How to input text with carriage return in Design Force and Component Editor.

In Design Force and Component Editor, when we input next text in the data, we cannot input carriage return within the text we input.

After we input a text, from Property dialog we can add carriage return.

Key to input carriage return is [Shift] + [Enter] keys.

First input text without carriage return.

After input text, select text and see it in Properties panel menu.

Using [Shift] + [Enter] keys add carriage return in to input text. And click [Apply].

Now you have text with carriage return.

END

The post Tech Tip: How to input text with carriage return in DF/CE appeared first on English.

Evolution of Component Creation

The new year makes us all think about new beginnings, to forge ahead with new ideas and resolutions, and carry the cheer of the holidays with for as long as possible. In 2018, Zuken added some cheer to the design side of our lives with the partnership with CADENAS and ECAD-Port to bring components from manufacturers to the users. The automated component creation and development engine are gathering steam with parts coming online for all users.

The Cadenas portal brings to life the idea of combining 3D mechanical data and electrical data together in one easy-to-manage space to improve productivity. First of all, users from both mechanical and electrical disciplines are looking at the same data. Having the flexibility to pull only the data needed for the design reduces the undesired complexities that otherwise plague component management solutions. The plan is to make a large number of parts from multiple manufacturers available for all users to accelerate the design cycle.

The Secret Sauce

The highlight of this partnership is the ability to bring the parts directly into the Zuken database with a planned add-on for E3.series version 2019. The components available are being designed to meet a minimum standard to ensure uniformity and reliability. The demo video below clearly illustrates the massive difference an online portal makes by making parts available on the fly. Here’s the demo video if you haven’t seen it yet Direct Import to E3.series 2019. The breakthrough here is the ability to support the maximum cross-section of users. The majority of parts available for download support all versions from version 2012 onwards. On top of that, the ease of using native tools to bring the components into the library accelerates the component creation process.

The components are individually available and the server creates them on demand. The download process is the same be it for a certain mechanical package or for   Zuken. This simplifies things for the user, who can now access multiple resources in one place. There are parts available now on the Cadenas parts community to sample. We encourage you to sample the parts and provide us with any feedback that you might have to improve the process. For easy access to the Zuken/Cadenas community follow this link – https://zuken.partcommunity.com. All new users must register to be able to download a part. The registration process is easy and takes just a few minutes.

Step by Step Solution

The download process is straightforward and requires only a simple search to find the desired parts. Here’s a video demonstration of the process as an alternative to reading – the choice is yours.

Step 1

Visit https://zuken.partcommunity.com and use the search bar to type the desired part number. Alternatively, classification options are a great tool to refine the search parameters. The availability of parts is currently restricted to simpler parts like connectors and fuses as opposed to PLCs. With active user feedback and after streamlining, the complex category parts will be available in the future. Select the desired part/component and review the details.

Step 2

The CAD DOWNLOAD button provides the option of selecting the software package. Select Zuken as the CAD option and it will nudge the server to start creating the required package.

Step 3

The server will notify you the file is ready for download in a few moments. From there, simply download the file onto the computer. The file received with this method is a *.mdb file (MS Access database)

Step 4

Using the CopyDatabaseEntries tool, import the connector to an E3.series library. The tool is available with the E3.series software package to be installed. It is important to remember the CopyDatabaseEntries tool is version-specific; for use with the corresponding version of E3.series. If you haven’t used CopyDatabaseEntries tool yet, the Zuken Community videos can give you a quick walkthrough.  And on that note, if you haven’t signed up for the Zuken Community – head on over to https://community.zukenusa.com and sign up now.

The E3.CopyDatabaseEntries How to Video will layout the steps for library data transfer.

Step 5

Now you are ready to use the newly downloaded component in your project.

The Road Ahead

The team is busy bringing manufacturers online to share their treasure trove of data with users. User feedback and use cases are driving the effort towards an automated system that can accelerate design and increase quality. The eClass data sharing format is a well-established industry standard supported by all the partners. It is clear that a universal standard for design data format is going to play a pivotal role in the long-term success of this endeavor. Data reuse for multiple applications is a logical next step given Cadenas is able to store all the data in the eClass format.

