New interface between B&R Automation Studio and EPLAN

Rainer Burgard, Key Account Manager at EPLAN, states: "Our users can easily carry over hardware configurations and I/O mapping tables from B&R Automation Studio, reducing the time and cost of development by avoiding unnecessary input repetitions and redundant workflow.W"

B&R hardware contained in an EPLAN Electric P8 project can be integrated into the hardware tree of an Automation Studio project at the push of a button. An intelligent side-by-side comparison tool provides a clear overview of which components the two projects already have in common and where changes have been made.

Intelligent import and export mechanisms make day-to-day workflows using multiple software tools considerably more streamlined. Yet B&R and EPLAN take it even a step further: the electrical plan and automation project are synchronised using 'round-trip engineering' features. These features ensure that the two projects are always aligned and up-to-date. This has clear advantages, as explained by Heinz Furnschuss, the B&R Technical Manager responsible for developing the EPLAN interface: "Automated data exchange prevents errors that might otherwise occur in the course of interdisciplinary communication, thereby improving the quality of the end product. This contributes to reduced maintenance costs later in a system's life cycle. Modifications can be made more quickly, more easily and more inexpensively, since the system documentation and software are always current and synchronised."

Visit the B&R website or contact the company for more information about the new interface between Automation Studio and EPLAN.