Abstract:
Motor control centers are designed and configured by a series of interface screens that are served to a configuration computer. The system configuration may be based on a default configuration, and customization is made based upon user selection or input of data via the interface screens. The particular screens presented and the type and detail of data presented may be adapted so that more or less is available based upon a security access model. The system may be fully integrated with various other systems, such as enterprise resource planning tools. The system may be online, such that the interface, data, offerings, options and so forth may be easily adapted and updated, and design and configuration may be made by different parties at different locations with a minimum of specialized configuration computer programming.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/857,584, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MOTOR CONTROL CONFIGURATION,” filed Jul. 23, 2013, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The invention relates generally to the field of electric motor control, and more particularly to the configuration of motor control centers (MCCs). 
         [0003]    Many industrial and other environments make extensive use of electric motors of various types for driving loads. In modern industrial settings, many such motors may be driven, and their operation may be coordinated with one another and with a range of machine, process, material handling and other equipment, as well as with human operators. MCCs are commonly used to house the electrical components used to drive and control the motors, such as motor drives, circuit breakers, switchgear, relays, automation controllers, human interfaces, and so forth. In a typical application, many such components may be disposed in a single cabinet, and the cabinet may include one or more sections or bays where the components are disposed. Power and network wiring is routed to and from the bays to communicate power and data to and from the equipment. 
         [0004]    Most MCCs are engineered systems in which the sections, bays, electrical components, and/or other supporting equipment are configured for a specific application, such as for a specific application within a particular industry. Further, the MCCs are then assembled to meet the requirements of that application. In many factories, for example, different types and ratings of motors are used for different loads, and the drive and control of the various motors may be affected by one or multiple MCCs designed to handle the particular needs of the loads. Historically, the design and layout of the various elements of the MCCs were designed by human selection and typically based on prior knowledge and expertise. Increasingly, however, tools have been adapted to facilitate the vast array of decisions that are made during the design and configuration process. In some cases, the information used for initial design and layout may be used for cost estimating, production management, component ordering, assembly, and commissioning. 
         [0005]    There remains a need for improved tools for the design and configuration MCCs that will further improve and facilitate system design, component selection, customization, and initial programming. Furthermore, there remains a need for improved tools for the design and configuration of MCCs that will further improve and facilitate the estimation of manufacturing, shipping, handling, costs. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
       [0006]    In one embodiment, a MCC configuration system is provided. The MCC configuration system includes a cloud/server system configured to store a configuration/design tool and one or more design libraries. Each design library comprising default custom modifications selected by an operator for the design of a configured MCC system. The configuration/design tool comprises a series of interface screens that solicit configuration options from the operator. The MCC configuration system includes a processor configured to execute the configuration/design tool. The processor receives the configuration options from the operator via an operator interface. The MCC configuration system includes memory circuitry that stores data representative of the configuration options received from the operator and the default custom modifications selected by the operator in an electronic file specific to the configured MCC system. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a motor control center (MCC) configuration system depicting a local operating system, a cloud/server system, and a monitoring/analysis system, in accordance with an embodiment; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a configuration/design tool executed within the local operating system and/or the cloud/server system of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the monitoring/analysis system of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram of an embodiment of one or more design libraries utilized within the cloud/server system of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for generating a design file via local operating system  12  of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for manufacturing and shipping a MCC configured and designed via the configuration/design tool  18  of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  illustrates an example operator interface view of the configuration/design tool of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  illustrates an example operator interface view modified from the operator interface view of  FIG. 7 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  illustrates an example operator interface view of the simulation/visualization tool of the configuration/design tool of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an embodiment; and 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  illustrates an example operator interface view of the validation tool of the configuration/design tool of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0018]    One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. 
         [0019]    When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present invention, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. 
