Controls
Engineering.
On Demand.
PLC, HMI and electrical design capacity for machine builders, integrators and OEMs — added to your team for the length of a project, without a permanent hire.
Reserve Engineering
Live StatusCapabilities
Inside the panel
Capacity Estimator
Calculate your engineering capacity
Turnaround
7business days
Overhead saved
$21,500vs. full-time hire
Assigned
Controls engineer
Included
- Complete PackML / ISA-88 modular PLC source code
- Comprehensive I/O mapping & fieldbus diagnostics
- Offline logic emulation & factory simulation files
- Commented ladder / ST tags and revision logs
MNDA on request · client owns the IP
Comparison
Why on-demand
01 // TIME-TO-ONBOARD
01/05
Time-to-Onboard
Traditional
- Full-time hire
- 3 to 6 Months (Hiring + Recruiting)
- Agency
- 2 to 4 Weeks (SOW Negotiation)
XL Controls
Under 24 hours
02 // COST-MODEL
02/05
Cost Model
Traditional
- Full-time hire
- $140k–$170k Salary + Benefits + Overhead
- Agency
- $180–$250/hr + Retainer Lock-in
XL Controls
Hourly, project, or weekly capacity
03 // PLATFORM-COVERAGE
03/05
Multi-Platform Coverage
Traditional
- Full-time hire
- Limited to single engineer's background
- Agency
- Junior engineers assigned to your account
XL Controls
Ladder, ST and FBD across AB, Siemens, Beckhoff, Emerson GE
04 // OVERHEAD-IDLE
04/05
Overhead & Idle Time
Traditional
- Full-time hire
- Paid 100% even during project slowdowns
- Agency
- Minimum billable hour thresholds
XL Controls
Billed only for hours worked; pause between phases
05 // CODE-STANDARDS
05/05
Code Quality & Standards
Traditional
- Full-time hire
- Varies; often unstandardized code
- Agency
- Often uses proprietary black-box blocks
XL Controls
Open, modular source to PackML and ISA-88
Portfolio
Proven field results
Remote Controls Optimization
25% Throughput Increase — Online PLC/HMI Optimization
Challenge: Customer required additional machine throughput, but increasing speed without first validating the existing electrical and controls hardware could introduce reliability or equipment-limit issues.
Solution: Performed a thorough hardware and controls review to verify the machine could safely support the increased operating rate. After validating the system, implemented PLC and HMI code changes remotely while the machine remained online, optimizing machine sequencing and operating parameters.
Throughput
+25%
Modification
Remote, online
Hardware
Validated
Legacy Machine Retrofit
Two PLCs Integrated Into One + New Conveyor System
Challenge: A repeat machine required significant controls changes from the previous design. The system was transitioning from a two-PLC architecture to a single PLC while also incorporating additional conveyors, including equipment that had not previously been used on the platform. The customer needed the original machine specifications maintained without redesigning their process requirements.
Solution: Reworked the existing controls architecture and manually configured the new conveyor equipment to match the required specification. Integrated the new hardware into the legacy electrical design through PLC programming, AutoCAD Electrical modifications, and controls/hardware integration.
Architecture
2 → 1 PLC
Conveyors
Integrated
Specification
Unchanged
First-of-Kind System Design
Ground-Up Controls & Electrical Architecture
Challenge: The company had not previously built this system architecture: a material-handling system designed to move cartridges from a palletized zone, depalletize the product and boxes, and feed them into an inspection process. There was no existing electrical design to simply reproduce.
Solution: Developed the control-panel and electrical architecture from the ground up, including power distribution, panel layout, I/O architecture, schematics, and BOM development. Integrated multiple hardware platforms into a cohesive controls system, including Allen-Bradley PLCs, Stratix 5700 networking, PointMax I/O, servo systems, and Siemens power supplies.
Electrical
Ground-up
Integration
Multi-platform
Architecture
First of kind
Getting started
Start with a scope review
Twenty minutes with the engineer who would do the work. Bring a bottleneck, a set of schematics, or a date you are not going to hit.
No charge and no obligation. The output is an honest read on whether this is work we should be doing for you.
- Where the schedule is actually stuck
- Platform, current code state, drawing package, and the constraint behind the delay.
- Whether we are the right fit
- If the work sits outside Rockwell, Siemens, Beckhoff, Emerson GE or AutoCAD Electrical, we will say so rather than take it.
- A rough shape, not a proposal
- An hour band and a sequence you can use with us or with anyone else.
Scope Fulfillment Guarantee*
If the final deliverable fails to meet the explicitly agreed-upon and signed-off project scope, we will execute the required rework at zero additional billable hours.
Scope is documented before work starts and signed off by both sides. Changes requested after that point are quoted as changes, not absorbed as rework.
Rework means bringing the delivered work in line with that document — not extending it.
* Applies strictly to the originally documented project scope. See our standard MSA for full terms and conditions.
Onboarding
From call to commissioning in 24 hours
Direct Engineer Contact
Speak with the controls engineer doing the work, not an account manager.
Redline Drawing Audit
Rapid review of electrical schematics and panel layout specifications.
Response Window
Defined response times during core manufacturing shift hours.
FAQ