MNSEngineer uses EPLAN Electric P8
In its new equipment design tool MNSEngineer ABB combines EPLAN Electric P8 and SAP.
This is how the state-of-the-art configuration of switchgear works. In its new equipment design tool MNSEngineer ABB, the number one global player in automation and power technologies, combines the advantages of two market leading software applications: EPLAN Electric P8 and SAP. This ABB solution for both the construction and the planning of switchgear systems, to be used uniformly across the globe starting in late 2007, is betting on standardization in many ways. MNSEngineer links integrated ordering systems, mechanical construction, electrical documentation and company-wide resource planning.
Success factor: MNS System
With its vast number of standardized variants the MNS equipment platform (MNS = Modulare Niederspannungsschaltanlage = Modular Low Voltage Switchgear) forms the basis for ABB’s regional switchgear production in more than 30 countries and covers a power range of up to 6,300 ampere and 690 volt AC. Since the introduction of the system in 1973, ABB has delivered 1.2 million MNS enclosures worldwide. While ABB previously launched an evolution in switchgear technology with the MNS iS, the new chapter in the success story is expected to be written by MNSEngineer. ABB’s investment in the development of this equipment design tool has been considerable – both with regard to the length of time spent on development as well as in terms of its complexity, resulting from the many diverse requirements of the worldwide engineering and production facilities.
A tool for the ABB world
What sort of performance can MNSEngineer provide? This tool offers a globally uniform solution for the efficient construction and planning of switchgear systems. MNSEngineer guarantees conformity in accordance with IEC 60439-1 and, of course, with all internal standards of ABB production facilities worldwide. The ABB database of MNSEngineer, which contains pre-engineered modules and can be used for customer-specific solutions with a minimum amount of labor, also corresponds to the principle of consistency. A clear benefit since all ABB production facilities can access special solutions that were developed in an individual branch operation. This will lead to noticeably reduced project lead times within the foreseeable future.
EPLAN Electric P8 = Automation
With the integration of EPLAN Electric P8 into MNSEngineer the switchgear construction at ABB is experiencing measurable efficiency gains, On the one hand it allows for the automation of project documentation such as general layout diagrams, single-line diagrams, schematics and device lists required for a specific project. Furthermore, documents for production and mounting such as wiring diagrams, terminal lists, cable overviews, connection lists and labels, can be generated with the standard functionalities of EPLAN Electric P8 without additional effort. On the other hand, it is possible to export the bill of materials for a project into ABB’s own ERP system. For this purpose, ABB developed a master macro library for general layout diagrams, single-line diagrams and schematics for EPLAN Electric P8 that is being used internationally at all production facilities. In this way, ABB not only achieves a uniformly high standard of quality, but also considerably increases the efficiency of the engineering process.
Last minute changes
One of the most obvious advantages of the integration of MNSEngineer and EPLAN Electric P8 is the handling of documentation during the planning and design phase, as when a customer requests revisions. Quick reaction to requests for change and their simultaneous effective execution in the production process represent significant time savings and enhance the quality of development.
Multilingual documentation
At present, EPLAN Electric P8 is available in 15 languages; based on Unicode capability, documentation can also easily be generated for Chinese production plants. Consequently, a design engineer can work in his own language and then, with one click of the mouse, he can produce the documentation as a PDF file in another language.
Integration made easy
ABB was convinced from the start that EPLAN Electric P8 is the ideal CAE system for linking with MNSEngineer. In order to expedite the integration, ABB and EPLAN operate on a multi-track. Following project workshops with select ABB production plants in the development phase of MNSEngineer, EPLAN trains the ABB design engineers during the introductory phase directly on site. Also, ABB has documented company-wide principles, processes, work guidelines, installation routines and work procedures in a manual, in order to provide additional support in the use of the CAE system in regional production plants.
