Author
As a panel builder, you won’t need reminding that one of the most complicated and time consuming jobs you have to tackle is panel wiring – and it’s also the job where it’s easiest to make mistakes! In fact, when you analyse it, panel wiring is actually a very complicated task involving multiple steps.
First you have to choose the right wire, taking note of the conductor cross section, insulation type and insulation colour. The details should be provided on the panel drawings, but this isn’t always the case. Then you need to work out the best route for the wiring runs, calculate the length of each of the wires, measure them, and cut them. Next you strip the wire ends, add terminations and the cable markers. Only after you’ve done all this, are you ready to start actually wiring the panel! Small wonder that wiring preparation, done the traditional way, is wearisome!
But help is at hand! If your design engineers work with the EPLAN Pro Panel computer-aided engineering (CAE) package, this will produce easy-to-work with wiring lists that detail the wire size, insulation type and colour and the exact length, along with details of the source and destination connection points. EPLAN Pro Panel will also send details of the cable markers to your printer, so you’ll always be sure of having all the markers you need readily to hand.
EPLAN Pro Panel generates accurate wiring lists and simplifies your job.
Working this way will save you a lot of time – no tedious manual calculation of wire lengths, no searching for the right cable markers – and will help to minimise cable wastage as you know the exact length to cut, every time. It will also help to ensure that the right cable is used for every connection.
Surveys carried out by EPLAN suggest that these benefits can cut wiring preparation time by up to 45%, which means you can make big cost savings while boosting your productivity.
It is, in fact, possible to reduce wiring time even further by investing in an automatic wiring loom fabrication machine. Available from several different suppliers, these machines take information directly from EPLAN Pro Panel and produce looms that are ready to install in the panel with a minimum of further work and effort.
If you’re a panel builder with an eye to the future as well as an interest in gaining a real edge over your competitors, you’ll probably want to find out more. It’s really easy to do so. Just follow download the white paper.
Comments