Siemens Digitalizes Electrical Planning in Machine Building and Plant Engineering
November 23, 2020
With “Control Panel Design” Siemens Smart Infrastructure has integrated new electrical planning features into TIA Selection Tool, the Siemens configuration and ordering software. This makes electrical pre-planning completely digital. Now, electrical planners can design and dimension the main electrical components of a machine quickly, easily, and in accordance with IEC and UL standards. This reduces the required effort to perform the task, minimizes potential error sources, and helps machine and control panel builders improve their competitiveness. TIA Selection Tool is designed to make it easy and convenient to configure and select all components of industrial control panels. By integrating the new features, the tool allows users to design electrical as well as mechanical and automation components using one set of data and one platform. This lays the foundation for significantly more efficient development processes, faster lead times, and smarter electrification solutions for industrial environments.
“Because of increasing automation and the growing demand for flexibility, availability and energy efficiency, the requirements in machine and control panel manufacturing are more complex than ever. At the same time, manufacturers, and operators are faced with increasing cost pressure,” said Andreas Matthé, CEO of Electrical Products at Siemens Smart Infrastructure. “Control Panel Design is a small revolution in electrical planning. The software allows machine and control panel builders to make their value chain significantly more economical through digitalization.”
Standards-compliant electrical planning by mouse click
Engineering, design, and documentation account for almost half of the total cost of control panel construction. Many time-consuming tasks, especially in electrical planning, are still performed manually, including selecting components and calculating cross-sections and short-circuit currents. As a result, there is a high potential for digitalization.
The integration of Control Panel Design in the TIA Selection Tool makes electrical planning tasks significantly easier and faster. When planning the electrical components of a machine, all that needs to be entered is the corresponding motor information. The software then guides the electrical planner step-by-step through the configuration based on freely selectable parameters needed to determine the cable cross-section, such as type of routing, grouping and ambient temperatures. Protection and switching components suitable for the motor are automatically displayed at the click of a button. This includes accessories as well as cable cross-sections and short-circuit values. The TIA Selection Tool supports the entire Siemens portfolio of switching and protection devices for the IEC and UL markets.
In addition, the machine’s main circuit is displayed in a single-line diagram to support visual planning. After planning is complete, all technical data and calculation results, including data required for the verification of the short-circuit strength in accordance with IEC 61439-1, are output as detailed documentation.
