Siemens Embeds Part Library Into its Capital Software

CADENAS GmbH reports that Siemens Digital Industries Software has deployed a new visual search engine to source CAD components for Siemens’ Capital software for electrical/electronic (E/E) design. The search engine, known as 3Dfindit.com, was built and developed by CADENAS GmbH to enable engineers to more quickly find and source components for their designs.

The new tool provides manufacturer component data with intelligent part information consolidated under one structure.

The proportion of electrical and electronic components used in development of automotive or aerospace systems has made the search, testing and procurement of components a great challenge. The Siemens Xcelerator portfolio from Siemens combines software tools, including Capital software, for digital transformation on a single platform. A key element is to provide intelligent part data to cover design, manufacture, and service of electrical systems as well as encompassing E/E system and software architectures to engineer smart products, according to Siemens.

In the past, Siemens’ Capital software users needed to manually create library parts and symbols by referring to websites of part manufacturers or part distributors to provide the required electrical data. When users wanted to compare different parts from different vendors, they had to go through individual websites and datasheets. 

“In order to drive the advanced automation delivered by the Siemens E/E systems development portfolio of tools including Capital software and, Solid Edge software even further, high quality electrical part data is needed. That’s why Siemens teamed up with CADENAS, an expert for intelligent CAD catalogs and Digital Twins,” says Glenn Reynholds, senior product marketing manager at Siemens Digital Industries Software. “By adding 3Dfindit.com to Capital software, users save valuable time by reducing administrative and search overhead, which they can use to develop creative products and accelerate time to market.”

Additional Functionality

Using the new embedded 3Dfindit.com part library can reduce manual effort for engineers by providing access to thousands of ready-to-import components from international vendors. Users working on a design can import new parts into Siemens’ Capital software solution and add them into their designs by a single click.

“Engineers spend about 27% of their time searching for components. We help to drastically reduce this effort,” explains Jürgen Heimbach, CEO of CADENAS GmbH. “If users start a search query via the search field in Capital and do not find what they are looking for, the search query is transferred directly by launching 3Dfindit.com. In addition to a parametric text search, a number of intuitive search functions such as shape search, sketch search or color search help engineers to easily find the supplier components they need.”

Engineers can hover across the 3D preview of the digital part to see and search for electrical properties of each cavity. The tool provides a selection of matching accessories as well as components that are similar to the selected product.

When importing a part into the Capital software library, important attributes are also transferred such as description, number of cavities and complex electrical part definitions like connector systems including the available terminals/contacts and the wire sizes they support.

With 3Dfindit.com, when importing components, full control over mapping with respect to customer standards and conventions is maintained. It comes with easy-to-edit configuration files to customize the import of parts and symbols. The embedded component library also provides an easy comparison between similar parts.

Bringing Tech Product Vendors and Engineers

The close cooperation between CADENAS and Siemens opens up opportunities for manufacturers of electrical components.

“It's not just geometry that makes perfect design data. Engineers need extensive metadata without having to search for it,” says Heimbach. “When manufacturers learn about the possibility of providing their products with all relevant design data in accordance to the ECLASS standard, they recognize the value it can add to their customer service.”

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.