ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
ABOVE: Sennebogen is
well-know internationally
for a broad range of material
handling machines –
designed according to each
customer’s requirements
iVTInternational.com February 2020 43
become more and more complex. In
order to deliver the customer’s
selection, Sennebogen has
developed a configurator for the
sales department. So now the
configuration is linked directly with
the electrical design.
“We traditionally worked
according to the principle of option
technology – with standard circuit
diagrams for each machine type,
describing the maximum
configuration and processed
accordingly for each individual
order,” says Roman Eichenseer,
design engineer for control
technology at Sennebogen.
However, this has disadvantages,
for example if an individual
component is discontinued or
modified - even if it is only the
optional radio – then all of the
approximately 100 master circuit
diagrams have to be individually
changed and loaded back into the
ERP (enterprise resource planning)
system. In addition, from the
designers’ point of view the option
technique reaches its limits because
the individual options cannot be
logically linked.
Automation to the rescue
So, Sennebogen took the logical next
step with the third party Eplan
Engineering Configuration (EEC)
platform, which is now used for
both electrical engineering and
hydraulics. This helped to address
increasing effort required to create
the electrical circuit diagram as the
number of options grew. “We used
to require a least an hour each time
to adapt the master circuit diagram
to the order,” says Eichenseer.
Now, EEC works in conjunction
with a configurator. So, today, the
engineer just clicks on the option
the customer has chosen – for
instance, ‘adjustment of attachment’
– and, according to the complexity
of the option, a form appears where
they can fill in some basic figures
like motor power and if a sensor will
control the end position or not.
“We simply import the order into
EEC,” says Eichenseer. “The circuit
diagram is generated automatically
and the options are logically linked.
This works well. With standard
devices we do not need to touch the
circuit diagram anymore.”
In parallel, the plan is transmitted
as an XML file directly to
Sennebogen’s ERP system, which
can then initiate orders or plan
production times. And if a supplier
introduces a modified part, the
changeover in the ECAD (electronic
computer-aided design) system is
measured in seconds, because the
new part only has to be
implemented once in the basic
circuit diagram. The same process
applies both to ‘facelifts’ of
“WE USED TO REQUIRE AT LEAST AN
HOUR TO ADAPT THE MASTER CIRCUIT
DIAGRAM TO THE ORDER”
Roman Eichenseer, design engineer for control technology, Sennebogen
/iVTInternational.com