This entire effort is to assist users and make the design and manufacturing process more streamlined. We can use your help in making this process more efficient and effective. If you have a manufacturer library in mind you can advise us or your supplier contact to get us to work together in bringing the data to your fingertips. The goal is to make components available for Zuken users and enhance the data available for upstream and downstream applications.

The post Evolution of Automated Component Creation appeared first on English.

One of the many memorable speakers at this year’s Zuken Innovation World Italy was from the Firenze Race Team. We caught up with Team Leader Caterina Lotti to ask her about her team’s ambitious plans to make an autonomous racing car using E3.series.

Established in 2000, Firenze Race Team is the official Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) team of Università degli Studi di Firenze (University of Florence), where Formula SAE is doing much to mirror Formula 1 racing by holding events around the world. But a key difference is that the teams are made up only of students in active education; briefed to develop a Formula-style race car.

Most design rules relate to safety aspects and the combustion engine employed. Otherwise each team has a free hand when it comes to things like weight, suspension and aerodynamics, enabling them to make compromises to achieve an overall win, as vehicles will be judged on criteria that includes design and manufacture aspects, cost, performance (such as acceleration, fuel economy and endurance) and the quality of a presentation event.

As with Formula 1, big-name sponsorship adds to the excitement and glamour; and for Formula SAE Zuken is proud to sponsor teams in the EU and the US. The sponsorship with Firenze Race Team includes use of E3.series and CADSTAR, plus training and guidance during the design and manufacturing stages of the motorsport building project.

Firenze Race Team is currently working on a single-seat car to compete in 2019 that will have autonomous capability. We spoke to Caterina Lotti, Team Leader, to find out more.

What made you want to join the team?

The wide variety of disciplines involved in the project fascinates me. It has always included traditional forms of engineering such as, mechanical and electrical design, but recently we have welcomed engineers from other faculties, such as automation and computer science engineering, as well as business studies and economics. In total there are 37 students involved on our current project, and we hope to increase this number over time by encouraging more students to register.

How did you hear about the event?

The activity of the Firenze Race Team is always highlighted by our university during promotional events and during lessons. Our university encourages involvement because it’s a great way for us to put into practice what we’re learning in our studies. No less important, is the passion most of us have for motorsport. It drove us to join the team.

What’s the structure of your team?

We have a management team that comprises a leader – yours truly – and two Technical Directors (who are also Project Integration Managers). Most groups have between two and six people; the largest of these being the Electronics and Control group. They have individual leaders who report to the management team and pass executive decisions down. The opinion of every team member counts. The level of collaboration within the entire team is great and we’re able to make informed decisions quickly.

How do you fit FRT around your studies?

Time management is crucial, and that also includes time for social and family events. The fact of the matter is that we do need to prioritize things and make sacrifices, but I see that as a valuable life lesson. Also, there’s a positive attitude within the team that no matter how constrained we are, important and practical educational experiences are being derived from the project.

What aspects of the project give you the most satisfaction?

The proof that hard work pays dividends. We commit ourselves 100% and the results, both for the team and for us as individuals, are considerable. There’s also the excitement of racing and that we’re pushing the technology boundaries by introducing autonomous driving. It’s cutting-edge stuff.

How challenging is the project?

Extremely. We decided to create a new car that integrates in a completely new way for both manual driving and in an autonomous mode. But it’s not just about technology. Nor is it just about performance during the events. Or cost control. It’s about the optimization of all three aspects to produce an overall win. On the plus side, as students, we cannot help but ‘learn by doing’ which means we get to make informed decisions based on our studies and practical experiences.

How easy to use was Zuken’s software?

Our electronics team found the software extremely intuitive because of the classic Windows look and feel; pull-down menus, shortcuts, right-mouse-button commands etc. It’s really good. Also, the team received a great introduction to E3.series that included access to some superb step-by-step tutorials. We also had the opportunity to increase our knowledge of the software through our collaboration with a local Zuken software user as part of a railway project, so that made it very ‘real world’ and aided our activities.

