Multi-bay factory control system
For a complete production line.
At the scale of a complete production line, the control panel becomes a line-up: several bays bolted into one enclosure run, each carrying a functional part of the system, with a single point of isolation for the whole of it.
The example photographed here is a three-bay stainless line-up. The left bay carries selector switches and status lamps for each drive, the centre bay the drive keypads and instruments, and the right bay the emergency stop and main isolator — positioned so an operator reaches them without opening a door. Lifting eyes on the top allow the line-up to be placed by crane.
Why the door layout is the design
On a system this size, most of the engineering an operator ever sees is the arrangement of the front. Grouping indication per drive, keeping the emergency stop and isolator on the outer bay, and labelling every device consistently is what makes a line-up usable under pressure — at three in the morning, by someone who did not commission it.
When to choose this size
The situations this panel is the right answer for — and the one where we would point you to a different size.
A complete production line rather than a single machine or section.
Hundreds of I/O points, multiple drives and a control sequence that spans the whole line.
Recipe handling and batch reporting, where the line runs several products.
A project where the panel and the process equipment are commissioned together, by the same people.
When a different size fits better
If the scope is a single machine rather than a line, most of this capacity is unused — a floor-standing enclosure covers it at a fraction of the cost.
Floor-standing single-door panelSpecifications
Common to every panel we build. Enclosure size, component selection and control architecture are set from your process data.
| Enclosure material | Stainless steel · painted steel |
|---|---|
| Build | Enclosure fabricated, wired, programmed and tested in our own plant |
| Protection rating | Specified per project |
| Control architecture | Hardwired · PLC-based · distributed with remote I/O |
| PLC / HMI platforms | Specified per project |
| Fieldbus protocols | Specified per project |
| Supply voltage | Specified per project |
| Testing before dispatch | Functional test with the panel powered and the sequences exercised |
| Documentation | Specified per project |
| Installation | Delivered, installed and commissioned at your site |
The rest of the range
Compact wall-mounted panel
For a single machine or a local control point.
Floor-standing single-door panel
For one machine or a small equipment group.
Double-door panel
For a process section or a machine group.
Frequently asked questions
Not answered here? Write to us — an engineer replies.
Can you build a panel to our own drawings and component list?
Yes. If you send finished drawings we build to them, including to your preferred component brands so the panel matches the spares you already hold. If you send a process specification instead, our engineers develop the control architecture with you and you approve the drawings before anything is ordered.
How large a system can you build?
The largest example on this page is a three-bay line-up controlling a complete production line, and multi-bay systems are routine work. The practical limits are the space available in your building and how the line-up can be brought in and placed — both of which we check at drawing stage.
What protection rating do you build to?
The rating is specified to the environment rather than applied by default — a wash-down food plant and a dry electrical room are not the same problem.
Do you supply the panel with the machinery, or on its own?
Both. When we build the process equipment, the panel is designed and commissioned as part of it — which is the arrangement we would recommend, because the two are then tested together before they reach your site. We also build panels on their own, for machinery you already have or are building yourself.
Can it be installed without stopping our production?
Usually yes, and it is a large part of how we work: the panel is built and tested in our plant, so the time on site is installation and commissioning rather than assembly. The changeover window depends on how the existing control is arranged, which we assess during the site survey.
Where are the panels manufactured?
In our own plants in Tomești (Iași, Romania) and Bălți (Republic of Moldova). The Romanian plant is inside the EU single market, so deliveries within the Union involve no customs and no import duty.