Mr. Thiel, what was the reason for developing the engineering tool?

When developing the engineering tool, we consistently focused on the needs of our customers. Designers were looking for a solution that would allow them to design quickly and easily with our products. For many applications, a CAD system is simply oversized or too cumbersome. As a result, around 95 percent of our customers do not include any connection technology in their designs because it is too time-consuming. This means that not only the connectors are missing from the parts list, but also the associated machining operations. Both are automatically inserted correctly in the engineering tool.

Another trend is the demand for preconfigured system solutions. Our customers no longer want to design everything down to the last detail themselves, but want to use the time-saving options offered by configurators. The third point is the digitalization of our processes and those of our customers. The item engineering tool provides us with all the information we need in digital form. This allows us to deliver the design to our customers more cost-effectively and, above all, even faster than before. Projects can be shared and revised more quickly and easily within a company. Similar designs can be easily derived and a lot of time can be saved in production and assembly thanks to the project documentation available online.

What can the customer construct with it and where are there restrictions?

The engineering tool enables design with item products. We currently provide around 900 of our more than 4,000 sales items in the engineering catalog. We are constantly expanding the range of products in the engineering tool. This includes our classic profile technology including all connection technology, angles, cover caps and other accessories.

In addition, almost the entire scope of our lean production modular system can be used to design extensive FiFo shelving, for example. We have not simply transferred the geometries of our products into the engineering tool. The tool knows which products can be installed together, which fastening elements are required and which connection processing is necessary. This allows our customers to concentrate on the actual design.

The customer even receives complete documentation at the end. What does this include?

We are particularly proud of our project documentation. It contains all the information we or our customers need: a cover sheet with an isometric view for quick recognition, a QR code that leads directly to our Project Viewer - where I in turn receive all the information directly on any end device -, a parts list, a complete processing plan of all profiles, an exploded view and finally assembly instructions.

Will the industrial design process generally move towards online tools in the future?

A very clear yes. The advantages in the areas of collaboration and communication are obvious. Everyone involved in a design is always on the same page. Large amounts of data no longer need to be sent by e-mail or FTP server. And another time waster is eliminated: there is no need for local IT administration as software no longer needs to be installed and maintained.

What do you say to customers who prefer to design with their own software in order to keep their data in-house?

To be honest, I haven't been asked this question yet. I think our customers recognize the clear added value for themselves that online software offers. In addition to the time saved in design and the creation of project documentation, these are the benefits of collaboration and communication. We treat our customers' designs securely and confidentially - and all in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation, of course.