Eplan enters technological partnership with Dassault Systèmes

Digital transformation can only become a reality through networked systems, end-to-end data and close cooperation between manufacturers. That is why Eplan established the Partner Network at the end of 2020, which currently has 65 manufacturers as members. One of the latest additions is the international technology company Dassault Systèmes, which joined the network as a partner in April this year. As a result, the interface between the Eplan Platform and Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform will be systematically expanded through collaboration between the two parties.

On the first day of the Hannover Messe, it was officially announced that Eplan and Dassault Systèmes have entered into a technology partnership as part of the Eplan Partner Network, under which both parties will work to expand the interface between Eplan and the Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE platform. The aim is to achieve seamless integration of electrical engineering, hydraulics and pneumatics within the context of product development. Dassault Systèmes Managing Director for Eurocentral, Dominic Kurtaz, and Eplan & Cideon CEO, Sebastian Seitz, signed the agreement in Hanover, Germany. The partners aim to combine their expertise for the benefit of their shared customers, enabling companies to establish end-to-end digital development processes.

Striving for greater process efficiency

Sebastian Seitz explains: “With the bidirectional interface between the EPLAN Platform and the Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE platform, we are improving the process efficiency of our mutual customers. When all systems are connected bidirectionally – ECAD, ERP and PDM, for example – users will be able to work in a truly interdisciplinary manner and thus much more efficiently.”

“Through this partnership, we are helping our joint customers to achieve new levels of efficiency and productivity in holistic product development based on the creation and utilisation of virtual twins,” adds Dominic Kurtaz, Managing Director of EURCENTRAL at Dassault Systèmes. “The bidirectional interface simplifies countless processes and creates new opportunities for collaboration for our customers. We are therefore delighted to be taking this groundbreaking step together with Eplan.”

The collaboration is set to be expanded further in the coming months. Both companies are working together to further optimise the interface – the PLM 3DEXPERIENCE Connector – and to deliver new solutions for digital product development in the cloud. A joint demonstration environment is also planned as part of the Engineering Collaboration Network (www.ecn-online.com), featuring videos and sample data within the PLM cloud environment, alongside joint collaboration on customer projects.

Two-way integration of engineering and PLM

The interaction between EPLAN and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform ensures that data management processes for electrical engineering and hydraulics/pneumatics can be controlled automatically. What makes this special is that access to Dassault Systèmes’ cloud-based platform is available directly within EPLAN Electric P8 and EPLAN Fluid. Component lists and bills of materials, for example, can be synchronised with just a single click.

For users of both platforms, automating routine processes makes day-to-day work even easier – common tasks such as searching for, finding and setting up projects, checking them in or out, or exporting Eplan project pages to neutral formats – are carried out much more efficiently using the interface. In particular, the quick and easy generation of documents saves users both time and effort, as all that is required for output in neutral formats is to tick a box when checking in. The neutral formats are then automatically linked to the corresponding Eplan project.

Eplan and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform communicate bidirectionally. Uploading projects from Eplan to the platform is automated, as is opening projects from the PLM system. Key descriptive PDM attributes, including, for example, information for the drawing header, can be added company-wide within the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and are automatically available the next time the Eplan project is checked out. Furthermore, the software supports traditional PDM functionality, such as the approval or handover of documentation to production.