         [0020]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a motor control center (MCC) configuration system  10  depicting one or more local operating systems  12 , a cloud/server system  14 , and one or more monitoring/analysis systems  16 , in accordance with an embodiment. In particular, the MCC configuration system  10  may be utilized by a user and/or operator (e.g., end user, consumer, engineer, distributor, etc.) to design and configure the features and components of a MCC unit for a specific application, such as, for example, a specific application within a particular industry. Indeed, the design and complexity of an MCC may be dictated by the application and/or the task(s) the MCC is utilized for. Accordingly, the systems and methods disclosed may be used by different entities for different purposes, such as by end users, engineering, or consumers familiar with controlled processes, as well as by distributors and specialists with greater knowledge of particular components and subsystems. Further, the systems and methods disclosed may be utilized within many commercial and/or industrial applications, such as, for example, the cement industry, the water and waste water industry, the oil and gas industry, mining and metals industry, chemical industries, and so forth. 
         [0021]    In certain embodiments, the user (e.g., end user, consumer, engineer, distributor, etc.) may access and execute, via a local operating system  12 , a configuration/design tool  18  stored within a storage/memory  20  on the cloud/server system  14 . The local operating system  12  may be any local computing device (e.g., smart phone, tablet, general purpose computer, laptop computer, etc.). The local operating system  12  may include an operator interface  20 , such as a graphical user interface (GUI) that may enable the user to interact with the local operating system  12  via a display  22 . In certain embodiments, the local operating system  12  may include one or more processors  24  configured to execute various computer executable instructions, such as computer executable instructions stored within a memory  26 . In particular, the processor  24  may access, retrieve, and locally execute the computer executable instructions of the configuration/design tool  18 , which may be stored on the cloud/server system  14 . 
         [0022]    In certain embodiments, the local operating system  12  may be utilized to virtually implement and execute the configuration/design tool  18  on the cloud/server system  14 . The configuration/design tool  18  may be a series of interface screens for the design of a configured MCC system. The cloud/server system  14  may be a cloud-accessible platform (i.e., cloud-computing system), one or more servers, in various computing devices (e.g., general purpose computers), and the like. As such, the local operating system  12  may operate as a soft controller or as a processor running in the cloud/server system  14 . Specifically, the cloud/server system  14  may include a storage/memory  30  configured to store computer executable instructions, such as the configuration/design tool  18 , and one or more design libraries  32 . Each of the one or more design libraries  32  may include information that may be utilized by the user to help configure and design an MCC. In addition, the cloud/server system  14  may include one or more processors  34  configured to access, retrieve, and execute the configuration/design tool  18  stored within the memory/storage  30  of the cloud/server system  14 . 
         [0023]    In certain embodiments, by virtually implementing the configuration/design tool  18  in the cloud/server system  14 , the configuration/design tool  18  may use a distributed computing architecture to provide a number of users access to the same system and data. As more data is made available to the cloud/server system  14 , the configuration/design tool  18  may provide additional design options to the users based on the actions or designs undertaken by other users. For example, as additional design libraries  32  are added to the memory/storage  30  of the cloud/server system  14 , more data may be accessed by the user designing and configuring the features and components of a MCC. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the configuration/design tool  18  may restrict access to the data stored within the cloud/server system  14  based on the identity of the user. For example, a user within a particular industry or geographical region may have access to one or more design libraries  32  targeted towards that particular industry or region. Likewise, a user configured to generate or create the design libraries  32  and/or one or more components of a particular design library  32  may have greater access to the storage/memory  30 . 
         [0024]    In certain embodiments, the design library  32  may be stored within the cloud/server system  14  and may include a collection of data associated with design options, customization options, features, layout options, and/or overall configuration options of a MCC unit. Each design library  32  may be associated with a particular customer, geographical region, industry, a particular MCC application, or may be associated with any type of category that requires a MCC with particular features or limitations. Further, each design library  32  may include features, layout options, and/or design options for an MCC that is configured for a particular application and/or a particular industry. In this manner, a user utilizing the configuration/design tool  18  may have access to one or more libraries  32  that help streamline the customization and design configuration process of a MCC for the user. In some situations, the design library  32  may also be associated with a particular user or organization, and may include profile information consisting of identification information, a history of previous purchases, an industry type, a list of MCCs previously designed or configured and specifications for each, and one or more templates of previous MCCs configured or designed. Generally, each of the one or more design libraries  32  may have restricted access and security, and therefore can securely include various levels of information that would help a user configure and design a MCC unit. 
