Looking Back on the
Design & Sales Automation Conference
May 13-14, 2025
12th User Conference on End-to-End Process Automation in Sales, Project Planning, Design, and Manufacturing
Leading Innovation for Sales, Engineering, and Manufacturing
The Lino GmbH Design & Sales Automation Conference took place on May 13–14, 2025. Under the motto “Simply Integrate, Intelligently Automate,” the Leading Innovation Company invited users and industry experts to the Maritim Hotel in Würzburg. Attendees were impressed by experience reports from renowned machine and plant manufacturers, lively discussions with peers, and in-depth contributions on optimizing and integrating sales and engineering processes.
Established Platform for Dialogue
For years, the event has provided a vibrant stage for intensive exchange between software experts and users. The DSAK has established itself as a fixed meeting point for all those seeking to make sales, design, and manufacturing processes more efficient.
Focus on Digital Innovations
The conference emphasized innovations in product configuration. Lino presented the new integration platform Lino® Hub alongside Lino® Automate, a solution for efficient CAD process automation. This was complemented by Tacton® technologies for CPQ and Design Automation, as well as deeply integrated applications for SOLIDWORKS® and existing system landscapes.
Tyrolit Schleifmittelwerke Swarovski – End-to-End Automation in Grinding Tool Machining with Lino
As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of bonded grinding and dressing tools, Tyrolit Schleifmittelwerke Swarovski AG & Co. K.G. faced the task of adapting its existing processes to new technological requirements. Triggered by an investment in an automated machining center, the focus shifted to fully automating the upstream design and machine programming processes.
In the presentation “End-to-End Automation in Grinding Tool Machining with Lino,” participants gained valuable insights into the company’s strategic approach. The talk provided practical accounts of the challenges Tyrolit encountered during the project and demonstrated how implementation succeeded in collaboration with Lino. The key question was how to efficiently link existing processes and automate them in a future-proof manner.
Erhardt+Leimer – Configuration as the Key to Sales Automation: A Scalable Success
Erhardt+Leimer GmbH develops scalable technologies for the web processing industry and offers customers modular systems with impressive variant diversity—for example, web guides that enable millions of configurations. In a dynamic market environment, rapid availability of technical data is a decisive success factor, particularly in presales. Fifteen years ago, the company responded to rising engineering workloads by implementing a comprehensive sales automation solution in technical sales. In the presentation “Configuration as the Key to Sales Automation – A Scalable Success,” Michael Spatz, Siegfried Schuster, and Drini Krasniqi shared practical insights on how this process was built and continuously optimized using Tacton products and Lino software.
The result: a scalable, automated sales process that delivers customized solutions to customers in the shortest time.
GC-heat Gebhard – Rule-Based End-to-End Processes from Configuration to Production
Under the title “Rule-Based End-to-End Processes from Configuration to Production,” Andreas Dieckmann and Manuel Hopp from GC-heat delivered a compelling experience report on digitalizing their quotation and manufacturing processes. The focus was on introducing a seamless system based on Tacton CPQ, enabling rule-based and standardized handling of customer inquiries—independent of individuals or departments. The challenge lay in managing high variant diversity and short sales response times efficiently. By seamlessly integrating Tacton CPQ into their existing IT landscape, GC-heat realized a fully digital process chain from initial inquiry to production start. This not only accelerated the quotation phase but also enabled reliable, automated manufacturing control.
GEA Food Solutions – “Playing with Lego”: Intelligent Line Layouts with Tacton & Lino 3D Layout
How can tailor-made line solutions for food processing be realized from over a hundred machines? Max Meulendijks and Niek van Mierlo from GEA addressed this in their presentation “Playing with Lego: Creating Line Layouts through Intelligent Configuration with Tacton & Lino 3D Layout.”
