The development departments at Mitsubishi Electric and EPLAN are working closely together in order to realise the optimal integration of electrical engineering and PLC programming. The EPLAN Platform and GX Works2 – Mitsubishi Electric’s programming software for their PLCs of the MELSEC Series – are now linked via a new interface. This enables reductions in development costs of more than 50 per cent for joint customers. Here is one specific use scenario: an electrical engineer creates a wiring diagram and, with a click of the mouse, sends the information for the I/O addresses and function texts (as examples) to the PLC programmer, who is programming GX Works2 controls. This automatic data exchange prevents time-consuming and costly inquiries.
This, in turn, leads to considerable reductions in development and commissioning times for plants and systems. As part of this platform, EPLAN Electric P8 combines the data for the electrical hardware planning and control technology as well as the associated comprehensive documentation. “The project quality and data consistency increase through the integration with GX Works2 and at the same time, cost and development time of our mutual customer will be reduced.” says Hartmut Pütz, President of Mitsubishi Electric’s Factory Automation – European Business Group.“ Maximilian Brandl, President of EPLAN, adds, “We are pleased to be a member of Mitsubishi Electric’s partner network. Our global customers benefit from the E-CAD and PLC interface, and the high component availability at the EPLAN Data Portal. Furthermore, this cooperation with Mitsubishi Electric Europe will strengthen our new market presence in Japan.”
The central EPLAN Platform includes all data from preliminary planning through to detail engineering. This information can be used as the basis for subsequent project phases in the PLC-oriented automation technology. Furthermore, macros (libraries) and CAD product data from Mitsubishi Electric can be integrated in order to accelerate component selection, configuration and schematic designs. Once electrical engineering has been completed, all of the data stored in EPLAN can be directly imported into GX Works2, which enables quick and simple system configuration and programming. Projects saved in libraries can also be used for future applications; a function, programme or system structure that has been designed, tested and approved is then available to be integrated into a new system in just a few minutes, which considerably simplifies the creation of future designs. Engineers benefit from these innovative engineering solutions across disciplines and beyond project phases and development processes.