         [0025]    In some embodiments, the MCC configuration system  10  also includes one or more monitoring/analysis systems  16 . The monitoring/analysis system  16  may include a computing device and/or a collection of computing devices that may perform various processing or data analysis operations on the data generated by the configuration/design tool  18 , data stored within the storage/memory  30 , data gathered or provided by the local operating system  12 , and so forth. The monitoring/analysis system  16  may include an operator interface  36 , such as a graphical user interface (GUI) that may enable the user to interact with the monitoring/analysis  16  via a display  38 . Further, the monitoring/analysis system  16  may include one or more processors  40  configured to execute various computer executable instructions, such as computer executable instructions stored within a memory  42 . In certain embodiments, the monitoring/analysis system  16  includes a downstream processing system  44  configured to access, retrieve, and process various types of data stored within the cloud/server system  14 , as further described with respect to  FIGS. 3 and 6 . Furthermore, the monitoring/analysis system  16  includes a design library generation system  46  configured to generate the design library  30  that may be stored within the cloud/server system  14  and accessed by one or more users utilizing the configuration/design tool  18 . In certain embodiments, the design library generation system  46  may also be configured to generate various components (e.g., pieces of information) of each design library  30 . 
         [0026]    Keeping the foregoing in mind, the local operating system  12 , the cloud/server system  14 , and the monitoring/analysis system  16  may communicate with each other via a wired or wireless communication network. As mentioned above, the local operating system  12  may be configured to access, retrieve, and locally execute the configuration/design tool  18  that is stored within the cloud/server system  14 . In some embodiments, the local operating system  12  may be a general purpose computer or controller that accesses and executes the configuration/design tool  18  within the cloud/server network  14 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the configuration/design tool  18  stored within the cloud/server network  14  of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment. As noted above, the configuration/design tool  18  may be executed within the local operating system and/or the cloud/server system of  FIG. 1 . Indeed, the configuration/design tool  18  is a interface screens for the design of a configured MCC. In particular, the configuration/design tool  18  may include communications circuitry  48 , a configuration/customization system  50 , a simulation/visualization tool  52 , a validation system  54 , and a design file generation system  56 . In certain embodiments, the configuration/customization system  50  also includes a drawing(s) request system  58 . It should be noted that the configuration/design tool  18  may be configured to help an operator design and configure an MCC with specifications or features suitable for a particular application and/or a particular industry. 
         [0028]    As noted above, the processors  57  may be any type of computer processor or microprocessor capable of executing computer-executable code, such as the processor  34  or processor  24  (illustrated in  FIG. 1 ). The processor  57  may also include multiple processors that may perform the operations described below. The operator interface  20  may include a number of input/output ports and the display  22 . The display  22  may be used to display various images generated by configuration/design tool  18 , such as a graphical user interface (GUI) for operating the configuration/design tool  18 . The display  22  may be any suitable type of display, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma display, or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, for example. Additionally, in one embodiment, the display  22  may be provided in conjunction with a touch-sensitive mechanism (e.g., a touch screen) that may function as part of a control interface for the configuration/design tool  18 . 
         [0029]    The communications circuitry  48  may include wireless and/or wired communication component that may facilitate communication between the configuration/design tool  18 , the local operating system  12 , the cloud/server system  14 , and the monitoring/analysis system  16 . For example, in one embodiment, the configuration/design tool  18  may use the communications circuitry  28  to communicatively couple the cloud/server system  14  to the local operating system  12  via a communication network. 
