Precise digital device data for Industry 4.0

Standard integration technology in EPLAN Data Portal

Configuration is playing a progressively important role for automation technology – and not just at the hardware level. Device data configuration via software also prepares manufacturers for Industry 4.0. That’s why companies including Rittal and Bosch Rexroth have integrated their configurators into EPLAN Data Portal through EPLAN Engineering Configuration (EEC). Users simply input the data into the configuration interface while EEC combines the stored data in the background and generates the appropriate schematic symbol on the fly. Monheim/Nuremburg, Germany, 20 November – The product portfolio for automation technology is increasingly being designed for flexibility and configurability. With EPLAN Data Portal’s new standard integration technology, both existing configurators and selectors and new ones developed specifically for EEC can be integrated into EPLAN Data Portal. Stefan Domdey, Global Coordinator EPLAN Data Portal, says: “Precise digital device data is what propels seamless production across the entire value chain for Industry 4.0 processes.” The manufacturer’s product expertise is thereby embedded into the user’s engineering environment. Another benefit is that standard technology significantly enhances the breadth of the data. This means that along with alphanumeric data such as the model number or order number, technical parameters are now also included that can be enhanced, updated and exchanged in the configuration process.

Rittal: Over 70 percent more downloads

Companies such as Rittal and Bosch Rexroth already offer configurators for selecting their products and for the easy and fast assembly of system solutions. As Rittal Managing Director Research and Development Dr Thomas Steffen explains: “Product configuration based on digital data is an extremely important topic for Rittal. We do this specifically to easily provide our customers very detailed digital information about our products and their utilisation.” The results speak for themselves: in 2016, Rittal records were downloaded from EPLAN Data Portal about 890,000 times worldwide. As compared to 2013, this represents an increase of around 70 percent. Steffen continues: “The high degree of detail in our data has been received very positively – for our customers, it’s not the quantity of data, but the data quality that is most important.”

Comprehensive data is essential

Bosch Rexroth is also aiming to provide the corresponding ECAD parts data, CAD drawings and documentation for all the electrical components they offer. Most recently, the company is supplying them through its own parts data generator, implemented with the assistance of EEC and integrated into EPLAN Data Portal. Dr. Bartosz Korajda, Head of Software Development at Bosch Rexroth, says: “Providing the component data required for the electrical design and engineering is something we view as an essential feature of product provision. Only this type of data allows our customers to integrate our components with a reasonable amount of effort into their electrical engineering designs. Our customers benefit with current product data, corrections and fixes.”

EEC: A generation powerhouse

Comprehensive data is therefore an important factor for manufacturers with respect to customer loyalty and customer service. If they already have an online configurator, EEC acts as a generation powerhouse in the background for supplying exact schematic symbols. Users input the data into the configuration interface as usual while EEC combines the stored data in the background and generates the appropriate schematic symbols on the fly. Commercial data and technical documentation are also directly provided. If a manufacturer isn’t using a configurator, EEC additionally provides the necessary technology for to design the interface.

The innovation continues…

The digital twin of the configured device delivers a real boost in performance for efficiency, providing support along the entire value chain – from engineering, to procurement and even into fabrication.