How is your team doing this season?

At the beginning of this academic year, we decided to undertake a two-year project path because of the very technical challenges we’ve set ourselves. It’s a totally new and innovative project, and for this reason we decided to take our time to get it right.

What would you say to someone considering embarking on a similar endeavor?

It’s very rewarding. The varied experiences, rising to the challenges, the team work, the emotion you feel when unveiling your car – it’s all amazing – and when your design gets to go around the track its performance is a reflection of your own strengths.

Any last thoughts?

The transition from a traditional car, with its relatively simple wiring, to a car with an Advanced Driver-Assistance System (ADAS), which requires far more sensors and actuators – and by extension more wiring – really highlighted to us the power of E3.series.

The post Under the Hood of an Italian Student Motorsport Team using E3.series appeared first on English.

In my earlier blog posts, I described the importance of a comprehensive and standardized data model and on the different viewpoints on it.

Today I want to focus on the resulting benefits for the various stakeholders in the process. And again, the use of a standardized data model is the key for the digital twin application and for the resulting improvements in process and usage scenarios of related tools. Let’s have a look at a few of these aspects:

Decoupling of process between OEM and Tier 1

A while back, the Tier 1 harness suppliers had to use exactly the same tooling environment as the OEMs they were working for. This meant that the Tier 1s had to invest in and maintain different toolsets for every OEM. Also, it was not easy to shift engineering resources between different projects without investing in training, and allowing for learning curves for the different toolsets.

Data exchange standards such as KBL have made it possible to decouple this process chain.

As a result, the Tier 1 suppliers can work in their preferred tool environment, which may be different from and independent to the tools used by the OEM. At the end of the day, all data delivered by the suppliers must arrive at the OEM in the defined standard format and with an agreed data maturity. Of course, it is essential to have a powerful viewer so all stakeholders can read, understand, and verify the KBL data easily. And we know that an XML-editor isn’t up to the job. That is why Zuken developed E3.HarnessAnalyzer with rich functionality to support this need.

Best-in-class tools for every process step

We continue on a similar theme. A digital process based on standards not only decouples the process between OEMs and suppliers, but also offers the opportunity to build a process chain within a company by combining tools from different vendors. This means, instead of having a complete toolset from one vendor, users can now cherry-pick the tools from different vendors. For the tool vendors this brings more competition, but for the users there are many benefits such as much more flexibility and investment protection.

Let’s look at an example: We’ll assume a company has a toolset in place for the development of wiring systems. Typically, there will be a schematic tool, a 3D DMU tool, and a 2D harness design tool.

Now a new requirement comes up; the ability to try out design changes quickly in order to speed up the design process. This could mean finding out the impact on  bundle diameters, weight or cost, for a planned change in the design.

The established tools can´t solve this issue, as their process is much too slow for a “what-if” evaluation such as this. On the other hand, there are no plans to replace the existing toolset in general.

The decoupling we looked at earlier allows the company to add a dedicated “helper” tool able to answer such “what-if” questions within minutes, to the existing process by using data standards such as KBL.

This use case is also a good example what standard interfaces have to realize: short set-up times. If a user want to run a “what-if” study, a major criteria is the length of time it takes until they can have all their series development data available. Previously, 80% of the time taken to run such a study was taken up on transferring, converting and adjusting the input data. Now a modern tool like E3.Wiring System Lab can support all applied standards and provides dedicated support functions, so a comprehensive data model for the complete wiring system of a car can be compiled in less than 10 minutes.

Keeping the topology in a 3D environment also saves work flattening to 2D, so after another 10 minutes, the results of the “what-if” question are available and the result is proven by a detailed data analysis generated by the system.

Such a flexible optimization of an existing process chain, achieved by adding innovative building block solutions, is only possible because of standardized data formats such as KBL and VEC.

Here’s another simple example for the resulting benefits around viewer tools such as the one I mentioned earlier, E3.HarnessAnalyzer.

