At the recent Machine Building show in Birmingham, UK, Rittal unveiled the latest CAE (computer-aided engineering) packages from its Eplan subsidiary. These included Eplan Electric P8, which supports both graphical and object-oriented programming, and Eplan Cabinet, which produces 2D and 3D designs for control cabinet layouts.
The Electric P9 package allows all centralised and decentralised controllers in a project to be shown simultaneously, irrespective of the manufacturer or model. It can also display bus topologies with symbols on a schematic page and is said to guarantee perfect address management for master and slave configurations.
Previously, CAE users have had to choose between graphical or object-oriented approaches. Electric P8 supports both and allows working across networks at different sites. Any number of users can work on a project simultaneously.
Any component circuit diagram can be produced in a macro form from which variations can be generated and saved. This is said to eliminate time-consuming repetitive tasks and to cut design times.
The new Eplan Cabinet package can generate complex views of populated enclosures (as shown above) and determine wire lengths and routes, the fill density of cable ducts, and the end finishing of wires, automatically. It can import 3D CAD images of enclosures from Rittal’s RiCAD catalogue, including all of its TS8 enclosure range.
By detecting potential assembly errors at the design stage, the Cabinet package eliminates potentially costly problems at the assembly stage.
