Bematech: configurator with a control system for precise remote roller production

Configurator with advanced software manages production

At PUXdesign, we have taken on the development of a configurator connected to software that manages the entire system. It sends data obtained from the configurator to the computing module via a web interface.

“Thanks to cutting-edge technology, we have devised a new business model. Bematech will sell a bending machine to another manufacturer of blinds according to this technology, but the settings and management will take place remotely. The interested party essentially buys the hardware. The requirements for producing the blind rod, such as length, width, type, and weight of the material, will be processed in the configurator elsewhere, specifically with us, thanks to the control systems and web application. They will then be automatically transferred back to the machine.” says Bematech founder Bernard Mullie for Technický týdeník.

Our work required coding and designing the graphical appearance of the configurator. However, the biggest challenge for us was the backend tasks. Developers focused on the proper connection of the software, the logic of calculations, API connection of the machine, and working with the lifecycle of the entire configuration. Day and night, we worked with numbers to ensure everything connected correctly. The result is a section for users and administrators with the ability to place an order, manage it, and send it into the production process – all happening in real-time.

The entire project work also required communication with academics from VUT Brno and the company Švoma-stroje, who were responsible for the calculations around the machines and software to make remote production feasible.

“It will be a special form of rental or license for a certain period. The customer simply places a task and will not have to worry about how the assignment is technically realized. We will take care of that. How we manage it is our secret that the customer will not decipher. They won’t need to, as we will remotely provide the necessary software to the machine, and it will produce the blind exactly according to their wishes.” clarifies Bernard Mullie.

The section for business partners hides the configurator

The first condition for creating the configurator was for our developers to create a section exclusively for business partners who receive their login credentials from the client. And the section after logging in has several levels of permissions that the client can set according to their requirements. Once this was completed, it was time to work on the configurator itself.

We assembled the configurator from three parts

The configurator consists of three interconnected parts. In the first section, the business partner has the option to submit a request. The Java application, hosted on its own server, then calculates how to create the product based on the parameters entered in the configurator. A unique feature here is the conditionality of each calculation of the configured model – that is, the transition from the web to the Java application – through a credit system. The business partner who submits the request for shading configuration purchases each calculation at this stage using credits, not money.

The second part takes place back on the website with the configurator when the Java application has completed the calculations. The website sends the request into production on the PLC – that is, the machine for producing shading, which is physically located at the business partner's site. This machine pulls the data created in the software, and all that is needed to start production is the press of a button. Once the roller tube is manufactured, the device sends this information to the web and to the client, who has a perfect overview of the completed configurations, device calculations, and subsequent production. 

The third part of the configurator contains the history of the business partner's completed configurations. Whether the customer created just a design of the blinds in the configurator or also had the designed product manufactured, they will always find all information about the parameters in this section.

Credits can be shared among users

We subsequently enriched the configurator connected to the Java application with a number of extensions. This includes the introduction of what is called Company. This allows users within one company to share credits for creating configured shading together. Additionally, originally static data in the form of XML files can be modified. The configurator includes dropdown boxes for item selection – the client can thus configure their own materials or components.

Initially, users logged in individually, credits were allocated to each user separately, and the data entry for calculations through the Java application combined static data from XML files with what individual users filled in the configurator.

We continue to take care of the configuration section

Although it may seem that our work on this project ends with the creation of the software and the assembly of the configurator, this is not the case. For Bematech, we also manage specific client accounts of business partners.