         [0030]    In certain embodiments, the configuration/design tool  18  includes a configuration/customization system  50  (e.g., customization system  50 ). The configuration/customization system  50  may be an interactive system that allows the operator to design and customizes a wide variety of features of a MCC. The features or designs available for configuration may be provided as a category, and the operator may choose one or more preloaded values related to the categories. For example, some of the categories that may be available for configuration and design include, for example, customer information, wiring and enclosure information, incoming power information, bus work information, other MCC options, MCC unit specifications, and so forth. In addition, in some embodiments, additional features or designs available include common unit options where the operator may select options that apply globally to all combinations of controllers within the MCC being configured/designed. For example, examples of common unit options include, for example, auxiliary options (e.g., deviceNet starter auxiliary, unwired timer auxiliary contact, extra N.O. auxiliary on contractor, extra N.O. auxiliary disconnect means, N.O. auxiliary in circuit breaker, etc.), pilot devices, control and wiring, grounding and miscellaneous options, relays, SMCs, drives, PLCs, and so forth. 
         [0031]    In certain embodiments, the configuration/customization system  50  may help the operator configure customer information for the MCC, such as the MCC assembly type, the country standards, an applicable IntelliCENTER network, the presence of a connection cover, whether the MCC is arc resistant, or any other customer specific information, such as, for example, a customer specific code. Further, wiring and enclosure information may be configured, such as a unit NEMA wiring type, a NEMA wiring class, a unit wiring diagram location, a section height, a mounting type, a section depth, an enclosure type, a bottom closing plate-NEMA 1/1G, a space heater voltage, an external mounting channel, a section wireway width, a section pull box, and so forth. In addition the operator may configure incoming power information for the MCC, such as an available fault current (e.g., between 1,000 and 100,000), a power system configuration, a system line voltage, a system line frequency (e.g., Hz), an MCC connection type, and so forth. Further, bus work information may be configured for the MCC, such as, for example, a horizontal power bus rating A, a power bus material (e.g., copper), a power bus plating (e.g., tin), a main power bus bracing (65 kA fully rated), a vertical power bus material (e.g., copper), a horizontal ground bus size, a ground bus plating, a horizontal ground bus location, a vertical ground bus type, a outgoing ground lug, an incoming ground lug size, an incoming ground cable size, a quantity of incoming ground cables, a horizontal neutral bus rating, a neutral loads served, a neutral connection plate in horizontal, a 600 A vertical bus, and so forth. In certain embodiments, the configuration/customization system  50  may help the operator configure MCC options, such as, for example, the presence of a vertical bus opening protection, a barrier between unit and wireway, a drip hood, a export pack (e.g., below deck), a vertical wireway tie bar, a vertical wwy door T-Handle latch, a NO-OX-ID compound on vertical bus, a MCC paint finish type, a master nameplate, and so forth. Further, unit specification information may be configured for the MCC, including a unit disconnecting type (e.g., circuit breaker), a unit door nameplate type (e.g., acrylic), a unit door nameplate color (e.g., white letters on black), a unit door nameplate line(s) (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc.), a blank unit door nameplate, a stainless steel NP screws, an external OL relay reset button, a control voltage type, a system control voltage, a heater element, and so forth. 
         [0032]    As noted above, the configuration/customization system  50  allows the operator to design and customizes a wide variety of features of a MCC. In particular, in certain embodiments, certain features or design options may require user or operator input, while others may be defaulted to a predefined selection that need not be changed. Further, certain features or options may be automatically selected based in part on a previous selection by the operator. Further, certain features or designs options that were selected by the operator may conflict with features or designs selected by the operator at a later time, in which case the selected feature or option may be flagged for review. In addition, it should be noted that certain features or designs may be automatically be flagged for double review to ensure accuracy. 
         [0033]    In certain embodiments, the configuration/design tool  18  includes a simulation/visualization tool  52  configured to display the selected features in the selected layout and configuration on the display  22 . For example, in some embodiments, the operator may select an auto layout icon after selecting the desired features and/or options via the configuration/customization system  50 . In some embodiments, after selecting the necessary or minimum features or options required, the configuration/design tool  18  may automatically layout the selected or designed MCC. The layout of the designed MCC may be displayed on the display  22  using one or more objects (e.g., blocks, rectangles, etc.) configured to provide an illustration of the layout of the MCC to the operator. In certain embodiments, the operator may select or preselect the layout options, or may leave the default layout options. For example, the operator may select the maximum number of sections per block, certain decisions outcomes (e.g., automatic correction in the event of a section bus overload), section numbering options, empty unit door options, font and font sizes, dimensions of blocks, legend options, and so forth. In some situations, the layout may include a section code legend with information related to the features or design options selected for the interior of each section. Indeed, the layout of the designed MCC may be displayed as illustrated with respect to  FIGS. 9-10 . In particular, the operator may change the placement of the sections within the layout by a “click” and “drop” operation. In this manner, the operator may change the automatic placement of one or more section to further design and configure the layout according to user specifications. 
