Schweitzer Engineering Labs is a company that specializes in many technologies, mainly in the energy field. The specific office for this project makes and distributes Coaxial communication cable and uses a 15-year-old custom cable pulling machine to wind said cable. The goal for this project is to have a new system that has high torque capabilities to pull the heavy-duty coaxial cables more efficiently and faster. The current machine has safety and ergonomic risks and is said to operate on an obsolete system. The key features they are looking for in a new machine are: Modern operating system, Inline integration with other parts of the system, safety features, Pre-Feeder Functionality, and ease of maintenance. These changes will allow SEL to boost productivity and ultimately mean less operator involvement with this machine specifically.
Schweitzer Engineering Labs currently relies on a manual wire-handling process where operators must pull heavy communication cable directly
from large reels into the Marken machine. This creates a major ergonomic and productivity issue, as operators must exert excessive force to
overcome reel inertia and friction, leading to fatigue, and slowed throughput. To address this bottleneck, SEL needs a dedicated pre-feeder
system that reliably assists wire movement from the reel to the Marken, reducing manual effort, improving ergonomics, and ensuring smoother,
more efficient operation.