GEA is among the world’s leading providers of process technology in the food industry, assembling complete line solutions from an extensive machine portfolio. The challenge: standardizing machine interfaces and reducing engineering complexity. Tacton Design Automation enables automated configuration of SOLIDWORKS models, while Lino 3D Layout provides intuitive and precise placement in the overall setup. The “snapping” feature ensures clean, exactly aligned transitions between machines.
The presentation offered insights into implementation and results, showing how the right tools allow even complex production lines to be configured modularly and efficiently.
Extensions and New Features in Tacton and Lino Products
Experts from the Lino universe, long-term technology partners, and in-house consultants and developers took center stage at the DSAK. Many attendees anticipated reports on new developments from the “Software Made by Lino®” portfolio. The Lino team showcased innovations and visions in these areas:
Software Made by Lino – Innovation Testing / Research / Outlook
How can uncertainties in complex software projects be turned into real innovation opportunities? Rüdiger Dehn, Managing Director of Lino GmbH, addressed this in his inspiring presentation. At the core were comparisons of SaaS and on-premise approaches, as well as agile methods in product development. Concrete examples illustrated how iterative processes, early validation, and continuous customer feedback not only minimize development risks but also create opportunities from uncertainties. The talk also provided insights into the company’s innovation philosophy, including a preview of future collaboration with the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
Simply Integrate, Intelligently Automate with the New Lino® Hub Integration Platform
Lino® Hub presents a comprehensive solution for automating design tasks across the entire process chain, from sales to manufacturing. Product Manager Jens Mögel’s presentation highlighted seamless 3D visualization, automatic CAD document generation, and advanced features like central model management, PDM/PLM integration, and modular system architecture. Practical scenarios demonstrated how Lino® Hub transforms the Lino team’s engineering expertise into structured, reusable processes, ensuring efficiency and consistency across company boundaries.
Demo: Exclusive Insight into CAD Automation and Modeling with Lino® Hub
Product Developer Lennart Poggenburg-Harrach offered an exclusive look at modern CAD automation possibilities. Titled “Exclusive Insight into CAD Automation and Modeling with Lino® Hub,” the presentation vividly demonstrated how the flexible modeling environment connects complex processes across systems. A concrete use case showed how the platform accelerates workflows, simplifies interfaces, and unlocks new potentials in product configuration and design.
Configuring and Realizing Projects: Product Configuration in the Context of Functional System Assemblies with Tacton CPQ and Lino® Hub 3D Viewer
Stefanie Elzenbeck, Consultant at Lino GmbH, illustrated intelligent automation of sales and order processes in a presentation on Tacton CPQ. The solution enables seamless handling from quotation to ERP order entry, including rule-based configuration of prices, products, and BOMs at the push of a button—generating meaningful, valid quotation documents instantly. The process is enhanced by Lino 3D Web Viewer, an add-in and now integral part of the Lino Hub Suite, providing configuration-specific real-time product visualization.
Process Automation with Lino® Automate Server and AI Agent
In their presentation “Process Automation with Lino® Automate Server and AI Agent,” Senior Consultant Ingo Knoch and Consultant/Software Developer Marcel Haas showcased a forward-looking approach to CAD automation. Lino® Automate Server was central, executing action lists in the backend via an intuitive web dashboard to streamline existing workflows. The highlight: the new AI agent, which makes automation processes controllable via natural language—no programming knowledge required. This server-based execution combined with AI integration opens new possibilities for seamless, flexible, and intelligent CAD processes.
New Features in Lino® Simplify | Server-Based Model Simplification | PDM System Integration
Version 1.4 of Lino® Simplify offers enhanced functions for more precise simplification rule definitions. Product Manager Jens Mögel demonstrated how Simplify now runs server-side in combination with Lino® Automate Server. Results can be directly transferred to connected PDM systems for consistent management of simplified models. The presentation also showed how Lino® Automate unlocks the potential for automating repetitive tasks efficiently and transparently within existing system landscapes.
We sincerely thank our speakers and partners for their support.
Your Lino Team
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