         [0034]    In certain embodiments, the configuration/design tool  18  includes a validation system  54  configured to validate the selected features and options within the selected layout and configuration. In particular, the validation may occur in real-time, such as during the configuration and design of the MCC, rather than during a manufacturing or commissioning phase. Further, the validation process may involve analyzing the features and options selected for the MCC with respect to one or more preset MCC design limitations or rules. Such design limitations or rules may be stored within the design library  32  of the cloud/server network  14 , and may be dynamically changed or updated based on new information. In particular, the validation process may utilize the design limitations to provide different levels of feedback for the operator via the validation system  54 . For example, in certain situations, the operator may receive a warning regarding a selected design option or layout option that prompts the operator to double check the validity of the selected option. In other situations, the operator may receive an error or an alert a selected design option or layout option that requires the operator to reselect a particular option so that the MCC is in line with a particular design limitation or rule. In other situations, the operator may receive informational messages from the validation system  54 , which may inform the operator that the validation process was successful, or that the validation process requires additional forms of information. 
         [0035]    With a successful validation of the MCC design and layout, the configuration/design tool  18  may allow the operator to generate a design file via the design file generation system  56 . Indeed, in some embodiments, the design file generation system  56  provides a soft copy of the design and layout of the configured MCC, including the particular options, features, or specifications selected by the operator. The generated design file may be stored within the cloud/server system  14  and/or may be transferred to the local operating system  14  from the cloud/server system  12  via the communications circuitry  48 . Further, in certain embodiments, the configuration/design tool  18  may allow the operator to request one or more drawings of the configured MCC via the drawing(s) request system  58 . The request may be directly provided to the monitoring/analysis system  16  via the communications circuitry  48 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the monitoring/analysis system  16  of the MCC configuration system  10  of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment. As noted above, one or more design files  60  generated by one or more operators utilizing the local operating systems  12  may be stored within the storage/memory  30  of the cloud/server system  14 . In certain embodiments, an operator utilizing the monitoring/analysis system  16  may access and/or retrieve the design file  60  for further processing within the downstream system  62 , as further described below. Indeed, the downstream system  62  may include communications circuitry  64 , a order acceptance/validation system  66 , a quotation system  68 , and a manufacturing/shipping calculation system  70 . 
         [0037]    In certain embodiments, the order acceptance/validation system  66  of the downstream system  62  may be configured to validate the order and the details of the order. For example, the receiving operator may double check with the order generating operator whether the order details are accurate. In some embodiments, the order acceptance/validation system  66  involves ensuring that the rules and system requirements for the particular features and options selected by the user configuring the MCC are valid for order entry and manufacturing. Further, in certain embodiments, the downstream system  62  also includes the quotation calculation system  68 . The quotation calculation system  68  may be utilized to calculate an estimated cost for the configured and designed MCC, based on the features and options selected by the operator and stored within the design file  60 . Further, in certain embodiments, the downstream system  62  includes the manufacturing/shipping calculation system  70 , which may be configured to estimate the time needed to manufacture the MCC designed and estimate the time needed to ship the manufactured MCC. In addition, the manufacturing/shipping calculation system  70  may also provide the required information to allow the downstream systems to accurately schedule the manufacturing and shipping dates based at least in part on the design file  60 . 
