How CADENAS supports the NX Industrial Electrical Design product data workflow

CADENAS has been creating 2D/3D product catalogs for mechanical engineering together with manufacturers of technical components since 1992. The aim is to simplify and accelerate the planning process for engineers, because planning is constantly evolving in the direction of mechatronic engineering. That is why CADENAS focused early on intelligent engineering data, the so-called digital twin. For users from the field of electrical engineering, this means convenient online access to manufacturer-certified product data, which, in addition to the pure geometric data, includes numerous important additional information. This engineering data is available independently of the ECAD software. Currently, the component data for electrical engineering can already be used for NX Industrial Electrical Design, E³ Zuken and Wscad.

Component manufacturers are the backbone for smooth engineering processes

Through the cooperation with CADENAS, manufacturers of electronic components can provide their customers with intelligent ECAD and engineering data that are tailored to the needs of the target group. The data includes all important information such as pin/terminal assignments, material master data, attachment points, circuit symbols, various views, technical values, classifications or article numbers. Since the data is available online, electrical engineers can insert the required components into their own ECAD system with just a few clicks. Electrical engineers prefer to select products that are available in their engineering environment with just a few clicks and that provide all the information required for project planning. According to CADENAS surveys, around 87 percent of all downloaded parts data leads to sold products. Around 100,000 electrical engineers worldwide are already using the service offered by the digital product catalog of the manufacturers of electrical components.

After the planning phase in the ECAD system or with the release of the design, the components are directly transferred to the bill of material(BOM) and thus to the PLM/ERP system (enterprise resource planning). The purchasing department can immediately access all the necessary information for the procurement of these components.

Integrated electrical planning for mechatronic engineering

The basis for a mechatronic engineering approach is a common data model for mechanics, electrics and automation technology. The "NX Industrial Electrical Design" tool from Siemens Digital Industries Software enables simultaneous, parallel engineering across all disciplines involved. This leads to consistent data between system planning, mechanical CAD, circuit diagrams, PLC hardware configuration, signals and PLC software. The mechatronic data model contained in NX Industrial Electrical Design ensures consistency throughout the engineering. The solution thus acts as a mechatronic control center and offers a fully integrated, full-fledged ECAD module whose data is synchronized with mechanical and automation engineering.

Integrated in NX, NX Industrial Electrical Design includes extensive functionalities for creating circuit diagrams and 3D cabinet design. The data model links the 2D schematic symbols and the corresponding representation in the 3D cabinet. In this way, the electrical engineer always has consistent data and the ability to navigate between the electrical schematic and the cabinet design

Find product data instead of searching

NX Industrial Electrical Design manages the manufacturer catalog data within the Reuse Library. From here, the intelligent data can be used to create the circuit diagram and the control cabinet layout. The Reuse Library can be filled directly via the ECLASS Advanced Community. Integrated directly into the NX Industrial Electrical Design user interface, one can certainly speak of a seamless integration of the ECLASS Advanced Community into the electrical engineering workflow. The user has access to the ECLASS Advanced Community, which is based on CADENAS' part community technology, via a web browser. Starting from all available manufacturer catalogues, the electrical components can be selected using search and filter functions and then transferred to the NX Reuse Library. The ECLASS Advanced standard is used for exchanging engineering data from manufacturer catalogues.