Eplan - Experts & Thought Leaders

With its worldwide online “Eplan L!VE” event on 14 May, this time around solutions provider Eplan is guest at Eaton in Hengelo. Enquiring minds can gain first-hand experience about how Eaton's facility in the Netherlands has optimized all its processes in engineering and manufacturing for maximum efficiency. In just two-and-a-half hours, online attendees will get a compact overview how new ideas and tried-and-tested solutions for greater productivity look on the ground. News on Eplan’s portfolio and strategies round off the program. Benefits of a data-driven approach Dutch facility saw the benefits of a data-driven approach and recast its engineering method How can processes in engineering and switchgear system manufacturing be designed to be highly efficient? How can manufacturing be further automated? These are questions that Eaton in Hengelo asked itself years ago. The Dutch facility saw the benefits of a data-driven approach and converted its entire engineering methodology, including its processes, to work with Eplan. Eplan L!VE, now in its third round as an online format, will provide fascinating insights into this. Under the motto of “Forward Thinking from Design to Manufacture” will be streaming directly from Eaton’s production facility. New manufacturing approaches Attendees from around the world are invited to this online event to discover new manufacturing approaches that generate greater profitability in engineering and manufacturing. By the way, these approaches are in no way restricted to just larger corporations, but are also tailored for SMEs.  Eaton took a “one step at a time” approach and, depending on the task at hand, it can all be implemented at smaller control and switchgear system manufacturers. An in-depth look into engineering and manufacturing Eaton uses EEC to generate schematics, bills of materials, terminal diagrams and cabling lists Well over 1,500 attendees from around the globe will be tuned in online when the Eaton specialists will be showing how the in-house control and switchgear system design and manufacturing has been optimized for a high degree of automation and efficiency. The Eplan solutions used here play a decisive role – ensuring that a standardized foundation of data based on the digital twin is available from first designs all the way through to manufacturing. And if that weren’t enough, Eaton also uses Eplan Engineering Configuration (EEC) to automatically generate schematics, bills of materials, terminal diagrams and cabling lists – based on a new design methodology using functional engineering. Whereas the effort previously involved in updating documents linked to the schematics, including bills of materials, terminal diagrams and wiring lists, was immense, now these are all automatically kept up to date with Eplan. This is possible because everything goes back to a centralized source of data. Integration of manufacturing The company’s deep integration of manufacturing into this process is also bearing fruit – using Eplan Pro Panel, control cabinet layouts are designed in 3d, completely digitally, and the data provided is used for automatic cable routing. The Wire Terminal WT from Rittal Automation Systems can produce up to 1,000 wires per day, all fully automatically.  The processing of copper rails can also be simplified with machines from Rittal Automation Systems. All the processes for wiring and manufacturing are designed to be extremely efficient and overall processes benefits from greater consistency based on the data from Eplan. Sneak preview and strategy Also of interest is the direct access to device data in the Data Portal from Eplan Electric P8 in the future These in-depth insights into Eaton’s design and manufacturing processes will be rounded off with a sneak preview of the upcoming Eplan Platform 2026. As just one example, on 14 May attendees with get a first look at how the different views in Eplan Pro Panel accelerate 3D navigation. Also of interest is the direct access to device data in the Data Portal from Eplan Electric P8 in the future. Last but not least, the new single-line technology in Eplan Preplanning is interesting for users who want to logically link symbols and components in the preplanning phase. Online event attendees can also expect a glimpse into the future of engineering: Eplan CEO Sebastian Seitz will be presenting Eplan’s future strategy and some highlights on future topics – including use cases on the topic of artificial intelligence. Background Eaton, as the global intelligent power management company, has been a technology partner in the Eplan Partner Network since 2023 and specializes in the development, production, and sales of power distribution systems, LV and MV switchgear systems, and control devices at its facilities in Hengelo in the Netherlands. Eaton additionally provides a large number of its energy systems and components via directly integrated selectors in the Eplan Data Portal. The manufacturer also uses Eplan solutions for its in-house control system and switchgear system design and construction. Machines from Rittal Automation Systems simplify the company’s manufacturing processes – including the Rittal Wire Terminal WT and machines for processing copper rails.

