RS Components has launched DesignSpark Electrical, extending its DesignSpark design software to those electrical design engineers not already using electrical CAD tools.
The latest addition to the DesignSpark family of engineering resources, DesignSpark Electrical is supported by Schneider Electric.
DesignSpark Electrical is a fully specified electrical CAD package with key benefits, to deliver time saving and error avoidance, for control panel, machinery and electrical system design.
This new free tool provides access to the functionality of electrical CAD for businesses that in many cases cannot reasonably justify the considerable price tag per seat for existing commercial electrical CAD software. DesignSpark Electrical considerably optimises the methods of electrical and automation system design and helps enhance the design capabilities of RS customers, enabling them to compete in the market much more effectively.
A key element of the DesignSpark Electrical software is the integration of a library that comprises more than 250,000 components and parts, including 80,000 from Schneider Electric and 10,000 from RS, which can easily be added to customer designs.
Other key features include intelligent and specialist electrical design tools, real-time referencing and validity checking to allow the creation of accurate 2D panel layouts, all of which saves time and reduces errors. Also built into the software is Bill-of-Materials (BOM) quote functionality, enabling customers to order parts via RS for their designs, both quickly and easily.
DesignSpark Electrical allows collaborative work, enabling projects to be shared with other team members via either archiving the environment back to a shared server or by sending the project file to another user via email.
According to RS Components, DesignSpark Electrical, by avoiding unnecessary complexity, reduces learning time from months to days. The simplified approach, which does not compromise on features, allows time savings on key processes like wire or device numbering in excess of 20:1, when compared to generic CAD or paper based solutions.
The software makes these levels of efficiency possible by automatically numbering wires and devices. Even pre-ordering numbers of devices or wires at the end of a project or after amends can be done with just a few clicks. Accuracy is inherent due to the automated design features.