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Volga manufactures low and medium voltage electrical panels, armored busbars, automation, electrical centers, and high and medium voltage substations that meet global quality standards. The company’s mission is to make life simpler, integrating technology, infrastructure and energy, and promoting digital transformation for its customers in Brazil and worldwide. Volga is known for being first-to-market with technology innovation that delivers exceptional customer value and minimizes use of energy and materials.
- Manual wiring of panels is time-, labor-, and skill-intensive
- Wiring complexity creates potential for errors and risk of failure
- Complexity requires more troubleshooting and maintenance time for end users
- Traditional panels use high volumes of plastic and copper components
- System integrators compete on panel delivery times
- 66% reduction in wiring time
- 36% reduction in panel size and 32% reduction on weight
- Significant reduction in project engineering and testing time
- Substantial reduction in wire and copper used
Challenge
Hardwiring a control panel manually requires time and skilled labor–two resources that system integrators like Volga and its customers don’t have to spare. Ensuring that every wire is correctly routed and securely attached to avoid faults and meet safety and operational standards is critical, but manual wiring is often slow, prone to human error, and inefficient. This is a major hurdle for panel builders in optimizing production and delivering on accelerated customer deadlines, especially with high-volume orders.
“In Brazil, it’s common now for customers to wait to make their decision to invest in the equipment, and so the delivery date becomes extremely important to them,” said Carlos Leopoldo, Commercial Director at Volga. “Having a technology solution that improves the delivery date and is simple to install and maintain will help close some deals.”
Rockwell aimed to eliminate these challenges through an innovative EtherNet/IP In-cabinet Solution that would reduce the time and resources needed for controls project engineering, testing and panel wiring. To validate the solution’s performance and value, Rockwell asked System Integrator Partners in the U.S. and Japan to assist with proof-of-time-savings testing. In Brazil, Rockwell Automation System Integrator Partner Volga accepted the time-study mission.
Solution
Volga’s team performed the time study in its on-site test area over a three-day period. To compare the time needed for the different wiring methods, the team first assembled a hardwired panel composed of six direct online motor starters, PLC and I/O modules, and 800F operators, all interfaced with 1492 terminal blocks. Prior to the test, the team had already routed the cables using CAD software, cut the cables and stripped the ends, and inserted the marking system on Panel 1, so the test was limited to wiring the controls circuits.
The Volga team then assembled Panel 2 of the same composition using the new EtherNet/IP In-cabinet Solution. During the time test for Panel 2, the team installed the single pair of flat cables and connectors, the remaining control circuit wiring, pre-wiring, and detailing.
Time was tracked per the clock time stamp, and video and images were recorded. After the time study, Volga’s team was asked for their impressions of the process and the solution.
Result
According to the Volga time study, hardwiring the control circuits for Panel 1 took 20 hours and five minutes. Completing the control circuits in Panel 2 with the EtherNet/IP In-cabinet Solution took six hours and 39 minutes. That’s a 66% reduction in wiring time. These results align with other time studies conducted in the U.S. and Japan, which indicated an up to 80% reduction in wiring time.
“The EtherNet/IP In-cabinet Solution will increase our productivity,” notes Leopoldo. “When you extend this concept to a large motor control center or panels with a lot of cables, it will have a huge impact in the assembly process.”
“The feedback from our team was very positive,” Leopoldo added. “They said the technology was easy to use and didn’t require a lot of materials. Perhaps even more importantly, they believe the connections are very strong.”
Connectivity That’s More Sustainable
“For some of our customers, the first point for them is sustainability,” noted Leopoldo. “We’ll be talking with our customers about this technology that reduces cabling and copper and reduces the impact on the environment.”
By choosing to build panels with the EtherNet/IP In-cabinet Solution rather than traditional hard-wiring, system integrators can deliver a product that
- Is 36% smaller and 32% lighter (panel size reduction from 30’’ x 30’’ x 10’’ to 24’’ x 24’’ x 10’’)
- Uses substantially less wire and copper
The EtherNet/IP In-cabinet Solution delivers other important advantages as well:
- Increased panel builder productivity
- Reduced engineering time
- Reduced control wiring complexity
- Reduced troubleshooting and wiring errors
Our promise to customers is to make their lives simpler–it’s part of our values at Volga and it’s on our website. We want to be the first with this new technology because it puts that promise into action.
Leopoldo - Commercial Director, Volga
Published May 20, 2025