State-of-the-art efficient engineering
Ideally, a company’s engineering solution should also be supporting its digitisation strategy. But how is this best implemented? Solutions provider Eplan and its affiliate Cideon are presenting the “Efficiency Lab” at the heart of its trade show stand during the Hannover Messe – working in dialogue with visitors, a performance/target comparison is established as a basis for the systematic digitisation of engineering processes. The path taken into the cloud also consistently carries a company forward: Eplan eView is being presented to visitors as the first solution of the Eplan ePulse system. A third focus is the integrated value chain in cooperation with affiliate Rittal.
Monheim, Germany, 6 February 2019 – The Efficiency Lab is at the heart of the Eplan and Cideon joint trade show stand during this year’s Hannover Messe. After all, making engineering even more productive isn’t the only challenge facing companies these days. In view of digitisation strategies, for instance, it’s best when a company’s engineering processes are also contributing to digitisation. Consultants will work with customers at the trade show to analyse the current situation with the goal of uncovering initial potential for optimising the engineering landscape, its processes and data flows, and providing ideas that decision-makers can take right back to their companies. Customised and productive knowledge transfer hereby becomes reality.
Eplan ePulse – the new cloud system
The new software Eplan eView, which brings the Eplan Project into the cloud, has been available since the beginning of the year. Users can share and comment upon projects directly in the cloud. Eplan eView is the first stage of the new system that is raising this year’s trade show appearance into the cloud under the brand Eplan ePulse, which expands the Eplan Platform with perfectly tailored cloud applications and enables networked and trouble-free work in engineering. The start has been made with the current application portfolio: “Our goal is to build a worldwide engineering network through Eplan ePulse and to continually be offering new functionality with a great deal of added value,” says Eplan Vice President Cloud Business Hauke Niehus. “Our development teams are currently working on a wide variety of ideas for this.” Niehus sees a decisive advantage for the cloud environment in its high degree of flexibility, meaning teams can quickly react to user feedback. “This makes it possible for us to optimise solutions at short notice.” The new system offers numerous opportunities for collaboration in engineering – including cloud-to-cloud connections that will be presented using examples of best-practice maintenance.
Discussing visions: the Future Lab
Moving forward, the applications offered in Eplan ePulse won’t be limited to the Eplan product family. As Niehus explains, “We’re working with our customers and industry partners on this.” The specially created, brand-new Future Lab will allow visionary discussions for the future to take place at the Hannover Messe. All future-oriented innovation drivers, including unconventional thinkers, are invited to test prototypes and to contribute their own requirements for future cloud environments. This dialogue with customers is important for Eplan in order to align solutions and ultimately coordinate the entire portfolio to the needs on the market and continually refine and develop them.
Eplan Platform: consistently enhancing projects
Eplan Platform, Version 2.8 has been available since the end of last year and the technical improvements continue. One focus in Hanover is on Eplan Preplanning: users receive maximum support with a simplified display of higher-level PCT loops in processes automation, new options for handing planning objects, and new macros for building automation. The area of wire harness engineering with Eplan Harness proD is also exciting: project data exchange with both Eplan Pro Panel and Eplan Electric P8 makes integrated processes with neighbouring disciplines even easier than before.
The (simple) process is the goal
The maxim is clear: Rittal and Eplan automate and industrialise control cabinet and switchgear engineering. The affiliates are working together in Hanover to demonstrate the enormous benefits of digitising and automating the value chain and for how production and assembly times can be significantly reduced in wiring alone. Presentations will show the pathway from the schematic to the 3D wiring diagram to automatic manufacturing of the individual wires and, finally, their installation in an actual control cabinet. Another core element is the provision of digital device data and product configurators through engineering and work preparation processes – for an efficient path to the digital twin and onward to digitally connected manufacturing.
At the Hannover Messe Cideon will be presenting the newest software version from Autodesk’s Product Design & Manufacturing Collection. There will also be impressive demonstrations of engineering integrated into SAP ERP, allowing engineering data and parts lists to be directly available for downstream processes.
Find out more at:
www.eplan.de/hm19
Hauke Niehus.jpg: “Our goal is build a worldwide engineering network through Eplan ePulse and to be continually offering new functions with a great deal of added value,” says Eplan Vice President Cloud Business Hauke Niehus.
HM2018.jpg: Eplan and Cideon are again presenting exciting ideas for efficient engineering and new cloud solutions in Hanover.
