Flexible service-providers for E-CAD
"Our expertise enables us to provide our customers with support on all aspects of electrical project management", explain Roman Tranta and Carsten Fischer. "We also offer direct on-site support at our clients' premises, where we collaborate closely with the local staff". Their extensive project experience means that they are familiar with internal procedures and different corporate structures. The experts provide support for every version of EPLAN, and also have a good grounding in Office applications and PLC programming. At the customer's premises, they are always on hand to provide expert assistance on every aspect of hardware and software. "Our experience covers numerous on-site applications and various project structures in many different industries, and new customers are now reaping the benefits of this", explain the two Managing Directors. High-profile jobs to date include the project management of continuous-casting plants and switchgear for the automotive industry, as well as involvement in BA's World Cargo Center at London Heathrow. Other customers include companies in the materials handling, process technology and packaging, and brewery and dairy products industries. The two managing directors have found that each customer has different requirements, which they as service-providers must cater for. "It is important to find out precisely which services are required, since this is the only way to define concrete projects which may then form the basis for a lengthy, productive partnership".

A practical software tool 
"EPLAN 5.30 enables us to handle every conceivable task in electrical CAD", enthuses Roman Tranta. "Regardless of which version you require", he promises his customers, "we design, revise and draw in versions 4.11, 5.11, 5.20 and 5.30 as well as EPLAN 21, and of course will continue to provide support for new versions in future". According to Carsten Fischer, the creation and maintenance of databases is another growing area of business: "Users should realise the growing importance of covering the entire peripheral area of documentation". Apart from component databases, this also includes foreign language databases. For this reason, DDT are firmly convinced that all information subsequently required in the plan should be appended to the components themselves. Such databases include, for example, contactor definition data, cable type data, as well as dimensions and graphic macros for the individual components. All this information should be kept up-to-date in order to ensure the correct functioning of the documentation. Only then is it possible to portray unused contactor and relay contacts in the schematic, information which is vital for the servicing and expansion of installations. This data also makes it easier to configure mounting plates and enclosure assemblies. Because a significant proportion of the plant produced in Germany is exported, multi-lingual documentation is also essential. For this reason, DDT are also involved in the translation of documentation, and the maintenance of customers' foreign language databases. Foreign language characters, word lengths, word-for-word translation, and appropriate abbreviations of words can all cause problems. One typical problem is that texts in the various different languages vary substantially in length. A certain degree of standardisation, such as limiting the content to 40 characters, is also expedient.

Working with modern tools
Switching to EPLAN 21 is seen as a logical step by the two Managing Directors of DDT. And although Version 5.30 is a very powerful tool for electrical design and there are very few users who can claim to utilise the full functional scope of this software, EPLAN 21 is more user-friendly thanks to its modern software technology, and it is only a matter of time before this version takes over. "Anyone with our experience will eventually switch to the new version", predict Tranta and Fischer. According to them, the benefits are obvious. Under EPLAN 21, for example, when individual components of a circuit diagram are changed, it is no longer necessary to access different positions in the documents and individual lists and handle each component separately". 
With EPLAN 21 as an object-oriented tool, the defined objects are easily changed with the aid of various editors. What is more, the changes implemented can be viewed directly in the circuit diagram. Such changes, in turn, directly affect the component database and the bills of materials. With EPLAN 21, it is equally true to say that "Correct evaluations and bills of materials can only be obtained if a circuit diagram is correctly designed and contains all the components," explains Carsten Fischer, "and only then will they have a logical, meaningful content." The software is so complex that users can influence more than 1,400 separate parameters. However, this also means that when introducing software to a customer, it must be parameterised in line with the customer's particular requirements. "We offer support in this respect, and are able to assist with software introduction in collaboration with the software suppliers". Moreover, they also develop so-called operator guides in collaboration with the customer, so that the customer has recourse to full documentation of each individual phase. Roman Tranta attaches great importance to so-called location specification, which can be defined with the required degree of precision in order to reach a certain object. The allocation of coordinates is also interesting, and can be used to help locate components in the circuit diagram. The plan also defines how many contacts of a contactor are displayed. EPLAN 21 also allows users to open several projects or project databases at the same time and copy from one project into another via the clipboard, e.g. to save having to start from scratch when developing the components in a circuit. Experience at DDT has shown that in addition to the generation of circuit diagrams, there is also a growing demand for coverage of warehouse and materials management in the form of bills of materials, component lists etc. As a result, the core tasks in CAD-assisted electrical engineering planning are being forced into the background. "Consequently, it is important for our customers to be able to complete the documentation within a short space of time, so that organisational tasks can be achieved more simply and effectively later on using the lists generated", explain Roman Tranta and Carsten Fischer. It is also possible to link this to an SAP system, into which the data may be conveniently exported. In the past, working with American symbols alongside standard DIN or DIC symbols posed a problem. However, once a symbol file of this kind has been generated, different country standards may be conveniently selected using standard functions. Here too, customer support is available.

Increasingly complex tasks 
The growing complexity of the projects requires powerful software tools. In this respect, for example, EPLAN 21 supports standard sheet sizes of up to A1. Of course, it is also possible to import data from projects generated with Version 5, although a certain amount of reworking is required. For example, conversion of old plans may lead to the incorrect allocation of symbols. Because EPLAN 21 is a genuine 32-bit Windows application and runs under Windows NT or 2000, powerful computers with adequate RAM are essential. For example, DDT uses workstations with two or three screens to avoid having to switch continuously between the different views. The software is open in all directions; the circuit diagram may be influenced externally; and essentially, the entire component structure and databases are based on Access. Because it is a real-time system, accurate handling and precise work methods on the circuit diagram are essential. For example, if a terminal is positioned and a list is updated at the same time, this is a highly complex operation requiring substantial hardware resources. A key criterion of this software is its networking capability. If a company has an "EPLAN computer" which is only used for E-CAD, then EPLAN 21 supports genuine client/server operation, subject to adequate network resources.

A user-friendly design tool
The circuit diagram is the core of any project. Provided it is correct, the generation of lists is easy. "With EPLAN 21, it is possible to generate the required evaluations in next to no time, and the tool's individual editors make the work easier", report the two partners on their day-to-day experiences. "Once the circuit diagram has been drawn, the information can be edited at numerous locations, even outside of the circuit diagram, and the circuit diagram will be updated automatically". When copying and pasting a device, the macros may be numbered automatically, including all cross-references. "This is the advantage of object-oriented work", claim Tranta and Fischer. "In the navigator, the components are easily sorted according to project, device tag or location designation, and can be renamed, or the component numbers exchanged". All information is allocated to the component, so that it is no longer necessary to access individual positions in the circuit diagram. In short: "They can be edited centrally, this is what makes the tool so enormously effective".

Last edited: 2002-07-16 14:50