Electrical Design in the Digital Space
Electrical design displays the connection between many different electrical components in a simple graphical way so that technicians can build the equipment on the shop floor. Eplan is a design software specifically developed for electrical design and allows designers to develop digital designs for technicians. Recently, Eplan has released updates to its software, incorporating new manufacturers and more data related to existing components, thus expanding the usability of the software.
Eplan offers a suite of software solutions for electrical and automation design and engineering needs. Image used courtesy of Eplan
Eplan Design Solutions
The Eplan platform is a suite of applications for designing hydraulic, pneumatic, and electrical systems and for preplanning and 3D modeling electrical cabinets. Unlike other stand-alone CAD software, Eplan partners with industry-leading manufacturers to allow designers to select components from a library. These components can be included in designs, and the metadata from each component is saved within the project. This workflow reduces the time designers spend looking for component manuals or component wiring diagrams.
Not only does Eplan support many different manufacturers, but it also supports other software. Eplan can integrate into existing enterprise resource planning (ERP), product lifecycle management (PLM), and product data management (PDM) systems. By connecting and sharing data with business management systems, designers and engineers can follow their designs through the manufacturing process to final customer acceptance.
Eplan is not only an electrical CAD software—there are packages to design hydraulic and pneumatic systems. Like Eplan Electrical, designers using the Eplan Fluid application can also use the data portal. As a result, schematics can be created quickly and accurately with a drag-and-drop approach.
Eplan can be integrated into existing ERP, PLM, and PDM systems, enabling bi-directional data exchange. Image used courtesy of Eplan
Standardization and Documentation
Standardizing designs saves time and money for equipment builders. With Eplan, standardizing and template-based approaches are supported, as is the manual creation of electrical schematics. Because Eplan partners with manufacturers and includes metadata in the project, documentation of the project is completed as the designer works. Bill of materials, including part numbers and quantities, are all completed automatically.
Eplan’s January 2024 data portal update includes new, updated, and deleted manufacturers and data sets. Image used courtesy of Eplan
Eplan Data Portal Update
With Eplan using actual component data from industry partners, its catalog of available components is constantly growing. In Eplan’s new update alone, two new manufacturers have been added, Federal Signal and Gefran, along with data for components such as lights, signal devices, switches and pushbuttons, amplifiers, controllers, fluid power accessories, contactors, PLC, and protection devices.
As existing partners update their catalogs, Eplan also updates its library to reflect the growing catalogs. In the January update alone, data sets from ABB, Balluff, Endress+Hauser, Eaton, and IFM were all updated, totaling 541 updates from 19 manufacturers.
Eplan also ensures its library reflects when components become obsolete so designers don't have to search the internet for documents, parts numbers, or manuals. The January update saw 1,562 data sets removed from the Eplan system. By providing this updated library, designs and documents exported from Eplan will be up to date.
