Digital Worker Guidance for Decentralized Machine Installation

Developments in mechanical engineering are increasingly shifting components from the control cabinet out into the field. Herding Filtertechnik, a manufacturer of industrial filtration and dust extraction systems, transitioned the architecture of its custom systems to decentralized connection technology in order to reduce the space required in the control cabinet. This architectural shift increased assembly complexity, as employees increasingly had to install sensors, actuators, and module connections directly on the machine. To manage this requirement, the companies implemented a combination of pre-assembled hardware and digital worker guidance software.




Implementation and System Architecture
Murrelektronik's uKonn-X system utilizes consistent engineering data from circuit diagrams, mechanical designs, and bills of materials to generate a digital twin of the installation process. In practice, assembly technicians use handheld scanners to record the cables and components to be installed. The system then visualizes the exact installation position and the assigned connection port on an end device. This digital infrastructure requires a high degree of planning depth in engineering, where details such as connector heads and routing paths are predefined as 3D models. The software architecture is designed to be system-open, allowing the integration of third-party parts as well as pneumatic components into the guided process.




Impact on Operational Infrastructure
The process-guided installation standardizes assembly workflows and eliminates systematic sources of error, such as incorrect cable lengths or missing labels. The step-by-step confirmation of procedures automatically generates a digital machine record, which serves as the foundation for the final quality inspection and future maintenance work. On an organizational level, the system stabilizes the personnel structure; the knowledge stored within the models enables assembly tasks to be assigned to a broader spectrum of employees without compromising system integrity. Following a pilot phase on selected assemblies, the solution is now used for the entire machine at Herding, managing more than two hundred specific installation tasks per filtration system.

Edited by Maria Brueva, Induportals editor – adapted by AI.

www.murrelektronik.com