The World of Computer Aided Engineering Volume 02/ 2002 ... - Eplan

Company news Volume 02/2002
ther internationalisation. Furthermore, there are advantageous
synergy effects in business areas with a shared target
group, i.e. electrical and automation engineering.
Are you able to operate independently from Rittal?
As a company, EPLAN Software & Service acts autonomously
in the marketplace. In terms of our modus operandi,
i.e. WHAT we do, HOW we do it and WHEN we want to
achieve it, we are fairly independent. Ultimately, the
numbers must add up - but this approach has always
been the company’s philosophy.
How would you assess the status of EPLAN
software packages in their respective markets,
i.e. electrical and mechanical engineering,
or both together?
We have attained a leading position in the
German electrical engineering market with
EPLAN. However, many people are still unfamiliar
with our second main product family,
LOGOCAD TRIGA, which targets niche markets.
Here, for example, our sector-based application
LOGOCAD TRIGA Industriebau is already a market
leader in the steel and façade construction market. As
such, LOGOCAD TRIGA is a successful product and indispensable
to our company´s success.
Many users complain about non-adapted formats or a
lack of generally valid standards amongst the electrical
engineering parts and components available via the
Internet. How can EPLAN help in this respect?
Many manufacturers of electrical engineering components
approach us to make their data suitable for use with the
EPLAN application. We provide these manufacturers with
standardised interfaces which can then be adapted individually.
As a result, product data from Siemens, Pilz,
Phoenix and Rittal, to name but a few examples, can be
easily scanned in and used. The benefit is that manufacturers
are able to continue administering their data in the
original format, whilst users have access to identical information.
The volume of manufacturer data is constantly
increasing, and we are in continuous dialogue with product
suppliers.
To what extent can EPLAN and/or LOGOCAD TRIGA be
incorporated into a company´s IT environment?
Numerous standard interfaces for linking manufacturing
requirements planning (MRP) or product data management
(PDM) systems allow the integration of various software
solutions into the customer’s existing IT landscape. For
example, there is currently a high demand for SAP R/3
interfaces linking the merchandise information system to
the EPLAN application. However, our Customer Solutions
department is also able to develop individual interfaces, by
working to the customers´ specific requirements or the existing
application. In EPLAN 21, for example, there is a special
programming interface, known as API (Application
Programming Interface), which allows individual programming
in the EPLAN kernel.
For LOGOCAD TRIGA, there are various interfaces available
for the areas of production (for example, links to CAM
systems for NC production) and data management (product
data management and document data management).
Interfaces to other CAD systems such as Catia, Pro/Engineer
etc. are also available, and there is likewise a high
demand for these.
Generally speaking, what help can a customer expect to
receive from EPLAN?
I would say that they can get all the help they need!
This may sound like an ambitious claim, but it is in fact the
philosophy behind our business. We have long seen ourselves
as much more than a mere software supplier, ➝
5