Electromechanical components

The promise of an integrated product lifecycle environment has energised many companies to invest in solutions from mainline product lifecycle management (PLM). Analysis of these solutions shows a principle focus on the close integration of mechanical product development within the lifecycle environment.
Electromechanical components and related wiring are an important element in many products. Cars will not operate without electrics and cranes cannot lift without control circuitry. But the perceived importance of electromechanical design is low. This relegates electrical engineers to accept solutions that are no more than glorified drafting tools. Increasing customer demands consistently challenges software authors to deliver improved capability and value.
Innovation is driving ET tools
The values of software automation in electrotechnical (ET) design are too often misunderstood. To increase the value of these technologies in the overall design and product environment requires a change in customer awareness linked to innovative new product capabilities. Many applications in this market exist as add-ons to 2D drafting systems which tends to perpetuate the common perceptions of drafting, rather than design, automation. Many products provide innovative capabilities that address the design challenges facing electromechanical engineers head on. Delivering improved productivity, product quality and, more importantly, integration into the design through manufacturing and service processes.
Ease of use encourages productivity
A number of solutions use platforms such as AutoCAD as the graphics interface to their design applications. Other developers provide Windows native solutions. Whereas Windows native solutions provide users with a more consistent integrated look and feel, add-on applications have the additional benefit of being able to take advantage of the underlying CAD application for more advanced drawing and detailing.
Project management is critical
Most solutions provide the ability to partition designs into hierarchical project tasks, but very few allow true multi-user concurrent design, useful, if not essential, in larger projects. Many projects include external referenced information. Examples of these would be spreadsheets, drawings and Microsoft Word documents. A number of products also allow for external documents to be integrated and referenced in project documentation. Configuration management tasks, often vital for ensuring valid use and re-use of information, are generally accomplished through in-house or third party add-ons.
Increasing trends in subcontractor collaboration and wider use of the internet require more controlled access to information and improved management of design information. Many solutions allow export to web enabled drawings covering schematics, wiring and panel diagrams. Controlling data over the extended enterprise often requires more intimate integration with third party PLM solutions. These integrations are often limited in their capabilities, requiring users to make do with less than satisfactory interfaces, and often require manual intervention.