         [0038]    In particular, in certain embodiments, the monitoring/analysis system  16  includes the design library generation system  46 . As noted above, the design library generation system  46  may be utilized by the operator to generate one or more design libraries  30  stored within the cloud/server system  14 . In certain embodiments, the design library generation system  46  may also be configured to generate various components (e.g., pieces of information) of each design library  30 . Further, it should be noted that the design library generation system  46  may also be utilized to edit the design library  30  and/or one or more components of the design library  30 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the one or more design libraries  32  utilized within the cloud/server system  14  of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment. In particular, each design library  30  may include one or more design components  72  that are generated by the design library generation system  46 , as noted above with respect to  FIG. 3 . In certain embodiments, the design components  72  may be utilized by the operator to help configure and design the MCC in line with desired specifications or features, such as particular specifications or features utilized for a particular industry or application. For example, the design components  72  may be any collection (e.g., set, group, category, etc.) of data associated with design options, customization options, features, layout options, and/or overall configuration options of a MCC unit. In the illustrated embodiment, the design components  72  include custom modifications  74  (e.g., CMODs  74 ), templates  76 , and catalogs  78 . It should be noted that in other embodiments, the design components  72  may include other information, such as design limitations  80 , which may be utilized by the validation system  54  to validate the design and layout of the MCC. 
         [0040]    In particular, each design library  32 , and the associated design library components  72  within that design library  32 , may be associated with a particular industry, a particular MCC application, or may be associated with any type of category that requires a MCC with particular features or limitations. For example, the design library components  72  within a particular design library  32  may include features, layout options, and/or design options for an MCC that is configured for a particular application and/or a particular industry (e.g., the cement industry, the water and waste water industry, the oil and gas industry, mining and metals industry, chemical industries, etc.). In this manner, a user utilizing the configuration/design tool  18  may access and retrieve the design library  32  that helps streamline the customization and design of a MCC for a particular application or industry. Likewise, the design components  72  accessed from the design library  32  may be utilized by the user as a guide in the process of designing and customizing the MCC. In some situations, the design library  32  and its&#39; corresponding design components  72  are recommendations provided to the user within a particular industry to help streamline the design process for the user. 
         [0041]    In certain embodiments, the design library components  72  include the CMODs  74 , which are custom modifications  74  that are associated with predefined intelligence. For example, each CMOD  74  may be a collection of data including one or more design options, customization options, features, layout options, and/or overall configuration options for a particular MCC application or industry. For example, the CMOD  74  may include wiring and enclosure options, incoming power options, bus work options, unit specifications, or other MCC options for a MCC that will be utilized within the water industry. In such situations, the CMOD includes options and specifications that are suitable for this industry. When selected by the user, the CMOD  74  may automatically fill in the corresponding options and features otherwise selected during the design phase via the customization/configuration system  50 . 
         [0042]    In addition, in certain embodiments, the CMODs  74  may be associated with predefined intelligence, such as, for example, other collections of information that help the MCC configuration system  10  configure and commission the MCC. For example, each of the one or more CMODs  74  may be associated with manufacturing/engineering/material costs information  82  and/or manufacturing/shipping information  84 . In this manner, when the operator selects a particular CMOD  74  to help streamline the design and configuration process, that CMOD  74  may include other information that may be utilized by the downstream system  62  within the monitoring/analysis system. As noted above, the downstream system  62  may calculate an estimated cost for the configured MCC, calculate shipping or manufacturing information for the configured MCC, and/or provide information required to schedule manufacturing or shipping dates for the configured MCC. In particular, mass price changes may be implemented easily by modifying or editing one or more existing manufacturing/engineering/material costs information  82  and/or manufacturing/shipping information  84 , rather than modifying the CMOD  74  associated with the price change. Furthermore, the predefined intelligence may include expiration of prices, which a user may utilize while configuring and designing the MCC with one or more CMODs  74 . 
         [0043]    In particular, the CMODs  74  may provide improved adaptability to changes within industries on the design specifications required for MCCs. Indeed, the CMODs  74  may be easily updated, edited, or deleted based on various external situations via the design library generation system  46 , and these changes may be inherently updated and communicated to a operator utilizing the design library  32 . Likewise, the predefined intelligence may also be updated when the CMOD  74  is updated or edited. Accordingly, changing one or more design options, customization options, features, layout options, and/or overall configuration options within the CMOD  74  may also change the associated manufacturing/engineering/material costs information  82  and/or the manufacturing/shipping information  84 . 
