Special machines

In the field of special machine engineering there are certain criteria which are crucial and of decisive importance to the success of an installation or a project. Generally speaking, special machines engineering is a very complex discipline in the project business which requires full concentration and absolutely clean work at all times and from start to finish. Any error, no matter how small, can have a huge impact on the final result.

It is therefore important to work out beforehand the costing of a new installation such as has never existed before. At this time only the experience of the respective sales team can help and it is at this early stage that creative ideas emerge, such as what shape the installation will take and how its function is presented. It is not unusual for a project planning proposal for the overall system even to be offered beforehand, in which simulations and possible solutions have been worked out. When it comes to award of the contract, it is the mechanical design which is the ultimate decisive criterion as to whether an installation will subsequently function or whether rectifications are necessary. In the design phase all employees are required to contribute their entire experience and their ideas as only in this way can extremely complex concepts be implemented.

Not until the mechanical design of the installation has been clarified are components sourced and manufactured, and the installation software developed. Even these points have to be addressed and implemented with the utmost care. When components are not of the quality described or delivery dates are not met, this in most cases will have an enormous impact on the calculated price. Right from start a special machine’s software, which will always be very complex, must be clearly thought out down into the smallest detail and properly structured. Failure to do so will mean increasingly serious problems both for the delivery date and for costs. The assembly and commissioning of an installation will reveal whether the initial ideas during the design and software development phases were good ones. Throughout the entire development process of a special machine it is essentially important to maintain a very high quality of project management as only then is it possible to respond quickly to problems and to work out solutions. When all teeth fully engage in this chain, a special installation will be crowned with success.