Mechanics and automation from one supplier: why it genuinely pays

A machine is not born on the shop floor. It is born in the first weeks of design, when the mechanical, electrical and software choices are made that cannot later be changed at a reasonable cost. That is where it is decided whether it will be an excellent machine or a constant source of trouble.

At that stage, the difference between one supplier and two separate parties is not procedural: it is deeply technical.

Designing together: the gains before any metal is cut

When the same company handles mechanics and automation, the project stops being a relay race between two disciplines and becomes parallel development. The concrete decisions change:

• Better choice of actuation: a pneumatic cylinder costs less than an electric axis, but it offers no continuous positioning, sends no diagnostics and limits cycle time. Weighing mechanical cost, controllability and maintenance at the same moment leads to better choices from the outset.
• Sensors designed in: sensors are placed exactly where the control needs them and the structure is shaped to house them: purpose-made brackets, integrated cable routes and access for calibration. No improvised repositioning during assembly.
• Real axis sizing: whoever calculates the load profile works from real data (inertias, friction and actual masses) rather than second-hand datasheets. That avoids both costly oversizing and marginal axes that vibrate.
• Functional safety built into the CAD: defining Performance Level, safety functions and access zones on the drawing takes a few hours. Retrofitting them onto a machine already built means structural changes, delays and compromises.
• Ergonomics and maintenance aimed at the user: whoever designs the HMI already knows where the operator will look and act; whoever will handle service asks for access to the key components without dismantling half the structure.
• Cycle times simulated and guaranteed: the software simulates the sequences while the mechanics are still flexible. If the theoretical cycle does not add up, the 3D design is changed, rather than chasing tenths of a second during acceptance testing.

One point of contact, one responsibility

The most obvious advantage is also the most important: a single party to talk to.

You describe the problem once, you get answers that account for every technical constraint, and you do not have to referee between two companies with different priorities. You also get one coherent set of documentation: electrical schematics, bills of materials, functional description and operating manuals describe the same machine and are updated in step.

What separating the disciplines really costs

When mechanics and automation are assigned to two different companies, the risk is that the boundary between the disciplines has no clear owner. And if a problem arises, it can end up landing on the customer.

• Longer lead time: every clarification takes meetings, emails and cross approvals between two suppliers, stretching delivery.
• Documentation that drifts apart: the electrical schematic and the mechanical bill of materials end up describing two different machines. The inconsistencies always surface on the shop floor.
• Defensive changes: with no trust across the boundary, the mechanics are oversized and the software adds precautionary waits. The result is a machine slower and more expensive than it needed to be.
• Responsibility passed back and forth: if a positioning error shows up three months later, the dispute starts between those blaming the stiffness of the structure and those blaming the drive tuning.
• Double acceptance testing: running two separate FATs hides the integration defects until final installation on site.

The usual objection: "this ties me to a single supplier"

It is a fair concern. The answer is not blind trust but contractual transparency. An integrated, structured partner protects the customer's independence by providing:

1. Complete, open documentation: schematics, bills of materials, source code and functional description.
2. Market-standard software and catalogue components from leading brands.
3. Clearly regulated intellectual property for the software.

Why choose Dal Ben Automation

Dal Ben Automation grew out of this approach. On one side the solidity of Dal Ben S.p.A., which since 1987 has designed and built complex machinery for demanding sectors (steel, hydroelectric, defence and scientific research) with its own workshop and testing. On the other, advanced automation engineering: control architecture, PC-based PLC, functional safety and data management.

It is not a commercial partnership: it is one engineering team developing your project from the first sketch to final acceptance.

Are you planning a new machine or an industrial revamp? Get in touch for technical consulting and we will show you how to remove the integration risks from the design stage onwards.