why Rittal developed its Wire Terminal. This machine cuts and prints all wires based on data from the Pro Panel software, and then finishes them with a wire end sleeve. Thus, the processor only has to connect the wires in the cabinet. It could hardly be more efficient. Van Bever states, "In most manufacturing plants, technicians are employed to interpret complex wiring diagrams. Thanks to the combination of our Wire Terminal with Eplan's Smart Wiring solution, the assembly can now also be done by employees who are less technically skilled, and the specialist only has to perform a final check at the end. This saves a lot of time and ultimately provides a solution to the acute personnel shortage in our current manufacturing industry."

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Cabinet cooling remains a growth market, which is why Rittal's range includes a wide range of possible cooling solutions using air or water.

Increased efficiency and productivity

The manager continues, "Automation undeniably leads to increased efficiency and productivity. But we also know that smaller manufacturing companies by space and/or budget often do not have the capabilities to take the step. Then they can call on our experts and forward their cabinet drawings to the Rittal Application Center. It is by no means our intention to become a competitor of our customers. We are also only in charge of board construction.     

We just want to provide support by allowing them to automate certain aspects of their production process anyway. Service is at the heart of everything we do."

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The Secarex machine also cuts cable trays, cable tray covers and mounting rails quickly, accurately and ergonomically.

Focused innovation

Meanwhile, Rittal continues to further optimize its products, machines and software solutions. Underlying these further developments is good communication with customers. For example, the team in Belgium listens to panel builders and other processors to hear what works well and what can still be improved and added. They pass that information on to the R&D team in Germany. Witness the new ATEX enclosures, which are less wide than other types, and the Hygienic Design, which makes products ideal for the food and pharmaceutical industries, among others. 

"Cabinet cooling also remains a growth market. If it gets too hot, the system no longer works at all, or at least not as it should. This is why we offer a wide range of possible cooling solutions with air or water. Our TopTherm fans, mounted without tools, provide cooling by blowing or extracting heat from the cabinet. The range also includes a new generation of roof fans and drawer fans for direct installation in the 19" level. Permanent air circulation inside the cabinet prevents heat traps from forming. There are also heat exchanger units for wall or roof mounting with two separate air circulations. The temperature difference between the indoor and outdoor circulation determines the amount of heat to be dissipated. Of course, efficient cooling can also be achieved with air/water heat exchangers. The TopTherm and Blue e(+) chillers offer a central and economical cooling of the cooling water and thus provide air/water heat exchangers, among others, with cooled water," says Mario Van Bever. 

"Finally, we provide solutions for integration in IT applications: racks, power distribution, cooling... This ranges from simple installations to the most complex projects with different compartments. Data centers, for example, often serve multiple customers, each with their own needs. One rack may therefore be divided into several compartments, which are partly for one customer and partly for another. A perfect result is therefore only possible if our employees first listen carefully to the customers and only then go through the entire process of unburdening the customers - from A to Z."    

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