Is It Time to Go Cabinet-Free? What the MX-System Makes Possible
The control cabinet has long been automation’s dependable workhorse. But with skilled workers in short supply, faster project cycles, and customers demanding global-ready solutions, that familiar architecture now become a bottleneck.
Cabinet-free automation isn’t a new idea, but until recently, available solutions couldn’t fully meet the dynamic, real-world demands of modern machines. MX-System changes everything. It delivers cabinet-free automation as a fully engineered platform, combining:
- Modular design: IP67-rated components that plug into machine-mounted baseplates
- Pre-engineering: Modules arrive pre-wired, pre-tested, and pre-certified for global markets
- Simplified installation: No custom wiring, complex documentation, or cooling required
- Coverage of low voltage 24/48vDC, and high voltage 480vAC needs with substantial current availability
To understand what this means for engineering teams, we spoke with Chris Timmermans, MX-System Product Specialist at Beckhoff Canada, who works with machine builders exploring how cabinet-free automation addresses their toughest challenges.
Here are five key advantages of replacing control cabinets with the MX-System:
Eliminate Pages of Engineering Documentation
Engineering teams can spend weeks producing wiring diagrams, fuse tables, and termination schedules for a classic cabinet-based solution. MX-System eliminates most of that work through pre-engineered, pre-tested, certified modules.
“There are pages and pages of documentation that are simply no longer required, MX-System does away with it,” Chris describes. “Here's your baseplate mounted on the machine, here's the VFD module, you just plug it into the slot, tighten 8 bolts to secure it, connect your motor cable, and you're done. No custom wiring, no fusing, no ferrules, down from 18 wire labels at a minimum to one. Everything else is already handled."
The result: engineers focus less on repetitive drafting and more on optimization and innovation. Customers also discover unexpected sustainability benefits, like reduced cooling requirements, smaller footprints, and lower energy consumption.
Overcome Skilled Labour Shortages
Control cabinet builds require specialized electricians for custom wiring, fusing, and troubleshooting, skills that are increasingly difficult to find and retain, leading to bottlenecks that slow project completion.
MX-System changes this dynamic by simplifying assembly so colleagues with even basic mechanical skills can handle installation while skilled experts focus on high-value tasks.
“In about ten minutes someone with basic mechanical skills could have a small system up and running, while I stand behind them,” Chris states cheerfully. “You've freed up a substantial amount of your skilled employees' time, allowing them to focus on high value work instead of copy-paste infrastructure wiring, all while keeping wiring errors at their lowest levels ever.”
Reduce Build Time from 24 Hours to 1 Hour
Cabinet-based systems often take 24 hours or more just to get to the moment it can be powered up: procurement, panel-shop scheduling, wiring, mounting, debugging, and testing. MX-System slashes this entire saga dramatically; Since modules arrive pre-wired and pre-tested, with only a single high-voltage connection requiring an electrician, we can now get to a powered-on state in minutes, not hours or days.
To illustrate the time difference between custom builds and modular assembly, Chris, a father of two young boys uses an analogy: “You could build a child's toy from scratch—design and commission the molds, get them reworked and dialed in, manage the entire injection molding process, tweaking to get the required tolerances and finally move to the assembly phase. Or, you could just buy a complete kit with everything included and ready to assemble. That's essentially what we're doing here; you have a pre-built kit that you're just putting together.”
Faster builds mean shorter project cycles, improved cash flow, and the ability to take on more jobs without facing staffing limitations.
Global Compliance Out of the Box
Cabinet-based control designs often require complete re-engineering for CSA, CE, or NEC compliance typically covered with cULus or CE approval markings before exporting equipment to different countries. This involves redesigning panels, selecting region-specific components, and working through lengthy certification processes, all of which delay international sales and add significant costs.
MX-System eliminates this burden as components arrive pre-certified for North America and Europe (with additional regions in development). Machine builders can design once and deploy globally without modification.
"The same equipment sold here can be shipped to Germany and run right away," Chris points out, explaining how this global compatibility allows sales conversations to shift from certification hurdles to delivery timelines.
Plug, Play, Replace: Maintenance in Minutes
Maintenance becomes increasingly challenging as control systems age and modifications accumulate.
“You get into the five-year mark where you are often required to perform heavier maintenance efforts. Opening that panel door is a roll of dice every electrician is haunted by; To describe it as a tangled mess of wiring that somebody has crammed into the panel is an accurate description—plus about four pounds of dust thrown on top of it, as the wires pour from finger ducts where the covers have been long forgotten” Chris vividly illustrates, he goes on to describe how even small changes in traditional cabinets can require extensive rewiring and retesting due to the complexity of custom wiring, and short life cycles of equipment. “Changes that often go undocumented or completely forgotten” Chris quietly notes with a look painful past experience on his face.
MX-System simplifies maintenance and upgrades through plug-and-play modules, short cable runs, and built-in diagnostics. Additional benefits such as completely eliminating panel cooling requirements reduce both energy consumption and service complexity. When components need replacement, technicians can simply swap modules with minimal effort and downtime. Beckhoff also backs this with it’s industry recognized long term availability for all products, highlighted by their existing IO terminal selection still available in full force 30 years later.
“The effort required to swap out a module is typically 4 to 8 bolts, so we're down to minutes and only one tool,” Chris details, adding that this approach shifts classic control debugging from basic connectivity troubleshooting to optimizing performance at the application level. “This is a complete rewrite of the script on how we automate modern equipment, all while keeping cutting edge technologies and tools ready at our disposal.” closes Chris.
The Smarter Path Beyond Control Cabinets
Control cabinets will continue to have their place. But for organizations under pressure to deliver smarter, faster, standardize globally, and use skilled expertise more strategically, MX-System shows how cabinet-free automation has matured into a robust, practical, proven, and most importantly flexible solution.
Far from being a risky experiment, MX-System enables engineering teams to spend less time wiring and more time innovating—turning skepticism into advocacy the moment they see it in action.