At Hanover Messe, Dassault Systèmes managing director Dominic Kurtaz and EPLAN CEO Sebastian Seitz announced they had agreed to partner, expanding the interface between EPLAN and the Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE platform. According to EPLAN, the goal is to improve collaboration across the digital design space and advance the efficiency and effectiveness of product engineering, design, and development.
For those unfamiliar, EPLAN offers a 2D CAD system primarily used for electrical design which can also be used for hydraulic design. Dassault offers 3D CAD software, primarily for mechanical design but also useful for some electrical design, such as panel layout, as well as hydraulic design. Along with 3D CAD software Dassault offers cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE a platform that allows engineers and designers to manage and automate data processes related to electrical and hydraulic design.
EPLAN explains the interaction of EPLAN and the 3DEXPERIENCE allows the platforms to provide automated control of data management processes for electrical engineering and fluid-power engineering systems. Under the agreement, EPLAN now has access to the 3DEXPERIENCE cloud from a common application. This allows users to synchronize bills of materials or component lists in both software packages from anywhere.
EPLAN CEO Sebastian Seitz (at left) and Dassault Systèmes Managing Director Eurocentral Dominic Kurtaz are certain that the deep integration of EPLAN and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform will considerably increase process efficiencies for common clients. Image used courtesy of EPLAN
Follow the Data
As engineers and systems designers collect more data from different sources they often lose track of where the data is coming from and where it needs to go to be analyzed. For this reason, software companies are joining forces to create a unified interoperable digital space. This is a “place” for all data to be collected and a single source of “truth” for all users.
This is useful. For example, suppose the mechanical department needs to engineer equipment to hold sensors while the electrical design department needs to wire those sensors. With an integrated software design platform, both departments are able to communicate design details with each other more effectively and efficiently.
According to the companies’ joint announcement, the EPLAN and 3DEXPERIENCE platform features interoperability and bidirectional communication. What’s special about it? EPLAN explains that access to the Dassault Systèmes cloud-based platform is now available directly in EPLAN Electric P8 and EPLAN Fluid.
That means component lists and bills of materials can be synchronized with a single mouse click. Users of both platforms, can automate routine processes and help make everyday workloads easier to accomplish, including common operations such as searching for, finding, and creating projects, checking in or out of them, or exporting EPLAN project pages into neutral formats. Similarly, EPLAN says fast and easy document generation, in particular, will save users time and effort. Because all that is needed to output in neutral formats is a checkmark when checking in, neutral formats are then automatically linked to the associated EPLAN project.
Together and Apart From the Rest
What sets EPLAN apart from other CAD software is the ability of component manufacturers to offer predefined blocks that can be simply added to any drawing. These blocks are a graphical representation designed to assist the designer during the design phase of the project, and can also help the technician locate the device in a complex system.
Aiming Higher for Needed Efficiencies
EPLAN CEO Sebastian Seitz explains that via the bidirectional interface between the EPLAN Platform and the Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE platform, the companies are increasing process efficiencies for their shared engineering and machine design clients. “When all systems are bidirectionally connected – ECAD, ERP, and PDM, for instance – users are ‘workly’ in a truly interdisciplinary manner and thus much more efficiently.”
Dassault Systèmes managing director agrees, noting "The bidirectional interface simplifies numerous processes and creates new collaboration opportunities for our customers. We are therefore delighted to take this groundbreaking step together with EPLAN."
According to the announcement, the partnership will be expanded in the coming months with both companies working to further optimize the interface – the PLM 3DEXPERIENCE Connector – and deliver new solutions in a timely fashion to meet the market’s needs. A joint demonstration environment is also planned as part of the Engineering Collaboration Network (www.ecn-online.com) with videos and sample data in the PLM cloud environment, as well as joint interaction on customer projects.
