EssEntials of Data-Driven automation Design

This Control Design Essentials guide made possible by EPLAN Software & Services. See page 6 for more information on EPLAN’s full suite of integrated computer-aided engineering design tools.

About the Control Design Essentials SeriesThe mission of the Control Design Essentials series is to provide industrial machinery designers with an up-to-date, top-level understanding of a range of key machine automation topics. Our intent is to present essential engineering concepts in a practical, non-commercial fashion, together with a review of the latest technology and marketplace drivers—all in a form factor well suited for onscreen consumption. We hope you find this edition useful. Check in at ControlDesign.com/Essentials for other installments in the series.—The Control Design Editorial Team

June 2014

A Control Design Essentials Guide, by the editors of Control Design

s ince their proliferation some 30 years ago, computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools have advanced significantly in their ability to improve the productivity of project engineers. The earliest software packages were each

focused on a specific discipline, allowing mechanical, electrical, automation and other project engineering stakeholders to perform their individual tasks more accurately and efficiently. And while individual productivity is still an important deliverable of today’s more advanced CAE tools, the new frontier of project execution efficiency lies in the effective integration of engineering tasks—simultaneously across design disciplines as well as through time across the entire project lifecycle.

From project pre-planning through detailed engineering, assembly, commission-ing and operation of industrial machines and entire production lines, a systems-level approach centered on powerful, unified design databases is allowing machine build-ers and end users to achieve a step-change in productivity not possible with yes-terday’s siloed approaches. Together with bidirectional synchronization with other complementary information systems, these new tools and methodologies have dem-onstrated design costs savings of up to 80 percent, along with significant improve-ments in design integrity and project execution time.

The key to this sort of dramatic productivity gain lies in the ability of an integrated design approach to enable new business processes and workflows. For example, inte-grated automation design tools centered on a common database allow electrical, fluid power, process instrumentation and control engineers to work simultaneously on a project instead of sequentially. This level of integration and embedded coordination also allows closer collaboration among designers at multiple locations (even in mul-tiple languages) and among suppliers, customers and engineering service providers.

tHe Case For Data-Driven Design

Today’s integrated design tools also are reaching earlier in the project lifecycle to encom-pass the pre-planning, or front-end engineering and design (FEED), phase of project execu-tion. This allows designers to build on early conceptual work in a consistent, integrative process rather than starting anew with different tools when a project enters its detailed en-gineering phase. And, on the back end of the design process, a data-driven approach allows automatic error-checking and automatic generation of all the documentation needed for sub-sequent steps in project execution. Last minute design changes can be automatically propa-gated across all aspects of the project, even across multiple organizations and supply chains.

If such efficiencies are to be gained for a one-off project, just think of the gains to be had on the next similar project. Indeed, a data-driven approach lends itself to standardized design templates that allow designers to scale and re-use modular chunks of their previous work, slashing time and effort so significantly that a growing number of leading machine builders are strategically re-thinking their product designs to capitalize on the effect.

“ the new frontier of project execution efficiency lies in the effective integration of engineering tasks.”

in the traditional model of project design, each engineering discipline works sepa-rately and sequentially. Project design work moves from discipline to discipline, then is passed back and forth as content is added or changed, often causing delays and inef-

ficiencies. If the process engineer wants a new valve, the engineer responsible for the pneu-matic subsystems ensures there is capacity and connectivity at the nearest compressed air manifold and the electrical engineer sees that the actuator, in turn, is wired and controlled properly. Each engineer does their work separately, often using different software packages, yet the contributions of all disciplines must ultimately fit together seamlessly to create an integrated build package.

Unlike legacy systems that support only one discipline, today’s unified, data-driven CAE environments internalize the various design tools and report generators required by these multiple disciplines. A common database platform allows professionals responsible for these various function to work concurrently and collaboratively rather than separately. Even within the control engineering discipline itself, an increasing unified set of tools now allows control logic, coordinated motion and even human-machine interface configurations to be developed in an integrated environment which, in turn, is integrated with the project design database for the project’s physical controllers and input/output modules, cable runs and enclosures.

With this approach, projects can proceed much faster. As work proceeds, data is automatically and continuously cross-referenced within and across engineering dis-ciplines. Changes are transpar-ently communicated to all par-ticipants, and those inevitable last minute customer revisions can be gracefully accommodated and au-tomatically incorporated through intelligent file formats such as smart PDFs. And, once a design is finalized, the CAE system can automatically generate a complete build package for manufacturing that includes all diagrams and lists, even going so far as to generate automated setups for custom enclosure machining and wire processing.