In an OEM company there are many stakeholders who are interested in the technical details of a wiring harness. This could be production planners, EMC experts, quality inspectors or cost engineers. All of them need only read access to the harness data, so why make things complicated by making them work with authoring tools. And this is not only a problem regarding training, but also with access rights and available licenses. Using paper or pdf versions of harness drawings is not really a viable alternative. It is much better for all stakeholders to use a dedicated viewer able to render the KBL / VEC data in the way the different users are familiar with.

So the standardization of a digital data model is paving the road to make a digital twin strategy become true in daily practice, and to realize substantial benefits for the involved stakeholders.

Watch out for the next post in the series – Benefits of the Digital Twin Approach for After Sales and Service

Previous posts in the series:

• The Building Blocks of a Digital Twin Strategy for Automotive Wiring Systems
• Why Are Automotive Wiring Systems Experts Getting Excited about the Digital Twin?

The post Benefits of a Digital Twin Strategy for Development and Production appeared first on English.

So I have to admit to being more than a little excited when I started working with motorsport companies years ago. Though we can’t usually mention individual companies because of confidentiality agreements, Zuken is well known for working in this area and word of mouth means we are regularly approached by companies working in motorsport who are interested in moving into digital electrical design.

I’d estimate that far more than 50% of teams racing with wheels (including MotoGP) use E3.series for their complete electrical design or relevant areas including many Formula 1 teams.

Of course, this is a huge responsibility with no margin for error

It can be nerve-wracking on a race weekend when we’re following the teams we’ve worked with. There is a great atmosphere in the Milan office on a Monday when things have gone well, and it’s certainly a great motivator to have this passion and focus within our team.

I’m often asked by colleagues what it’s like working in motorsport

I’ll admit that it’s challenging – motorsport customers push us to the limit. They really do keep us ‘race fit’ in our work. Because of the racing calendar, companies have a limited window of opportunity to implement new functionality, upgrade software, or make changes to libraries. This means that when decisions are made, engineering partners like Zuken need to be ready in their own ‘technical pitstops’ with their tools and teams primed for action. We have to be 100% reliable and responsive. My perspective is that it’s good for us to have some adrenaline in our jobs, and it drives us to be the best we can across all areas of our work.

To meet the response times and flexibility demanded by motorsport

Zuken has recently developed a dedicated E³.series component library for motorsport. This typically means companies can cut they time they spend creating their components by 75%. Like defense, motorsport components are sector-specific.

E³.series takes a unique, object-oriented approach to component creation, so you can find graphics, tables, and metadata all within a single component. Instead of simply being a symbol, E³.series components are purchasable parts. In practice, this means a component can flag the connector it needs to mate to – avoiding mating errors. The library contains comprehensive information for all relevant component data: connectors, backshells, terminals and terminal seals.

Here’s an example of the punishing timescales found in motorsport

One well-known prestigious motorsport brand went from our first site visit to their first completed design using E³.series in 10 weeks. It went like this: 2 weeks to make a purchase decision; 4 weeks to build a custom parts library (this was before we had launched our custom library); and 4 weeks for electrical design. That’s speedy!

Motorsport use the right-the-first-time approach as default

Like the aerospace and space sectors everything is checked and rechecked, so that once the car gets on that track everything works as intended – no compromises. Of course, there might be a mechanical failure because of the harsh operating conditions, but it always works perfectly beforehand.

There’s a positive knock-on effect from working in motorsport that spills over into our work in other sectors

We often hear from prospective customers going through the electrical tool selection process that knowing about our work in motorsport gives them confidence during what can be a stressful time. They recognize that if we can compete and deliver solutions for the elite world of motorsport, we can meet their needs too.

• Find out more about E3.series

• HURRY! There’s still chance to rub shoulders with the engineers behind some of the most successful F1 teams, and the Zuken team supporting them, at Zuken’s global innovation conferences.

  • ZIW Italy – 12 June

  • ZIW France – 14 June

  • ZIW Switzerland – 20 June

  • ZIW UK – 19 September

The post Why Working with the Best in Motorsport Keeps Us ‘Race Fit’ as Engineers appeared first on English.

The following excerpt is from Andy Shaughnessy’s interview with Zuken’s Humair Mandavia in the April 2018 issue of Design 007 Magazine. 

