Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) expert EPLAN will be exhibiting alongside enclosure specialist Rittal and components manufacturer Phoenix Contact at this year's Drives and Controls show, which is being held at the NEC in Birmingham from the 21-23 April. The companies will be on Stand D610 and will be jointly presenting the benefits of a virtuous value chain.

 

A value chain is a business model that describes the full range of activities needed to create a product or service. The overarching goal of a value chain is to deliver the most value for the least cost to create a competitive advantage. By combining value-enhancing process steps in engineering, design, work preparation and production, a seamless and virtuous value chain, as espoused by EPLAN and Rittal, is the foundation of business efficiency.

 

Today, the digital transformation of the economy is well under way in almost all industry sectors. For many companies, production is being fully automated and merging with cutting edge information and communication technology. At the same time, demand for integrated, intelligently networked solutions that support Industry 4.0 is growing.

 

Part of the Friedhelm Loh Group, EPLAN and Rittal are uniquely positioned to bring the Industry 4.0 concept to manufacturing. With the power of EPLAN engineering software and Rittal enclosure systems and machining solutions, every part of the manufacturing process is fully interconnected and tailored to customers' individual value chains. At the heart of everything is the digital twin, which uses seamless data to link together all value creation processes – from electrical engineering through to service. The end result is shorter throughput times and higher productivity – coupled with lower costs. No other group brings this integrated capability, which can be explored on the EPLAN and Rittal stand.

The Smart Engineering and Production 4.0 technology network of EPLAN, Rittal and Phoenix Contact will provide specific answers to the question of how to achieve end-to-end digitisation of industrial engineering and production processes. A remarkable live demonstration using the example of a switchgear installation will show visitors what highly automated manufacturing based on a batch size of 1 looks like. In their role as technology drivers, the companies will be showcasing the latest results of work to develop an administrative shell specifically for switchgear engineering. The aim is to enable Industry 4.0 software systems, plant and machinery to communicate. 

 “Working together enables EPLAN and Rittal to deliver a single, cohesive solution to the customersâ€', explained Ken Christie, EPLAN UK Director. “Our aim is to support engineers in their quest for Industry 4.0-ready applications and help them to save time and money through a virtuous value chain.â€'