Launched at Hannover Fair 2017, Eplan Cogineer automatically generates schematics and fluid power systems to save perhaps weeks on large or complex projects

It’s no secret that machine and system designs are growing ever more complex. So the idea of being able to generate complete electro-technical documentation for a given design with just one click might sound pretty appealing.

At Hannover Fair last month in Germany, Eplan launched a software package that does exactly that, generating schematics and fluid power systems automatically to not only save time but also to avoid errors. “We’ve developed a solution that is easy to use, yet very innovative,” said Dieter Pesch, Eplan’s senior vice president of product management and development.

Though suitable for any size project, Eplan Cogineer is particularly advantageous for large or complex projects with many schematics—with the possibility of saving days or even weeks in documentation creation and order fulfillment. It also ensures error-free implementation of all defined rules and structures, guaranteeing high-quality documentation.

With Eplan Cogineer fully integrated into the Eplan Platform, users can create project data in Eplan Electric P8 and then generate schematics with that data without duplicating efforts. “100 percent data continuity from design to construction allows Eplan Cogineer users to precisely process customer projects without delay,” Pesch said.

Eplan users can directly access their existing macros and macro libraries and use these as a foundation to map product structures, develop rule sets, and store variants of their products or machines. Cogineer’s intuitive interface makes it easy for engineers to generate their first project within a short period of time—without any expert knowledge about configuration or variant management (just standard knowledge in using macros). A mechatronic rulebook and configuration interfaces can be put together intuitively, without...Continue reading article