Helbling making mechanical and plant engineers fit for the circular economy

The engineering and consulting company Helbling supports mechanical and plant engineers in their efforts to optimize their product portfolio in terms of the circular economy. Helbling has specifically developed methods and tools for this purpose. According to a specialist article, they enable product portfolios to be mapped in a modular system, an approach that helps companies to overcome innovation hurdles. For example, worn-out machines could be dismantled more easily in order to then renovate them for resale and ultimately re-use.

In terms of the circular economy, this approach saves resources to a greater extent and offers greater sustainability than disposal or recycling of material-intensive machines and systems. Helbling helps companies to take account of the requirements of the circular economy right from the design phase of a modular product system. To this end, the experts at Helbling have adapted the standard process for designing modular systems in mechanical and plant engineering to the requirements of the industry and have already used it in sectors such as food industry and automotive production equipment.

The required configurations can then be derived from a consistently structured modular product system. Durable components and modules such as machine beds and base frames should therefore be standardized and equipped with interfaces.

“Functional units with a short lifespan such as software and electronics or technology units with short innovation cycles should be built to be as flexible and easy to replace as possible. This simplifies reuse and retrofitting during the lifecycle”, the specialist article states.

The mapping of the products in a modular system also makes it possible to reduce complexity costs, exploit economies of scale, shorten lead times and automate repetitive work. It influences the entire value chain in a company. Carefully thought-out design and regular cost-effectiveness checks are therefore key.