In over my head - please help-

I am the lead engineer for a small specialty automation company, mainly doing work for the electronics industry. My education, training and experience is 90% mechanical, 10% other.



My company is quoting a big job involving a lot of servo based positioning machines and the quote is up for review; hopefully leading to a job with the client.



The problem I have is that our electronics engineer is out due to a serious accident and we do not have a good BOM drawn up for the project. I have to come up with something to get us in the ballpark and frankly speaking, I am in over my head here.



To make matters worse, none of our legacy data is applicable, the client is a Japanese firm requiring the use of Mitsubishi PLC's, amps, servos etc... We have zero data on that supplier and as a non-electrical guy, I am at a total loss.



I have done a lot of internet searches and read up on a lot of stuff, but as a laymen, I just do not have the vocabulary or depth of knowledge required to get this right. Can someone help me get pointed in the right direction??



The task-



X-Y servo controls - 100 watt servos, 18 axis total (9 positioning machines with X-Y servo controls)

Z axis servo control 400 watt - 2 axis (moderate load on a pair of machines for the Z axis only)

Z axis stepper controls - 7 positioners - Z axis is not as critical and always will return to home after every cycle- very light load.



Basically, these machines will lift a light load and carry a laser marker over a simple path - circular or G-code generated.



We have 6 other motors on the line that have to be speed synchronized to some degree- this is a convenience to the client instead of giving them 6 individual inverters; other than that, this is simple stuff I believe.



Total inputs are around 300 and outputs (stoppers, pneumatic cylinders etc...) are about 200.



We know our guy was looking at Q series Mitsubishi equipment, but beyond that, I am hopelessly lost.



Can anyone offer any assistance? I really need it.

You need an engineer. For this size order, you should be able to have the Mitsubishi rep provide one at no charge. The rep wouldn't go as far as the final design, but should have no problem generating an acurate BOM.

In this competitive world, vendors are offering more Value-Added services to set them apart. You may be surprised at how willing the vendor is to help, and the quality of the service (i.e., a smart Engineer).

I agree with Keith



Being the not quite genius status on the electrical design myself, I have on several occasions us Mitsubishi and Allen Bradley to help with a list.



Now you may want also check with other vendors and clarify with your potential customer that they want all products to be Mitsubishi, I have several Mitsubishi PLC’s but we use Fuji and one other for the servos on that line. This will get you a better price, but if they want all Mitsubihi then it will make easier getting the quote together

You better hire someone knowledgeable in this field to help you out. Nothing can be more dangerous to your company's reputation than a quote that was obviously prepared by someone who is not familiar with what they are doing.

Not trying to put you down, but you should not be involved with this.

I agree with the vendor statement

I second the vendor help. Every job I have ever done has put me in a room with a vendor working over the proposed equipment and they have helped identify parts lists. One this is complete, they provide me with an equipment price quote. This is not something that I would be bashful about, I've come to expect it. When you give them a description of a function, they know what products they have to best suit your needs. The main thing to do is not panic. If you don't ever do something you're not familiar with, you never learn anything. Good luck.

Russ