Zuken has been developing PCB design tools for the automotive market for years. With automotive electronics worth over $200 billion globally, and growing every day, Zuken is preparing for a brave new world of smart cars, and autonomous and electric vehicles. I spoke with Humair Mandavia, chief strategy officer with Zuken, and asked him about the challenges facing automotive PCB designers, and the trends he’s seeing in the constantly evolving segment of the industry.

Andy Shaughnessy: Humair, tell us a little bit about Zuken’s work with automotive PCB design. I was at Zuken Innovation World a few years ago, and all of these automotive people were there, from Ford to Continental Automotive Systems, and the attendees were from all around the world.

Humair Mandavia: We’re fortunate to be working with most of the major OEMs and the tier one suppliers supporting the automotive industry globally. Zuken has been emerged in this market for over 20 years, and it’s been an area of significant growth year-over-year. As part of that growth, there are three key technology concentrations that have been part of our enablement too support the automotive market…

Read the rest of the interview here

The post Zuken Pulling Ahead in Automotive PCB Design appeared first on English.

In my last blog, I focused on the importance of a comprehensive and standardized data model as my first key requirement to meet this challenge.

Today I want to concentrate on the various aspects of the wiring system, and consider how different users expect to see different presentations and views of the related data.

Block 1: Connectivity and topology

Let´s see how a wiring system can be described digitally: The core of a KBL or VEC file is the product description of the wiring harness itself. This description can be broken down into connectivity and topology parts.

Connectivity describes the electrical from-to relationships – or which wires connect with which components, including all technical details. On the other hand, the topology defines the geometrical details – where the wires run in the vehicle, including electromechanical parts for wire protection like tapes, tubes or grommets.

In a KBL or VEC this information is modeled in a standardized XML file. However this XML can’t be read by a user directly, so a specialized viewer is required.

Because of its rich functionality, Zuken’s E3.HarnessAnalyzer has become the de facto-standard for this task. The connectivity, as well the topology information with all its details and relations, are shown in a data grid. In addition, this information is represented in a graphical format to satisfy the different needs of each user:

• For those who are mainly interested in connectivity, the tool can render a partial schematic out of the digital connectivity model.
• If the interest lies more with the geometrical part, then a 3D rendering of the KBL data may be the perfect choice.

• But sometimes a 2D representation of the KBL data may be combined with the original harness drawing as a SVG, and can be the better choice for answering specific questions.

Block 2: Metadata, complexity and history

So, the digital data model KBL / VEC can describe the harness product completely, and a powerful viewer can make this design information easily understandable to different users to support their specific needs.

In addition to the pure design data, a KBL / VEC file can also carry a comprehensive set of metadata. The most important of these are related to complexity management, as wiring harness products are heavily variant related – often even in unique, customer-specific products. Depending on the method used, a KBL / VEC file can model a composite harness structure as well as a modular one (KSK).  And this model description has to be distributed to the users via the powerful functionality of the viewer tool – such as updating the graphical views based on the vehicle-specific selection of KSK modules.

Of course, this filtering operation must be applied to all data grids and viewpoints.

In addition, KSK can transport history information – especially for the modules. Having a powerful viewer tool, the user can easily find out details about the current product version – such as who released it and when. And they can retrieve the history of a specific harness module.

Block 3: Release and version data, PLM model

The communication of metadata in KBL is outperformed by far when using the VEC format. VEC can contain the release and version data on every single object, so the user can acquire detailed information about any connector or terminal. As a result, VEC can also claim to cover a comprehensive PLM model for wiring system components.

Such a powerful data format requires not only a viewer to create benefits for the stakeholders in the process, but also powerful authoring tools and a dedicated data management solution. With Zuken’s popular E3.series electrical design tool, in combination with its dedicated data management tool, DS-E3, Zuken is well prepared to provide the full suite of tools for the whole process chain of digital wiring system development.

Watch out for the next blog in the series.

The post The Building Blocks of a Digital Twin Strategy for Automotive Wiring Systems appeared first on English.