Modernise the machine — keep the iron
Most "old" machines are mechanically excellent and electrically obsolete. A machine automation upgrade replaces the controls, drives, sensors and safety — and keeps the proven mechanics — for a fraction of replacement cost and lead time. Mobile Automation delivers upgrades from minor improvements to complete line overhauls, concept to completion.
Typical upgrades
- Control retrofits — obsolete relay logic or dead PLCs replaced with modern, supported platforms, properly documented
- Drives and motion — VSDs and servo upgrades for speed control, energy savings and gentler machine wear
- Sensors and vision — jam detection, quality cameras, condition monitoring; small additions with outsized downtime savings
- Safety upgrades — bringing guarding and safety circuits to AS/NZS 4024 as part of the same project
- Robotics and handling — adding robot loading, packing or palletising to existing lines
- Data and connectivity — bringing the machine onto your SCADA and giving it a voice
Concept to completion, around your production
We assess the machine, design the upgrade, build the new control cabinet in our workshop, pre-wire and test off-site, then execute the changeover in a planned window — a weekend or shutdown, not a month of downtime. Our own engineers, electricians and fitters do the lot, then support it 24/7. It's the same discipline we bring to switchboard changeovers, applied to machines.
Frequently asked questions
Is upgrading really cheaper than replacing the machine?
Usually dramatically — control retrofits typically run 20–40% of replacement cost, with weeks of lead time instead of a year, and no rigging-out of a machine that mechanically still works. Where replacement is genuinely better, we'll tell you.
How much downtime does a retrofit take?
Most changeovers are executed in days over a planned window, because the new cabinet is built and tested before we touch the machine. We plan around your production calendar.
Can you upgrade machines with no documentation?
Yes — we survey the machine, trace the circuits and produce as-built documentation as part of the project. Undocumented legacy machines are our bread and butter.
Will the upgraded machine integrate with our other systems?
That's half the value — modern controls bring the machine onto your SCADA, into your data and under your alarm system. We design the integration in from the start.