SPS 2025: The world’s first AI-generated control cabinet – produced by Phoenix Contact

Phoenix Contact oversaw the production of the cabinet and contributed its expertise in detailed planning and production. The project demonstrates the digital process chain from the circuit diagram to mounting – a milestone for control cabinet building of the future. High-quality product data from wscaduniverse.com provided the basis for this.

As Sophia Hardeck, Director Product Marketing Industrial Cabinet Solutions at Phoenix Contact, emphasizes: “The future of control cabinet building lies in the intelligent and efficient combination of data from engineering with manual and automated production. The combination of WSCAD’s engineering expertise and our know-how in detailed planning and production creates real added value for our customers.” Manfred Lindert, Head of Dept. Marketing Data Management at ABB GmbH also stresses the importance of digital product information: “Digital product data is a high priority at ABB. That’s why we make this data available on the wscaduniverse.com platform and are continuously expanding our digital portfolio.”

Premiere at SPS 2025
At SPS 2025, WSCAD demonstrated live for the first time how AI support in the Electrix AI 2026 design software can be used to automatically generate a production-ready control cabinet layout from a digital circuit diagram – and how this layout can then be implemented as a real control cabinet. Trade visitors were thus able to see firsthand how artificial intelligence is significantly accelerating and simplifying the engineering and production process in controller and systems manufacturing for the first time.

This innovation is based on the AI functions of Electrix AI 2026, which can be described in three stages:

• AI Copilot as an interaction interface: It accepts instructions and questions and delivers results in a fraction of the usual time.
• Automated layout generation: Proprietary AI models analyze circuit diagrams, identify components, select mounting panels and DIN rails, and position the devices. The models learn from users’ projects and generate a production-ready layout in seconds.
• Digitization of existing documentation: When importing scanned paper or PDF documents, the AI recognizes symbols, assigns components, retrieves component data, identifies connections, and reconstructs the entire circuit diagram.

Tasks that previously took many working hours can now be automated in a short space of time with the help of AI – with correspondingly positive effects on production times and workload.

Digital process chain in practice
In the process sequence, the terminal strips are first transferred to the clipx Engineer software during assembly and automatically completed there. After importing back into Electrix AI, material lists and terminal and wiring diagrams are created, which form the basis for subsequent production steps.
The Marking system Software generates the marking data, prints the equipment identifiers, and ensures the consistent identification of all components. Wiring information is transferred to clipx Wire assist. The software supports the semi-automated cutting, stripping, crimping, and marking of wires and guides the operator through the entire process. A fully wired control cabinet is created in a short space of time. A 3D model of the cabinet was also on display at the häwa booth. Visitors were able to experience the final design virtually using VR goggles.

Partner project shows the potential of digital value creation
Christian Rathgeber, Team Lead Business Development at WSCAD, emphasizes the significance of the joint presentation: “We are particularly pleased that, together with our partners, we were able to demonstrate the control cabinet building of tomorrow live and can continue to do so.” From his point of view, the advantages are obvious: “An AI-generated cabinet and the consistent use of the data generated for marking systems, wire manufacturing, cabinet housings, and mounting panels saves time and reduces errors.”
With this joint project, WSCAD presented a market-ready solution for an intelligent and fully digitalized engineering and production process at SPS 2025. Visitors to the trade fair were able to follow live how a complete cabinet assembly is created from planning data within just a few minutes – precisely, transparently, and digitally from start to finish with a forward-thinking approach.