Applied Manufacturing Technologies (AMT) Controls Engineering Design Leader Dan Ivan discusses how EPLAN Electric P8 software addresses the needs of high-caliber major end-users and OEM clients, and will have an expanding presence in hardware design in the future.
EPLAN Electric P8’s full integration of component data is just one of many features that have made it a popular alternative to AutoCAD - an older industry standard engineering tool used for electrical design and automation. EPLAN offers several novel features that reduce design time and errors by simplifying the entire process. The tedious task of creating a bill of materials (BOM) is streamlined using the software’s automated report generation.
Smart Drawings
The EPLAN electrical design platform has several features that solve common problems faced by designers, including accessing component data. EPLAN is a smart software platform that allows the designer to click on a component in the layout for immediate access to its specifications. This feature gives the designer full component information right where it’s needed - within the design drawing layout. These specifications originate from the cloud-based component database through the data portal. The data portal gives designers direct access to high-quality product catalogues from a continually growing pool of component manufacturers. Previously with AutoCAD, the components had to be manually entered, a time-consuming task.
Reusing Libraries Saves Time
Once an electrical component library has been developed for a project, reusing it in subsequent projects is simple, saving the designer significant setup time in subsequent projects. A recent client of AMT engaged with the company to convert their AutoCAD drawings to EPLAN to meet their end-customer’s specifications. They were impressed by the efficiency of setting up new designs and consistency across the entire project enabled by the re-use of libraries. After experiencing the time savings firsthand, the client plans to design exclusively using EPLAN in future projects.
Automated Generation of Bill of Materials
EPLAN solves the previously tedious task of generating a bill of materials by automating the process. As a result, errors and inconsistencies are virtually eliminated as the software uses up-to-date data stored in the data portal to generate reports. A BOM for a project is easily generated with current component data. Accurate and dependable documentation that is a standard requirement for many industry sectors for compliance, audits, and project tracking, is available at the touch of a button, thus reducing the manual effort needed for documentation, saving time and minimizing errors.
Legacy AutoCAD Drawings Can Be Recreated with EPLAN
Prominent manufacturers are choosing to transition away from AutoCAD towards EPLAN. This is a manual process that, once completed, brings the benefits of EPLAN’s smart drawings and the rich features to our clients.
EPLAN Aligns with Our Culture of Continuous Learning and Innovation
AMT has a strong corporate culture of promoting continuous learning and ongoing professional development among its employees. AMT hires professionals who value ongoing professional growth through the acquisition of new skills, and improving upon existing ones. The company values openness and new ideas as employees are encouraged to explore varying solutions to problems. Resources such as time, money, training, and general support are all readily available to both new and existing employees to grow their skill sets. Our clients choose AMT because of our industry reputation, versatility, and performance. Two of the major training certifications available to all AMT employees are GM’s Global Common Controls Hardware (GCCH), and the Global Vehicle Operations Structured Standards (GVOSS).
As the hardware and electrical design field continues to change and progress, AMT remains dedicated to industry leadership in robotics automation. AMT design engineers choose EPLAN Electrical because it streamlines their job through the entire design cycle. Click to learn more about AMT's use of EPLAN.
About the Author: With 24 years of expertise in electrical design engineering, Dan Ivan has been a pivotal member of AMT since 2017 and currently serves as controls engineering design leader.