A case study in using the Vaelton Shift on the assembly floor of a precision manufacturer.

The Challenge: Every Machine Is Different

Vacuum El System builds large CNC machine guardings - the protective enclosures that surround industrial machinery. These are not standardized products. Each guarding is configured individually, with multiple options and thousands of individual parts. No two machines are exactly alike.

That uniqueness creates a documentation problem. Because every machine is one of a kind, the company does not produce written assembly instructions for each build - doing so for every unique configuration would be impractical. Instead, the assembly workers build directly from the 3D model. The model is the instruction set. It shows every part, every connection, and every detail of how the finished guarding comes together.

This approach demands one thing above all: the workers need full, fluid access to that 3D model right where they are building - not at a desk across the floor.

The Solution: A Workstation That Moves With the Build

The assembly team uses a Vaelton Shift mobile workstation, and the way they use it maps almost perfectly to why the product was designed in the first place.

The terminal moves freely around the machine without obstruction. As the guarding takes shape, the workers reposition the workstation to wherever they need to be - alongside a panel, at the rear of the frame, wherever the next operation happens. The 3D model stays with them throughout.

On the 27-inch high-resolution touchscreen, the model is large enough to read in real detail. Workers can zoom into a sub-assembly, rotate the view, and check exactly how a part fits before they install it. A small tablet screen could not carry this kind of detailed technical work; the full-size display makes it practical.

Closing the Loop With the MES System

Building from the model is only half the workflow. The other half is recording progress. As operations are completed, the workers use a barcode scanner - connected to the terminal's PC over Bluetooth - to log each step in the company's MES (Manufacturing Execution System).

This keeps the digital record in sync with the physical build in real time. Supervisors and planners can see exactly where each guarding stands without walking the floor or chasing updates. The scan happens at the point of work, not at a shared station at the end of a shift.

Power That Lasts Days, Not Hours

The station is flexible enough to be moved wherever it is needed, and at the end of the day it is simply rolled to a nearby socket to charge overnight. With a single eight-hour shift cycle, the battery lasts roughly two days on a charge - so even a missed overnight charge does not interrupt work.

This is the practical reality of a 200 Ah LiFePO4 battery in a real single-shift operation: charging becomes a background routine rather than a constraint on how the workstation gets used.

No Special Training, No IT Headaches

Because the terminal runs a standard Windows system, there is no learning curve. The assembly workers already know how to use a Windows PC, so the workstation requires no extra training to operate. It behaves like any other computer in the company.

Connecting to the local network and the internet over WiFi is straightforward. The external antenna keeps the signal strong even in the tight, metal-dense areas of the manufacturing zone where ordinary wireless reception tends to drop out. And because it is a standard managed PC, the IT department maintains it like any other machine - updates and administration are handled remotely, with no need to physically attend to the unit on the floor.

More Than a Screen on Wheels

The tabletop surface turns the workstation into a genuine work area. The assembly team uses it to set down paper checklists, hand tools, and whatever else the task in front of them requires. It is a station, not just a display.

That surface matters most when something is unclear. When a configuration raises a question the model alone cannot answer, an engineer comes over to help - and because the terminal is mobile and has space around it, the whole team can gather at the workstation, look at the same 3D model together, and work through the issue on the spot. The workstation becomes the natural meeting point for solving problems, right where the machine is being built.

Why It Works

This is exactly the use case the Vaelton Shift was built for. A unique product with no fixed instructions, built from a digital model that has to be readable in detail. A workflow that has to be logged as it happens. An environment with poor wireless coverage and no patience for fragile equipment. And a team that needs the computer to come to the work, not the other way around.

The result is a single mobile workstation that carries the model, runs the MES, survives the floor, lasts for days between charges, and gives the whole team a place to gather when a build gets complicated. That is what a mobile industrial workstation is supposed to do.

The Vaelton Shift™ Mobile Workstation
Learn more at vaelton.com