Time-to-market has become a key factor for global competition in the field of automation technology. Festo has developed an internationally segmented network to this end, by means of which 300 000 customers all over the world get individualised products manufactured in accordance with their own requirements faster, and are thus able to reduce time-to-market.
A decentralised network consisting of 19 international research and development (R&D) centres for various product groups and different technological focal points assures world-class technological know-how. The company's worldwide Technology Engineering Centres (TECs) address new technological challenges in cooperation with company headquarters. TEC employees possess technology and product-specific knowledge, and work on new products for customers all over the world in close cooperation with the production departments at Festo's domestic and foreign manufacturing facilities. The TECs are involved with R&D work for drives, valves, controllers, compressed air preparation, sensors, diagnosis systems, micro technology, tubing, membrane technology and software.
Together with the Regional Production Centres (RPCs), the Regional Engineering Centres (RECs) are at the heart of customer oriented product development at Festo. As decentralised R&D centres, at which regionally aligned catalogue products are developed, they represent R&D locations for defined catchment areas within their respective regions, and have engineering responsibility for the products within their own territories. The RECs allow for fast, flexible responses to the requirements of the regional markets and focus their work on the individual requirements of customers from the regions, and also adapt products to the applicable standards and requirements in the respective countries.
Engineers employed by Festo's customers take advantage of Festo software tools in order to simplify layout and selection of components for complete systems. Instead of manually creating component drawings, they embed, for example, finished 3D CAD models into their design plans, which can be downloaded from Festo's website. Each month, engineers download more than 130 000 drawings from this website. The picture shows Festo's software tools help to save time and money.
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