AUTO-003 Automation Code reverse engineering

PLC code without documentation — migrated from Pascal to C++, plus an IoT dashboard.

65%

cost savings

€ 118,000

saved

12 weeks

implementation

−89%

changeover time

Baseline

PLC control system of a filling line, written in a proprietary Pascal variant from 2001. Developer unreachable, no documentation, proprietary IDE with an expired license. No source code — only a binary on a 3.5" floppy disk. Quote for a new PLC: €180,000 + 5 months conversion time.

Three new products were planned — without code changes it wasn't feasible. The customer's investment plan was at risk.

The key challenge: no source code

How we still got it done:

1. Read the floppy disk with a specialized tool → recovered ~40% of the source code
2. Measured and mapped all control signals (87) during live operation (dynamic analysis)
3. Reconstructed the complete state machine of the filling process (12 states) from signal behavior
4. Identified 34 safety conditions (some active but completely undocumented)
5. Created the first complete technical documentation of the control logic

Cost savings

Direct comparison

New purchase (replacement)

€ 180.000

Solvetronix

€ 62.000

You save

€ 118.000

Savings

65 %

Typical ROI: < 18 months

Results & new features

Functional compatibility with the original control per acceptance test plan

All 34 safety conditions implemented + 2 new ones added

Cycle time improved: 45 ms → 18 ms

Product changeover: 4 hours → 25 minutes (−89%)

3 new products parameterized in 3 days (no programmer needed)

First complete code documentation

Real-time OEE monitoring via IoT dashboard

72-hour endurance test without errors

Technologies

Static Code AnalysisDynamic AnalysisState Machine REC++ESP32 IoT GatewayMQTTNode.jsTimescaleDBReact DashboardDocker

Unreadable code in your machine?

We reverse-engineer and modernize — even without documentation or source code.

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