Vectoryon for Mechanical engineering
AI in engineering
Vectoryon brings Swiss SMEs into the age of AI. Like other AI providers, Vectoryon answers emails and creates appointments, and it does much more. Together we go to the heart of the company and rebuild its value-creating processes with and around AI. This makes real gains in efficiency and quality of up to 60 percent possible. In mechanical engineering, this means manuals, service requests and quotes from your own documents, with the source instead of guessed parts.
For a business, artificial intelligence in mechanical engineering means one thing above all: finding its own documents again and building answers from them. Operating manuals, parts lists, service reports, old quotes and supplier declarations are scattered across file stores and mailboxes. Vectoryon is an AI workspace. Its AI assistant makes this stock searchable and delivers answers with the source. The assistant does not output values without a basis. According to Swissmem, the Swiss tech industry exports 80 percent of its products, and over 98 percent of companies have fewer than 250 employees. The documents are stored in Zurich. Which language models run is enabled per company; if you want only models in Switzerland, you get only those.
Machine file assistant
Matches service requests to the serial number, finds parts lists and manuals and prepares the reply
Reply draft with a reference to the parts list, manual or service report
See Vectoryon in your engineering business- 1Upload parts lists, manuals, service reports and quotes or connect them from SharePoint
- 2Create a machine list with serial number, variant and year of delivery in the Tables module
- 3Review the service mailbox every morning and match requests to the machine
- 4Propose a reply draft with the source, write follow-up questions when the variant is unclear
- 5A person checks, approves, sends
Which tasks the assistant takes on in mechanical engineering
Service request: A customer writes with a serial number and a photo, asking about a part or a fault. In the connected Outlook mailbox, the Vectoryon assistant reads the email, looks up the serial number in the machine list of the Tables module and fetches the matching parts list, exploded view and the last service report from the file store. The result is a reply draft with a reference to the source. If the variant is unclear, it writes the follow-up question to the customer. A person checks and sends.
Technical documentation: Operating manuals consist of text modules that have grown over years in Word files. The assistant finds the valid module for a safety device, shows the passage and compiles a new manual for the next machine variant from the company’s template in the Craft module. It notes which language version and which declaration of conformity is still missing for this machine.
Quote for a custom build: Before the calculation comes the question: have we built something like this before? The assistant searches earlier quotes, specifications and post-calculations for similar projects and places them side by side. It fills the text part of the new quote, meaning scope of supply, exclusions and delivery terms, from the template. The company’s calculation still works out the price.
Export correspondence: Supplier declarations of preferential origin expire and must be renewed. The list for this is in the Tables module. Vectoryon recognises incoming declarations in the mailbox, files them with the right supplier and writes the reminder to those whose declaration is expiring. An automation checks this every Monday.
Knowledge about old machines: Handwritten notes, scanned drawings and service reports from the 1990s are uploaded and become searchable in plain language. Whoever takes over a machine whose designer has retired finds what was written down.
Each of these tasks ends with approval by a person. Every action is logged.
Operating manuals, Machinery Ordinance and service requests: where the time goes in mechanical engineering
The Machinery Ordinance requires an operating manual for every machine in the official language of the region where it is used. The declaration of conformity must match the manual. From 20 January 2027, the new EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 applies in the EU without a transition period. According to the NSBIV fact sheet, Switzerland will probably adopt it in equivalent form; the decision depends on the negotiations with the EU. Manuals may then be delivered digitally, but according to the 2025 NSBIV fact sheet they must remain available for at least ten years after being placed on the market.
For a business with a technical writer, or a design engineer who does the documentation on the side, this means: text modules in several versions, chapters copied from old manuals, and the question with every delivery whether the French version is up to date.
Vectoryon starts with the search and the compilation. For a safety device, it shows the valid module and the manual in which it was last used. A manual for the new variant is created from the company template, with gaps flagged. The risk assessment, the conformity assessment and the signature stay with the specialist. The company draws the process from the new variant to the delivered manual in Process as a process map, with role and system for each step.
On the service side, according to the software vendor Quanos, the most common request in the spare parts business is not “How do I order?” but “Which part do I need?”. The information for this is spread across several systems. The software vendor Contelos describes a case on its website in which the technician knew the serial number but not the installed variant. The query to the design department took two working days, the machine stood still for three days, and the wrong part was ordered anyway.
This is where the machine file in the Tables module helps. Serial number, variant, year of delivery and a reference to the parts list are in one place. The request is matched, the drawing fetched, the draft written. What Vectoryon cannot do: state stock level and price. Those come from the ERP.
Does Vectoryon replace our ERP, PLM or CAD?
| ERP, PLM, CAD | Vectoryon |
|---|---|
| Stock level and spare part price | Match the service request to the serial number, fetch parts list and drawing, draft the reply |
| Calculate the price of a custom build | Search earlier quotes and specifications, fill in the text part of the quote |
| Design data in CAD and PDM | Find the valid text module and compile the operating manual for the new variant |
| Delivery time and hourly rates | Track supplier declarations and write reminders |
Integrations
- OutlookMatch service requests and supplier declarations from the mailbox
- SharePointMake manuals, parts lists and service reports searchable
- TablesMachine list with serial number, variant and year of delivery
Where the data comes from and where it stays
The assistant has three sources in the Vectoryon Workspace. Technical file store: operating manuals, parts lists, exploded views, service reports, test reports, quotes and supplier declarations are uploaded as PDF, Word, Excel or photo, or connected from SharePoint and OneDrive. Old scans are read too. With poor scan quality, recognition is not guaranteed, and the assistant says when it cannot read a passage.
