Continuous process from planning to production

With which strategies does a company best run automation technology? According to the experience of Bauer Steuerungstechnik GmbH in Bretten, the best recipe for success consists of setting yourself to a high degree of automation, thereby pursuing the goal of outpacing the competition. Bauer uses the EPLAN Platform as the technology platform by which this concept is successfully realised. In 1999, Hartmuth Bauer founded a company for software planning; in the second year, he hired his first employees and expanded his offering, because customers also wanted their control cabinets to be planned and constructed. In 2005, he invested in a Kiesling CNC machine for automated sheet metal working - today the company, which has 27 employees, has established itself in completely differing branches of machine construction as a service provider for software planning and control cabinet engineering. Those include, among others, food and chemical technology, metal working, automobile production, conveyor systems, environmental technology and even "exotics" such as fire fighting technology. The machine automation technology is planned by Bauer Steuerungstechnik GmbH and they are in operation worldwide - many in the USA and Canada, because the company can exhibit great expertise not only in the implementation of the complex UL/CSA regulations, but can also single-handedly certify the corresponding constructed control cabinets.

Automated planning even for batch size one

In special machine construction the prerequisites are rather bad for automated planning and production of control cabinets. René Alldinger, second managing director of the company: "We often plan machines which will be produced in batch size one." However, there is a largely automated workflow across the complete process chain, and the EPLAN Platform is thereby the central "backbone": "From the beginning we have worked with EPLAN, and since the switchover to EPLAN Electric P8, have used all functionalities and additional modules such as preliminary planning, routing, control cabinet engineering and 3D visualisation - with deep integration in production."

Direct connection to CNC processing

The connection to the control cabinet production takes place via the EPLAN Pro Panel which supplies the production data to the CNC processing centre. For automatic cross-cutting of top hat rails and cable channels, Bauer's machine construction has even developed its own product: a length stop that contains the necessary data, analogous to EPLAN. One look at the length stop display shows the detail precision with which the development and planning takes place: There, a real image of the respective top hat rail type can be seen. Likewise displayed are the order and article numbers generated in EPLAN, as well as the intended shelf for the interim storage. The individual top hat rail or cable channel labelling is printed out at the workplace. Oliver Martin, Manager of electrical design: "The integration of the length stop into the EPLAN data world allows us to be able to carry out the cross-cutting even before the actual construction of the control cabinet. That makes us quicker and more flexible."

Intelligent detail work even in routing

With likewise intensive preliminary planning and great detail precision, the "wiring" module of the EPLAN Platform is used: In the visualisation on the screen, every line colour corresponds to that in reality, and every line is marked. Here Bauer collaborates with a specialised service provider. Oliver Martin: "We send the data set, and 24 hours later we receive the ready-made lines with the labelled single conductors."

Wiring without circuit diagram

Since the terminals are also labelled precisely - the terminal labelling system contains the necessary data from EPLAN -, the employees can wire the control cabinets without having to look at the circuit diagram. And therefore they work in an ergonomically ideal position, because Bauer has also developed its own tool for this activity (see text box).

3D planning of details

The screen views with which Oliver Martin and his team work, operate very realistically, since the designers have consigned 3D views for the most commonly used products, in which not only the dimensions and technical data are attuned, but the product colours themselves: "The data in the EPLAN Data Portal is very helpful there, but we have partially supplemented it in detail and with connection images or terminal allocations. During the design process, we use these views to provide customers with a vision of their control cabinet. That provides clarity and avoids misunderstanding, and also simplifies the planning for us." The automation and high degree of detail continue in the transmission to SPS programming. Oliver Martin: "For example, we check the bus system completely with EPLAN Electric P8, define the functions for the I/Os such as e.g. 'upper end position' and ship the control cabinets also as operationally-ready as possible - to the point of the properly initialised dip switch. That simplifies commissioning for colleagues and users."

Avoid data redundancy and repetitive work

In practice, the continuous planning with deep integration in production leads to a high speed and error security, even in complex projects in batch size one. However, more intensive occupation with the possibilities of the EPLAN Platform is required in order to use such a system so comprehensively. René Alldinger: "EPLAN is a powerful tool which we know thoroughly and want to take full advantage of. Therefore we will possibly work with a higher expenditure in the planning. But we will save it again during the control cabinet engineering. And we have a well-functioning workflow over the entire process." The meshing of CAE planning and production goes to the extent that in machines with UL approval, comprehensive component data such as e.g. the SCCR values ("Short Circuit Current Rating") are deposited in the system. Oliver Martin: "The data is there, and our ambition is to avoid data redundancy as well as repetitive work." In the process, the designers also benefited from the numerous freedoms allows by the CAE system. René Alldinger: "Since EPLAN is a very open system, we were able to reproduce all of these functions very well and customise the CAE tool to perfectly suit us." The result: The company continues to grow, as shown by the construction site on the company grounds. Machine construction has a new hall, and electric technology is being expanded once again.