Control technology, electrical assembly and software for mechanical engineering and industrial automation
AST Automation GmbH
New on Amplifa
About AST Automation GmbH
AST Automation GmbH is a company for mechanical engineering and industrial automation with the service areas of electrical assembly, engineering, software development, retrofit, partner automation as well as training and development. The company performs professional electrical assembly including machine installation and commissioning, thereby covering the entire control of processes. In electrical engineering, automation-related as well as electromechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic and safety-related issues are addressed. The software department develops control and plant software, including the company's own product FastCtrl® (Version 2.0 since August 2026), and integrates MES (MDE & BDE), CAQ and ERP. A reference project is the system realized together with the mechanical engineering specialist Aumat for the door lock production of Winkhaus in Meiningen: a system with 9 stations, 25 Festo servo axes, 70 pneumatic valves, 5 Sensopart cameras as well as printing and labeling technology for the fully automated assembly and testing of over 1,500 variants, in production since early 2025. In addition, AST modernizes older machines through retrofit with modern control technology (including Siemens PLC, VisiWin HMI from Inosoft) and supports IoT integration and predictive maintenance.
- Processes
- Electrical assembly (control, machine installation, commissioning), Development and engineering (including electrical engineering), Software development (including FastCtrl®, PLC programming), Retrofit / machine modernization (control technology integration), Partner Automation (automation of production processes), Training and development, Mechanical engineering (development, engineering, assembly, commissioning of machines and plants), Circuit diagram takeover in industrial automation
- Materials
- Siemens control technology / PLC programming, VisiWin multi-touch HMI (Inosoft), MES (MDE & BDE), CAQ and ERP, IoT integration / predictive maintenance
- Certificates
- Camera-based automated inspection (Sensopart), MES/CAQ integration for quality assurance
- Industries
- Mechanical engineering, Industrial automation, Manufacturing companies (including the door hardware industry), Industrial automation / manufacturing companies
- 01
Development and engineering (electrical engineering, PLC programming)
- 02
Ordering of electronic components
- 03
Software development (FastCtrl®, control/plant software)
- 04
Electrical assembly, machine installation and commissioning
- 05
Integration of MES (MDE & BDE), CAQ and ERP
- 06
Training and development
- 07
Retrofit and continuous further development
Processes and Technologies
Siemens control technology / PLC programming
Used as the core of machine and plant control, among other things in the reference system for door lock production.
VisiWin multi-touch HMI (Inosoft)
Intuitive operator interfaces for plant visualization and operation.
MES (MDE & BDE), CAQ and ERP
Integration for end-to-end digitalization and information flow between IT and OT.
IoT integration / predictive maintenance
Sensor-based real-time monitoring for predictive maintenance and resource optimization.
Locations
Winkhaus reference system, Meiningen
DEAutomated assembly and testing system for door lock production (with partner Aumat)
- Lot size
- Over 1,500 product variants
- Materials
- Siemens PLC, Festo servo axes, Sensopart cameras
- 9 stations
- 534+ inputs/outputs
- 25 Festo servo axes
- 70 pneumatic valves
- 5 Sensopart inspection cameras
- Videojet printers
- Bluhm labeling systems
- Siemens PLC control technology
- VisiWin multi-touch HMI (Inosoft)
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical assembly (control, machine installation, commissioning)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Development and engineering (including electrical engineering)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Software development (including FastCtrl®, PLC programming)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Retrofit / machine modernization (control technology integration)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Partner Automation (automation of production processes)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Training and developmentEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Mechanical engineering (development, engineering, assembly, commissioning of machines and plants)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Circuit diagram takeover in industrial automationEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Automated inspection / quality control (camera-based, reference system)Inspection | – | – | – | – | – |
| Integration of MES (MDE & BDE), CAQ and ERPEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| IoT integration / predictive maintenanceEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
7 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Servo axes | Festo | 25 | – | – | Winkhaus, Meiningen (reference system) |
| Pneumatic valves | – | 70 | – | – | Winkhaus, Meiningen (reference system) |
| Cameras (inspection) | Sensopart | 5 | – | – | Winkhaus, Meiningen (reference system) |
| Printers | Videojet | – | – | – | Winkhaus, Meiningen (reference system) |
| Labeling systems | Bluhm | – | – | – | Winkhaus, Meiningen (reference system) |
| PLC control technology | Siemens | – | – | – | Winkhaus, Meiningen (reference system) |
| HMI (multi-touch) | Inosoft VisiWin | – | – | – | Winkhaus, Meiningen (reference system) |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality and Digitalization
Automated, camera-based inspection (Sensopart) is integrated into the realized systems; the seamless integration of MES (MDE & BDE), CAQ and ERP supports transparency and quality assurance in production.
| Evidence | Meiningen |
|---|---|
| Camera-based automated inspection (Sensopart) | |
| MES/CAQ integration for quality assurance |
History
- 2025
Project completion: system for the door lock production of Winkhaus at the Meiningen site (with mechanical engineering specialist Aumat), in production since early 2025.
- 2026
Release of FastCtrl® V2.0 (August 10, 2026) and launch of the company's own YouTube channel (September 29, 2026).