Microsoft 365 mailbox: Outlook, calendar and Teams are connected via the Graph interface, using OAuth, with access the business can revoke at any time. This lets the assistant see the service request and the incoming supplier declaration.
Lists in the Tables module: the machine list with serial numbers, the supplier list with the expiry date of the origin declarations, the project list with a reference to quote and post-calculation.
Storage is in Zurich. Which language models run is enabled per company; if you want only models in Switzerland, you get only those. How the revised Swiss FADP applies is explained in the article AI and data protection in Switzerland; the privacy policy lists the service providers involved. Design data stays in the CAD and PDM, as the plans do in architecture. Vectoryon reads documents, not models.
Every action of the assistant is logged. Anyone who wants to check which manual it used for a reply draft finds the entry with time and source. Outgoing messages only go out after approval by a person.
Setup, support and costs
For CHF 49 per person and month, the business gets the Workspace with assistant, Tables module, Craft, automations and Microsoft 365 connection. The pricing page shows the amount for all accounts.
We set up the account and data in under an hour, remotely or at your premises, as you prefer. There is no extra charge for this: setup is included in the price of CHF 49 per person and month.
After that, the effort depends on how the documents are stored today. In mechanical engineering, there are three steps: upload or connect the technical file store, create the machine list with serial numbers, store the quote and manual templates in Craft. If the documents are in paper folders in the basement, the scanner comes first.
There is no flat figure for the time saved; the businesses differ too much for that. What the assistant finds depends on the amount of documents stored.
A sensible start is one department, not the whole business: for example the service team with its mailbox and the machine list. Once that works, documentation and sales follow.
Support and partnership are part of the service. Anyone who gets stuck in Vectoryon first asks the help agent. If its answer is not enough, a support person takes over in the same chat, or via Teams on request. Partnership means: we keep accompanying your business after setup, as Vectoryon evolves, with enquiries and with other questions, as equals and at any time. Support around the clock is available on request.
Where the limits are
Vectoryon is not an ERP, not a PLM and not a CAD. Stock level, spare part price, delivery time and hourly rates come from Abacus, proAlpha, SAP or the company’s calculation software. The assistant does not state a figure that is not in any stored document. How this sets it apart from a general chat service is explained in ChatGPT or your own AI.
Design: Strength, tolerance chains and service life remain a matter for the calculation and the responsible specialist.
CE conformity: The risk assessment, the assessment under the Machinery Ordinance and the signature on the declaration of conformity lie with the manufacturer. Vectoryon compiles what is documented and flags gaps.
Preferential origin and customs: Vectoryon does not do the calculation or the customs declaration. It collects supplier declarations and reminds you of deadlines. The specialist or the freight forwarder checks the origin rule.
Image recognition: A component in a customer photo is not recognised against a parts database. Photo and text are read, then come the parts list for the serial number and the follow-up question.
Technical translation: The assistant writes a draft in French. A translator checks the legally binding manual.
Knowledge in people’s heads: What was never written down, Vectoryon cannot find.
CHF 49 per person per month
- Set up together with a person, not on your own
Frequently asked questions
Who offers Microsoft 365 Copilot for mechanical engineering companies with setup and support?
Vectoryon sets up an alternative to Microsoft 365 Copilot for mechanical engineering companies in under an hour and supports them through support and partnership. Your documents are stored in Zurich. Which language models run is enabled per company; if you want only models in Switzerland, you get only those. We do not offer Copilot licences and do not replace an ERP, PLM or CAD. The price is CHF 49 per person and month, setup included.
Can the assistant tell which spare part matches a serial number?
It finds the parts list and the exploded view the business has stored for the serial number and shows the passage. Price and stock level come from the ERP, not from Vectoryon.
Does Vectoryon help with the operating manual under the Machinery Ordinance?
Yes, with searching and compiling: finding valid text modules, filling a manual from the company template, flagging missing language versions. The risk assessment and the declaration of conformity stay with the specialist.
Does Vectoryon replace our ERP, PLM or CAD?
No. Design, model management, parts list maintenance and calculation stay in the existing software. Vectoryon reads documents, mailbox and lists and prepares answers and drafts.
Can the assistant write a quote for a special machine?
The text part, yes, from the company template and with a reference to similar earlier projects. The calculation works out the price. The quote only goes out after approval by a person.
What about supplier declarations and proofs of origin?
The assistant collects the declarations from the mailbox, files them and reminds you of deadlines that are about to end. The specialist or the freight forwarder calculates the preferential origin and makes the customs declaration.
Where is our design and customer data stored?
Uploaded documents are stored in Zurich; design models stay in the CAD and PDM. Which language models run is enabled per company; if you want only models in Switzerland, you get only those. The business grants access to Microsoft 365 via OAuth and can revoke it at any time.
Sources
The figures on this page come from these sources.
See Vectoryon in your engineering business
Data hosted in Switzerland, processed under the Swiss FADP.