Making the case for design automation

Superior Quality

Founded in 1962 by Harry Major, Harry Major Machine has since pledged to provide superior quality at competitive prices. The company specialises in the designing and manufacturing of automated parts handling systems, assembly machines, industrial parts washers and specialist machines for a range of industries including automotive, food and beverage and machine tool engineering.

 By remaining loyal to their founding principles of quality and competiveness, demand for Harry Major products and services has skyrocketed in recent years - a large proportion of which has sprung from automotive manufacturers. Consequently HMM are facing one of the busiest periods since establishment. In order to fulfil this increased demand and comply with the demanding requirements of the automotive industry it is important that Harry Major continuously innovate and modernise all aspects of their engineering processes. It was this factor that led them to re-evaluate their current electrical design package.

The company had previously been working with other CAE tools - however as EPLAN is widely becoming the industry standard for automotive manufacturers, a renowned car producer in this sector specified EPLAN for HMM’s next significant projects. Upon evaluation of the software provided by EPLAN, the company decided to acquire EPLAN Electric P8, EPLAN Fluid and the EPLAN Data Portal.  

When HMM first began using EPLAN, their main objectives were to work smarter, facilitate growth and improve relationships with customers through enhanced communication. The company have now been using EPLAN for just over a year and are already seeing major improvements in both productivity and efficiency. However, adopting EPLAN was not always an easy decision. “It was a major concern that we did not want to be running multiple packages” describes Jon Pleshette Controls Manager at HMM “however, EPLAN fulfils all our requirements so using the software for all of our projects is not a problem”. 

Data re-use was the first major time saving benefit experienced by HMM “Once one machine has been programmed, the other machines can be programmed in a similar way” explains Jon Pleshette “with EPLAN it is just a case of changing a few pages. Once you make the initial investment to create symbol libraries and build a database, significant design time can be saved”.

Save time: automate

HMM have also gained time saving advantages from the use of EPLAN Fluid, an engineering tool for the automatic configuration of circuits for fluid systems, “Despite not having EPLAN that long pneumatics are now much quicker to construct than using other CAE tools” explains Jon Pleshette.

Upon initial installation, as expected with the adoption of a new CAE package, HMM faced a steep learning curve. As HMM typical project consists of 100-150 pages, the company allocated three months for implementation in order to attend training, implement standards and design the first project. However, once the first set of EPLAN drawings had been approved - the time taken to create projects was significantly reduced. “After we got the first drawings approved we flew from there” explains Chris Clifford, Engineering Manager at HMM, “we could produce several sets of drawings in a week. All that needed to be changed was the odd motor here and there.”

Another key advantage gained from usage of EPLAN was access to the EPLAN Data Portal. “The Data Portal does a lot of work for you, all you need to do is insert a part into the project via Drag and Drop” explains Jon Pleshette. The EPLAN Data Portal gives users access to the device data of over 375,000 components which are controlled and managed by over 57 high-end manufacturers such as Festo, ABB Siemens, Schneider and Rockwell Automation. Users can be safe in the knowledge that the data, including product manuals, parts drawings and graphical images are kept accurate and up-to-date by the manufacturers themselves. It is this factor that sets the Data Portal apart from any other database of its kind.   

It is not only HMM that have gained from using EPLAN, their customers also see an advantage. EPLAN enables customers to monitor project progress through the use of an intelligent PDF. The intelligent PDF allows EPLAN projects to be viewed by a third party - be it a customer or maintenance engineer, even if they do not have access to EPLAN. Subsequently they can still view extensive documentation such as device properties (cable type, technical characteristics, and cable length) and part properties (including order number and part designations). With the PDF, viewers can jump from symbols to device pages and return back to the symbol with the push of a button. Users can also specify corrections and insert comments into the document, which can then be viewed and implemented by the EPLAN user. This feature ultimately enables any changes and modifications to be made in an accurate and timely manner.

Moreover, the sheer size of HMM’s products means that the machines often need to be disassembled then reassembled when they reach the customer. It is therefore essential that engineers can locate specific sections of a project when the machine is being re-installed. “If someone used to ask a question to locate a multicore cable,  it would have been present in several different sheets but now I simply press a button and it tells me port one goes here, port two goes here etc. which is very helpful for the electrician” explains Chris Clifford.

Moreover, customers appreciate the high quality of documentation provided by EPLAN which is particularly important due to the strict design guidelines they must adhere to.

Additional Benefits

• ·         The ability to standardize recurrent content
•           Faster, more reliable generation of documentation
•           Reduction in errors through automatic error checking facility

“Reports, terminal diagrams, cable diagrams, panel layout and parts list can be instantly generated with the push of a button which is a major time saving feature for us” explains Chris Clifford.

In the future

HMM expect to see significant cost and productivity savings for future projects.

It is not only the software that has impressed HMM, EPLAN offers a range of support services including helpdesk support, product training and a range consultancy programs. EPLAN offers global helpdesk support which is available for 24 hours a day. “The helpdesk support has been exceptional” explains Jon Pleshette “the staff are patient and knowledgeable”. HMM also attended a five day basic training course to aid the smooth transition to EPLAN, they also plan to extend their knowledge with further advanced training.

A Future with EPLAN

In order to improve communication between company departments and enhance the level of automation within electrical design, Harry Major Machine plan to integrate EPLAN into their enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. At the moment the company are running two separate databases; one purchasing system and one for EPLAN so they plan to merge the two. The integration would enable accounts department to compile a quote with an itemized list of components required; this list can then be dragged and dropped by the engineer straight into the schematic. This data can then be used to generate a bill of materials to go back into the purchasing system. This would allow purchase orders to be automatically created from the bill of materials, eliminating manual work and reducing the likelihood of purchasing error.

Despite only incorporating EPLAN into their engineering practices for the last 18 months, Harry Major Machine have already experienced significant time saving and productivity gains. The company plan to continue using the software despite having access to other systems, and even plan to further the level of integration within their engineering processes. Despite an initial learning curve, HMM agree that EPLAN a CAE tool they can rely on as their company experiences whole new levels of demand. 

“I think the software is brilliant, we just love it”.