Eplan, a leading provider of software and service solutions, has revamped its data portal, which hosts an extensive array of components sourced from numerous manufacturers.
Digital Transformation in Electrical Design Electrical design plays a crucial role in illustrating the intricate connections among various electrical components in a simplified graphical format, aiding technicians in constructing equipment on the workshop floor. Eplan, a specialized design software tailored for electrical design, enables designers to craft digital blueprints for technicians. Recently, Eplan rolled out updates to its software, incorporating new manufacturers and expanding the dataset related to existing components, thereby enhancing the software’s versatility.
Eplan Design Solutions The Eplan platform comprises a suite of applications designed for creating hydraulic, pneumatic, and electrical systems, as well as for preplanning and 3D modeling of electrical cabinets. Unlike standalone CAD software, Eplan collaborates with top-tier manufacturers, enabling designers to select components from an extensive library. These components can seamlessly integrate into designs, with each component’s metadata being stored within the project. This streamlined workflow minimizes the time spent by designers searching for component manuals or wiring diagrams.
Moreover, Eplan offers compatibility with various other software solutions. It can seamlessly integrate with existing enterprise resource planning (ERP), product lifecycle management (PLM), and product data management (PDM) systems. This integration facilitates the seamless sharing of data with business management systems, allowing designers and engineers to track their designs throughout the manufacturing process until final customer acceptance.
Eplan isn’t confined solely to electrical CAD software; it also offers packages for designing hydraulic and pneumatic systems. Designers using the Eplan Fluid application can leverage the data portal, enabling the rapid creation of schematics through a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.
Standardization and Documentation Standardizing designs is crucial for saving time and costs for equipment builders. Eplan supports standardization and template-based approaches, as well as manual creation of electrical schematics. By partnering with manufacturers and incorporating metadata into projects, Eplan automatically generates comprehensive documentation as designers work. This includes the automatic completion of bills of materials, encompassing part numbers and quantities.
Eplan Data Portal Update With Eplan harnessing actual component data from industry partners, its repository of available components continues to expand. In its latest update, Eplan has introduced two new manufacturers—Federal Signal and Gefran—along with data for various components such as lights, signal devices, switches and pushbuttons, amplifiers, controllers, fluid power accessories, contactors, PLCs, and protection devices.
Furthermore, Eplan diligently updates its library to reflect any changes or obsolescence in component catalogs. In the recent January update alone, data sets from ABB, Balluff, Endress+Hauser, Eaton, and IFM underwent updates, totaling 541 updates from 19 manufacturers.
Eplan also ensures that its library accurately reflects when components become obsolete, sparing designers the need to scour the internet for documents or manuals. In the January update, 1,562 data sets were removed from the Eplan system. By providing this updated library, designs and documents exported from Eplan remain up-to-date.