The power of a multidisciplinary CAE platform holds special appeal for global corpora-tions that in the past ended up using different design tools in different world regions. To-day’s advanced CAE platforms are helping to transcend geography and language barriers by automatically converting projects to different languages and output formats, making it easier to collaborate with colleagues, customers, and suppliers in different parts of the world and bring projects to conclusion faster.

CoLLaBoration aCross DisCiPLines

“ as work proceeds, data is automatically and continuously cross-referenced within and across engineering disciplines.”

While today’s advanced CAE platforms directly bring together electrical, fluid power and automation aspects of a design project into a single database, they also leverage bidirectional linkages to complementary information systems to

gain even greater efficiencies. This includes integration with mechanical design packages, software development suites from automation system suppliers, product lifecycle manage-ment (PLM) tools, corporate enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and libraries of aggregated component and subsystem data.

Integration with corporate IT systems, for example, means that project documentation can be effortlessly converted into language that sales, purchasing, accounting and other departments can readily understand. This improved visibility can result in more accurate customer quoting and more reliable production and delivery scheduling.

Parts procurement and inventory management is another area where CAE integration pays dividends. The manual entering of component specifications represents an oppor-tunity for errors to infect a project. Advanced CAE tools, on the other hand, allow the engineer to import manufacturers’ component data containing the necessary technical and commercial information directly into a project from a convenient and reliable source, prompting all pertaining schematics and reports to update automatically. The leading CAE tools provide a means to directly import the design specifics of thousands of subsys-tem components from a variety of manufacturers.

Project documentation such as bill of materials and assembly reports and lists are transferred directly to purchasing and production departments for further processing. This puts an end to miscommunication between engineering and purchasing departments that can lead to ex-cessive stockpiling or restocking fees on the one hand, or component shortages that can halt production on the other. One business management approach rendered more feasible by the new CAE technology is that of a universal database of authorized components, complete with available inventory levels. This parts database can be either located in the CAE database or linked to it, creating a level of transparency for all departments concerned with keeping proj-ects on time and on budget.

integration oFFers aDDeD eFFiCienCY

“ Project documentation is effortlessly converted into language that sales, purchasing and accounting can readily understand.”

While this database-centric approach to project design makes individual engi-neers and collaborative teams more productive than before, additional value is available to organizations that leverage the advanced capabilities of inte-

grated CAE tools to strategically restructure workf lows and automate elements of the de-sign process itself.

Indeed, for companies that must generate many variants or configurations of the same product, the ability to archive and reuse blocks of validated data presents tremendous sav-ings and efficiencies. Legacy CAD tools have a limited data storage capability, meaning that a great deal of data has to be manually keyed in, cross-referenced and error-checked by designers with each project, even for repeat orders of the identical product. This is ex-tremely time-consuming, low-value work.

With a database-centric CAE system, a company can create an archive of standardized design elements or modularized product options for immediate access and use—all pre-validated and error-free. This archive can contain any number of commonly used parts or complex, scalable macros of entire product assemblies. With scalable macros, the de-signer need only designate the scale of the full sub-assembly, and the system automatically re-sizes all of the variable elements and propagates and cross-references the necessary changes in engineering data throughout all schematics and lists.

Product templates and scalable macros provide such powerful savings in design engi-neering and error-checking effort that forward-thinking companies are approaching this capability strategically, building large component archives within the CAE database and altering entire product lines to contain as much standard (and often common), pre-de-fined content as possible with the ultimate goal of largely or fully automating variant cre-ation and order fulfillment. This sort of strategic investment in project design automation promises to substantially reduce design effort and allow dramatically faster response to market opportunities.

re-tHinKing Design WorKFLoW

“ templates and scalable macros promise dramatically faster response to market opportunities.”

This Control Design Essentials guide was made possible by EPLAN Software & Services, a 30-year-old process consultancy and provider of application software designed to reduce configuration time and engineering costs. EPLAN advises companies on process optimization, develops software-based engineering solutions for mechatronics, and implements tailored CAD, PDM, PLM and ERP interfaces to accelerate product development processes and reduce engineering costs.

start here to learn more about EPLAN’s data-driven approach to automation engineering.

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