uKonn-X at Herding Filtertechnik: DIGITAL NAVIGATION FOR MACHINE INSTALLATION

Machines and systems are increasingly being designed with decentralized architectures. This creates more space in the control cabinet but also increases complexity in the field. Digital assistance systems can help address this challenge by translating engineering data into intuitive installation guidance. A practical example from plant engineering demonstrates how efficiency potential can be unlocked.

Today, hardly anyone uses a folded road map to plan a route. The destination is known, and a navigation system usually takes care of the way there: it guides users step by step, points out exits, highlights route deviations, and gets them to their destination via the best possible route. There are parallels in machine installation. Here, too, the goal is clear: sensors and actuators must be integrated in the right place, cables must be routed to the appropriate module, and every connection must be assigned to the intended port. However, the path to achieving this typically involves circuit diagrams, 3D models, bills of materials, and labeling. Until now, this has required prior knowledge and significant experience.

uKonn-X changes that. With this solution, Murrelektronik applies the navigation principle to the installation process: employees are visually guided through the installation steps directly at the machine. This solution is now in use at Herding, a manufacturer of filtration systems.

GREATER COMPLEXITY, NEW REQUIREMENTS IN ASSEMBLY

Herding Filtertechnik develops and produces industrial filtration and dust collection systems. These systems are generally designed specifically for each customer, and Herding takes responsibility for their entire lifecycle—from design and production to commissioning and maintenance.

The collaboration began with a customer project in which it was no longer practical to accommodate all components in the control cabinet. The solution was obvious: move more intelligence and connection technology into the field, relieve the control cabinet, and save space and costs. However, the shift to decentralized components also changed the assembly process. Employees with a strong background in control cabinet construction suddenly had to install more components directly on the machine.

This is where the collaboration with Murrelektronik began—initially at the hardware level through preassembled sets, followed by digital worker guidance using uKonn-X.

FROM THE PLAN TO A DIGITAL REPRESENTATION

The uKonn-X system uses existing engineering data to derive digital installation guidance. It is based on circuit diagrams, 3D models of the machine, and bills of materials. An algorithm developed by Murrelektronik links the information from the circuit diagram and the mechanical design. The result is a kind of digital twin of the installation.

In practice, installers no longer work primarily with paper plans, lists, and experience-based knowledge. Instead, they scan components, cables, or labels using a handheld scanner. uKonn-X identifies the component and visually indicates on a tablet or laptop where it must be installed or connected. Each step is confirmed, deviations can be commented on, and progress is documented.

Users no longer need to open a plan themselves, search for the correct location, and interpret it. Instead, they follow an intuitive visualization. This saves time and prevents errors.

At Herding, this new assembly method begins with sets of preassembled and labeled cables supplied by Murrelektronik. This eliminates traditional sources of error, such as incorrect cable lengths, missing or incorrect labels, lost identifiers, and time spent searching during picking. Installers always have exactly the parts required for the relevant machine or assembly group at hand. By scanning the component, uKonn-X recognizes where it belongs.

THE LEVER LIES IN THE OVERALL PROCESS

The most obvious impact of uKonn-X is in installation. However, the Herding use case shows that, in order to realize its potential there, action must be taken much earlier in the machine development process.

For a digital guide to work reliably, relevant data must be available and consistent. What has been ensured in many companies for years through experience-based knowledge must be explicitly described in plans and models. A sensor that is “always” installed in a particular location, a hose routing that “everyone knows,” or a connector that is selected correctly in practice—all of this must become digitally visible if installation is to be guided digitally.

Herding deliberately embraced this step. The company increased planning depth, refined its 3D models, and placed a stronger focus on data continuity. Details such as connector heads, connector positions, and routing paths are now modeled as well. This initially means additional effort in engineering, but it delivers significantly greater efficiency in installation, commissioning, and documentation.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER INSTEAD OF DEPENDENCE ON SPECIALISTS

Another effect concerns workforce organization. At Herding, certain employees had long been assigned to specific systems or assembly groups. This created routine, but also monotony and limited flexibility.

With uKonn-X, work can be distributed more broadly. Even employees who do not work on the machine every day can carry out the installation after a short introduction. Final acceptance remains the responsibility of qualified specialists, but the assembly process becomes more robust.

This addresses an issue that companies are facing in light of skilled labor shortages and demographic change: how can experience-based knowledge be digitalized so that it can be used in the process without diminishing the expertise of employees? The Herding project showed that acceptance increases when the system is not understood as a replacement for specialist knowledge, but as a means of reducing workload.

In addition to installation support and error prevention, documentation is a key benefit. Every completed step is digitally recorded, creating a digital machine file that is particularly relevant for acceptance testing and later support.

Another advantage—and a decisive point in the project—was the openness of the system. While uKonn-X is especially effective in combination with decentralized installation technology, it is not limited to Murrelektronik components. Components from any manufacturer, as well as pneumatic components and customer-specific requirements, can be integrated. This was important for Herding because machine installations do not consist of a single closed supplier ecosystem.

FROM PILOT PROJECT TO THE COMPLETE MACHINE

The project did not start directly with the complete machine, but deliberately with a smaller assembly group. Murrelektronik and Herding jointly reviewed data, checked plans and 3D models, identified missing information, and prepared an initial use case.

The assembly group was then installed in practice together with the relevant stakeholders and users. This allowed employees to test the system, deliberately trigger errors, ask questions, and experience the interface in a real assembly context.

Following this practical test, uKonn-X was gradually expanded—first to additional and larger assembly groups, and later to the complete machine. Today, a filtration or dust collection system at Herding includes more than 200 installation tasks that are guided intuitively.

The Herding case is not an exception; rather, it illustrates typical challenges faced by many machine builders. Decentralized installation technology offers advantages when the associated processes are aligned accordingly. Digital assistance systems create value when engineering data is consistent and sufficiently detailed. And genuine efficiency gains only emerge when assembly, commissioning, quality assurance, engineering, work preparation, and procurement are considered together.

uKonn-X is therefore more than a digital tool. It makes visible where processes lack continuity and where efficiency is being lost.

Source:

Industrielle Automation

Pictures:

Herding Filtertechnik