From washing machine to rolling mill – today there is scarcely a product that does not incorporate mechatronic assemblies. These electronic parts, which have been integrated in the smallest possible space, ensure gentle start-up procedures, regulate changing operating conditions and optimize energy consumption. As a result, products are becoming more sophisticated and complex, which means that their mechanics, electronics and software have to be coordinated with one another to an ever increasing extent even though development cycles are becoming shorter and shorter, and cost pressures continue to increase.

These challenges can only be mastered by simultaneous engineering and above all through development partnerships. In a globalized world, this type of collaboration not only requires the efficient and error-free exchange of data but also a clear overview and strict monitoring of which information may be transferred to an outsourcing partner and which may not. For this reason, the content of any data exchange should be narrowed down to the electrical and/or mechanical parameters to such an extent that the joint development task can be completed but there is no danger of a company’s own corporate capital being lost as the result of the uncontrolled transfer of the intellectual property contained in the data.