         [0044]    In certain embodiments, the design components  72  also include one or more templates  76  and one or more catalogs  78 . The template  76  may be a fully designed MCC that is specifically configured for a particular industry and/or a particular application. The user may utilize the template  76  and modify one or more features to further customize the MCC, or may utilize the template  76  without any further modifications. Likewise, the catalog  78  may be a series of templates  76  and/or CMODs  74  which allow the user to streamline the design process for a plurality of MCCs. 
         [0045]      FIG. 5  is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method  86  for generating a design file via local operating system  12  of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an embodiment. Although the method  86  is depicted in a particular order, it should be understood that the method  86  may be performed in a number of different orders and may not include all of the steps described herein. As noted above with respect to  FIG. 2 , the local operating system  12  may be configured to access the configuration/design tool  18  stored within the cloud/network system  14  (block  88 ). The configuration/design tool  18  may be retrieved and executed within the local operating system and/or remotely executed within the cloud/server system of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0046]    In certain embodiments, the end user and/or operator accessing the configuration/design tool  18  may be validated, and access to the design libraries  30  may be provided or restricted based on the identity of the operator (block  90 ). For example, a user within a particular industry may have access to one or more design libraries  32  targeted towards that particular industry. Likewise, a user configured to generate or create the design libraries  32  and/or one or more components of a particular design library  32  may have greater access to the storage/memory  30 . In this manner, a user utilizing the configuration/design tool  18  may have access to one or more libraries  32  that help streamline the customization and design configuration process of a MCC for the user. In certain embodiments, it should be noted that the user may not be granted access to the configuration/design tool  18 , if the user requesting access is not a recognized user or operator. With successful validation of the user, the user may be granted access to one or more design libraries  32 , and/or the corresponding design components  72  (block  92 ). 
         [0047]    Indeed, the information accessed by the user may be utilized by the configuration/customization system  50  to help streamline and guide the MCC design process. For example, based on the CMOD  74  information retrieved from the design library  32 , the method  86  includes efficiently configuring and customizing the MCC based on features or specifications desirable for a particular geographical region, industry or application (block  96 ). Furthermore, the method  86  includes generating the design file based on the configured and designed MCC (block  98 ). 
         [0048]      FIG. 6  is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method  100  for manufacturing and shipping a MCC configured and designed via the configuration/design tool  18  of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment. Although the method  100  is depicted in a particular order, it should be understood that the method  100  may be performed in a number of different orders and may not include all of the steps described herein. 
         [0049]    As noted above with respect to  FIG. 3 , the monitoring/analysis system  16  may be configured to access the design file  60  stored within the cloud/network system  14  (block  102 ). Further, the retrieved design file  60  may be further processed via the downstream system  62 . In particular, the downstream system  62  may be utilized to calculate an estimated manufacturing and shipping cost for the configured and designed MCC, based on the features and options selected by the operator and stored within the design file  60  (block  104 ). Further, the downstream system  62  may be utilized to calculate estimated shipping and delivery dates for the configured and designed MCC (block  106 ). It should be noted that in some situations, the manufacturing and shipping costs and/or the estimated shipping and delivery dates may be calculated based on the CMODs  74  selected by the user, and the associated predefined intelligence associated with the CMODs  74  (e.g., manufacturing/engineering/material costs  82  and/or the manufacturing/shipping information  84 ). In certain embodiments, the downstream system  62  may be utilized to calculate installation and/or handing information (block  108 ), based on the features and options selected for the configured MCC. 
         [0050]    In certain embodiments, the method  100  includes transmitting the calculated information to the operator of the local operating system  12  that generated the design file  60  (block  110 ). In such embodiments, the operator may accept the order, including the pricing and delivery information, and may commission the manufacturing of a MCC that corresponds to the design file  60 . In other embodiments, the design file  60  may already include the order information, and may be an indication that the MCC should be commissioned in line with the design file  60 . Accordingly, the method  100  may include manufacturing the MCC based on the retrieved design file  60  (block  112 ). 