Data isn’t just the driver for project planning and design. The Eplan Data Portal offers users access to high-quality product catalogs from a continually growing pool of renowned component manufacturers.  The portal has now passed the mark of more than two-million sets of static device data from around five hundred manufacturers! By using integrated configurators, users have far more than four million data sets at their fingertips.  It’s a nearly limitless and ever-increasing variety of components that can quickly and easily be integrated into projects – and the data quality is naturally top notch. Data excellence in action More than four million device data sets available means an enormous amount of variety for projects More than four million device data sets available means an enormous amount of variety for projects. However, it isn’t just the quantity, but rather the quality of the data. “Quantity and quality is something that goes hand in hand for us,” says Eplan Head of Content Quality Management Rainer Ackermann. “We have high expectations for the quality and completeness of the data sets so that we can offer our users the greatest possible added value. That’s also why we continue to work on the Eplan Data Standard, or EDS.”  Manufacturers are also striving to meet these expectations of providing data sets that are as comprehensive as possible. This can include components for control cabinets, the 3D representation of a device, dimensions for drilling patterns, connection diagrams as well as commercial data, device numbers and text descriptions. Siemens automation and technology integrated Siemens has been represented in the Data Portal with energy automation and building automation products for many years. Now, protection and automation devices from the Siprotec 5 family have been added. Protection, automation, and monitoring of the power grid are essential for a resilient network.  "We need a secure and reliable power supply to establish a sustainable infrastructure and achieve our net-zero goals," explains Stefan Werben, Portfolio Manager of Siprotec Medium Voltage Products at Siemens, adding:"We are pleased that we can now additionally support those customers who have chosen Eplan as their engineering platform to efficiently realize their projects in the construction, operation, and expansion of plants." Innovation in building control  Sauter, a pioneer technology manufacturer in the field of building automation, system integration and building services, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, and Freiburg, Germany, added to the Eplan Data Portal their ecos504/505 range of products for integrated room automation. “The positive feedback from our customers as well as from within our own company has motivated us to provide even more device data in the Eplan Data Standard,” says Sauter Head of Marketing and Product Management Peter Schoenenberger. Data depth ensured Rittal has around 7,300 devices stored in the Eplan Data Portal, these include cabinets, and cabinet accessoriesA majority of the device data stored in the portal – 1.4 of more than 2 million components – are already available in the Eplan Data Standard. The EDS increases and guarantees the quality of the data sets so that they can be used efficiently – ideally from engineering through to production. Rittal has around 7,300 devices stored in the Eplan Data Portal – around 5,600 of them in the Eplan Data Standard. These include control cabinets, control cabinet accessories, Blue e+ climate control devices and more. There are almost no limits globally speaking as well: If a device data set is created using ECLASS as a step file in an IEC format (the European standard), the Eplan software automatically also supports the NFPA device data set (the American standard). Simplify data with Eplan With this multi-standard support in one single data set, macros can also be saved in accordance with various standards that the Eplan Electric P8 software then recognizes automatically. Furthermore, modifiable data from configurators and selectors of various manufacturers can also be used. These have linked their product catalogues directly with the Eplan Data Portal. Development continues Less visible but at least as important is the continued development of the data quality in the Eplan Data Portal. This year the focus is on preassembled cables. To ensure that machine cabling works as efficiently as possible with the new Eplan Cable proD solution, 3D data for the connectors is also being successively introduced. Technically speaking, functional improvements are also on the horizon: The Eplan Data Portal will be able to be directly integrated into local device management with the upcoming release of the new Eplan Platform 2026. This will again even further simplify selecting components and accelerate project planning and design work.

One of these is the cloud-based software eBuild, with which users can generate their projects with a simple mouse click. The new Version 2025 is now available – with significant advantages in ease of use, operation, and for configurating and generating schematics. Automatically generating schematics is nothing new. Exactly how this happens is getting increasingly innovative and one thing is clear: the cloud has become indispensable in this process. Eplan’s eBuild software  Eplan’s eBuild software, which is fully integrated into the Eplan Cloud, now offers even more ease of use and maximum simplicity. The new Version 2025, which is available now, impresses with numerous improvements for the more efficient use of macro technology in engineering. “We have developed a solution that is easy to use, but at the same time is very innovative in terms of its functionality,” says Eplan’s Business Owner Functional Design Holger Jansen. Operation in the cloud  The user interface has been optimized so that users simply have a better recap of the task even faster The user interface has been optimized so that users simply have a better overview of the project even more quickly. For instance, the new Navigator bar means that users can keep an eye on the eBuild configuration and generation process at all times. And that is not all on the technology side of things. “The new context-sensitive Inline app assistance technology gets users faster results,” says Eplan’s Business Owner Functional Design Holger Jansen. “This new help functionality, which is directly embedded inline into eBuild, makes it even easier to use.” How it works The process is very easy. Users just log into the Eplan Cloud and can access their own projects via their company organization in the cloud. No software installation is necessary for this. In Project Builder – a part of Eplan eBuild – the corresponding macro libraries can be selected and then the project can be configurated and/or generated. The new Navigator supports users in this area by making the selection process easier. End-to-end data consistency – from product structuring to the actual project realization – is also ensured on the system side by complying with guidelines and standards. Configuration in the cloud New feature in eBuild 2025 is the ability to configure from an internet browser – on Windows, Android, or iOS A set of rules and configuration interfaces can be intuitively and quickly created without knowing any higher programming languages – skills in Eplan macro technology suffice here. These Eplan macros are then augmented in eBuild with a set of rules. Users next use this configuration method to input their client’s requirements for a machine or plant system.  A new feature in eBuild 2025 is the ability to configure from an internet browser – on Windows, Android, or iOS. So there are no longer any obstacles for using eBuild as an engineering configurator on mobile devices. Generation in the cloud means even more collaboration Along with configuration, generating projects is fully cloud-based in eBuild 2025, meaning a local installation of the Eplan software is no longer necessary. Schematics can be directly generated in the cloud via an Eplan Project provided by eManage. Using eView, Eplan’s proprietary viewer in the cloud, projects, and documentation can be displayed on any device – whether it be on a tablet, a smartphone, or a browser and it of course works in both iOS and Android environments. The plans can be checked here and changes can be fed back into the project using the redlining and greenlining functionality in the viewer. Conclusion Using Eplan eBuild in the cloud, schematics can now be created from an internet browser. The advantages are clear: schematics can not only be created in the construction design process, but they can also be made available with a mouse click much earlier during the tendering process or in the preplanning project phase.