MONHEIM, Germany, Nov 22, 2024 – The EPLAN Partner Networks was founded in 2020, and PTC just joined it as a new technology partner. The interface between PTC Windchill and the EPLAN Platform will continue to be developed as the two companies strengthen their close cooperation. The current Connector allows users to manage data sets from EPLAN in the Windchill PLM system and merge them into a digital product file. The goal is clearly defined: users should benefit even more from the data consistency between electrical engineering and PLM. Both partners – EPLAN and PTC – are contributing their expertise and thereby continuing to make processes even more consistent for their common customers.
What was agreed back in June was ultimately finalised at the SPS in Nuremberg: PTC and EPLAN are strengthening their technology partnership. PTC is now also an official member of the EPLAN Partner Network, further consolidating the fruitful cooperation between the companies. The interface between PTC Windchill and the EPLAN Platform has been established on the market for quite some time and is being further developed in close collaboration between the two companies. The Windchill Connector by EPLAN allows data sets from the engineering software to be managed in the PLM environment. Both partners – EPLAN and PTC – are contributing their expertise and thus continuing to make the process even more consistent for their common customers. PTC Vice President Sales Lead CER Thomas Wenger and EPLAN Senior Vice President Strategy & Corporate Program Dr. Marco Litto signed the agreement in Nuremberg on 12 November 2024.
A Goal of Greater Efficiency
Marco Litto explains: “With the bidirectional interface between the EPLAN Platform and Windchill by PTC, our common customers benefit from integrated, end-to-end workflows. If ECAD and PLM are connected bidirectionally, users are then working in a truly interdisciplinary way and therefore much more efficiently throughout the product lifecycle.” PTC’s Thomas Wenger adds: “The interaction between software, mechanics and electrics is crucial for our customers. Interdisciplinarity creates huge competitive advantages.” Now the companies’ partnership is being further expanded. The two are working in close cooperation to continue optimising the interface – the Windchill Connector – and to supply new solutions in digital product development for the cloud.
ECAD Engineering and PLM in Dialogue
The integration solution between EPLAN and PTC Windchill has successfully been on the market for more than ten years now. It lets users automatically control data management processes in engineering. The existing Windchill Connector already effectively depicts all the steps of the product development process, from device data synchronisation to providing bills of materials and the associated neutral formats. From the perspective of users of both systems, the automation of routine processes in particular greatly simplifies their everyday work: traditional tasks such as searching for, finding and creating projects, checking in and out, or exporting EPLAN project pages in neutral formats are all much more efficient with this data interface. The previously time-consuming synchronisation between mechanical planning and electrical planning is considerably simplified here.
Development Continues
Now with the signed partnership, the companies are working to validate joint solutions with added values for customers along the value chain. This includes various topics and themes in product development, but also in supporting processes in the areas of system operations and maintenance. The existing technological integrations with PTC – Windchill PLM/Vuforia Augmented Reality – will now be strategically expanded to maximise the depth of data and enable even more data consistency and integration.
To find out more about EPLAN Partner Network, visit https://www.eplan-software.com/partner.
About EPLAN
EPLAN provides software and service solutions in the fields of electrical, automation and mechatronic engineering. The company develops one of the world’s leading design software solutions for machine and panel builders. EPLAN is also the ideal partner to streamline challenging engineering processes.
Both standardized as well as customized interfaces to ERP and PLM/PDM systems ensure data consistency along the whole value chain. Working with EPLAN means boundless communication across all engineering disciplines. No matter whether small or large enterprises: Customers can apply their expertise more efficiently. Worldwide, EPLAN supports more than 65,000 customers. EPLAN wants to grow further with customers and partners and pushes integration and automation in engineering forward. Within the EPLAN Partner Network, open interfaces and seamless integrations are realized together with partners. “Efficient engineering” is the focus.
EPLAN was founded in 1984 and is part of the owner-operated Friedhelm Loh Group. The Friedhelm Loh Group operates worldwide with more than 12 production sites and over 95 international subsidiaries. The entire group employs more than 12.000 people and generated revenues of €3 billion in 2022. For the 14th time in succession, the family business has won the accolade “Top German Employer” in 2022. In addition, Friedhelm Loh Group was recognized as “Top vocational trainer” according to a study of Deutschland Test and Focus Money. For more information visit www.eplan-software.com and www.friedhelm-loh-group.com.
