Solutions provider Eplan is increasing the Eplan Data Portal’s circle of users and further strengthening its position as a global supplier of digital device data.

At Hannover Messe 2016 held in April, Eplan introduced expanded output formats for the Data Portal. With the launch of the newest version in May 2016, all interested parties can now access hundreds of thousands of device data independent of an Eplan application. All they have to do is simply register online. “We’re tapping into completely new user groups with our portal: ERP, PDM/PLM users who require commercial data on the one hand, and an enormous number of AutoCAD users on the other,” says Eplan Managing Director Haluk Menderes. In the area of enterprise resource planning as well as product data management, commercial data is being made widely available, including item numbers, type numbers and descriptive information. This data was previously reserved for Eplan users.

With the launch of the newest version, all users of ERP or PDM/PLM systems can register and retrieve high-quality data. This data comes directly from more than 120 component manufacturers and can be downloaded free of charge as a valuable data package, either individually or via a complete data package. The Data Portal is thus serving as a data source from various manufacturers so that the complex and time-consuming search for verified data is no longer required. To date, access to around 600,000 device data and more than 1.2 million configuration variants have been reserved for Eplan’s own users.

Added Value for AutoCAD Users

Yet another innovation: schematics will also be provided in the AutoCAD .dxf format from now on. This is all the more a small sensation since this important electrotechnical data was not comprehensively available as of now. To date, designers in the AutoCAD environment often had to draw schematics by hand. In the near future, via the portal’s online registration form, they will gain free access to the graphic data for PLCs, frequency inverters, emergency switches and many other device data. This saves a lot of time in design engineering and of course in data generation, too. Devices are graphically integrated in the drawing and, in a second step, furnished with the corresponding electrotechnical information from the designer.

More users – More manufacturers

“Our portal is now also aiming at a global circle of users who are not directly using our software – for instance the large number of users of resource planning systems,” says Menderes, describing what’s behind this strategic decision. “Users of ERP/PDM and PLM systems therefore receive a central source of high-quality data that bundles a large number of automation technology manufacturers. And, with the .dxf format, we are especially reaching out to an enormous circle of users, particularly in the North American and Asian market, who we will now support with electrotechnical drawings in their daily engineering.” In many cases, the electrotechnology is designed on the basis of MCAD in these countries.

Also interesting for manufacturers

The stated goal of Eplan as an international solutions provider is to increase the number of portal users as well as to encourage other manufacturers around the world to include their device data. The arguments for this are persuasive, since the already large user group of over 100,000 users will increase considerably with this. This offers manufacturers an ideal opportunity to launch and promote their products on a global scale.

Source: Eplan Software & Service. Contact: Sindhu Krishnappa, Rittal India Pvt Ltd – EPLAN Division, Bangalore. Tel: 080-33240700. Fax: 91-80-33240741. Email: Krishnappa.s@eplan.inm