         [0051]      FIG. 7  illustrates an example operator interface view  116  of the configuration/design tool  18  of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an embodiment. Specifically, the operator interface view  116  may be displayed on the display  22 , and be a visualization of the display  22  as the operator is utilizing the configuration/customization system  50 . As noted above, the configuration/customization system  50  may be an interactive system that allows the operator to design and customizes a wide variety of features of a MCC. For example, some of the categories that may be available for configuration and design include, for example, customer information  118 , wiring and enclosure information  120 , incoming power information  122 , bus work information  124 , other MCC options  126 , MCC unit specifications  128 , and so forth. Specifically, bus work information  124  may be configured for the MCC, such as, for example, a horizontal power bus rating A, a power bus material (e.g., copper), a power bus plating (e.g., tin), a main power bus bracing (65 kA fully rated), a vertical power bus material (e.g., copper), a horizontal ground bus size, a ground bus plating, a horizontal ground bus location, a vertical ground bus type, a outgoing ground lug, an incoming ground lug size, an incoming ground cable size, a quantity of incoming ground cables, a horizontal neutral bus rating, a neutral loads served, a neutral connection plate in horizontal, a 600 A vertical bus, and so forth. 
         [0052]      FIG. 8  illustrates a example operator interface view  130  modified from the operator interface view  116  of  FIG. 7 , in accordance with an embodiment. In certain embodiments, the operator utilizing the configuration/design tool  18  may modify certain features or options to configure the MCC for use within a particular application or a particular industry. In particular, the operator interface view  130  may be one of a series of interface screens for the design of a configured MCC. Further, in certain embodiments, the operator may modify certain features or options that were automatically selected when the CMOD  74  and/or the template  76  is selected. Accordingly, as illustrated in  FIG. 8 , features of the bus work information  174  are modified by the user from a previous value. 
         [0053]      FIG. 9  illustrates an example operator interface view  132  of the simulation/visualization tool  52  of the configuration/design tool  18  of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an embodiment. The simulation/visualization tool  52  may be configured to display the selected options and features for the MCC in a layout  134  on the display  22 . The layout  134  of the designed MCC may be displayed on the display  22  using one or more objects  136  (e.g., blocks, rectangles, etc.) configured to provide an illustration of the layout of the MCC to the operator. Further, the objects  136  may include text to identify the interior features and options of the object  136 . In particular, the operator may change the placement of the sections within the layout by a “click” and “drop” operation. For example, the operator may drag an object  136  from a first location  138  to a second location  140 . In this manner, the operator may change the automatic placement of one or more section to further design and configure the layout  134  according to user specifications. In some situations, the layout  134  may include a section code legend  142  with information related to the features or design options selected for the interior of each object  136 . 
         [0054]      FIG. 10  illustrates an example operator interface view of a validation tool  144  of the configuration/design tool  18  of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an embodiment. As noted above, the configuration/design tool  18  includes a validation system  54  configured to validate the selected features and options within the selected layout and configuration. In particular, the validation may occur in real-time, such as during the configuration and design of the MCC, rather than during a manufacturing or commissioning phase. In particular, the validation tool  144  may be engaged by operator to engage the validation system  54  of the configuration/design tool  18 . 
         [0055]    The systems and methods may make use of certain aspects of existing technologies, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,359,870, entitled System Design, Proposal and Programming Method and Apparatus, issued to Hadfield et al. on Apr. 15, 2008; U.S. patent application publication no. 2009/0276270, entitled System Configuration Application and User Interface, filed by Karnataka on Sep. 29, 2008; and U.S. patent application publication no. 2012/0079003, entitled System and Method for Interfacing with an Enterprise Resource Planning System, filed by Somani et al. on Sep. 29, 2010, all of which are hereby incorporated into the present disclosure by reference. 
         [0056]    While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.