A few years ago, the users and product managers were offered a simple single line, front, and plan views. However, seeing the power and potential of the Visio graphical engine and platform, the customers came with new demands, such as “a configurable side-view compartment schema,” which introduced a new diagram type and even a new solution for standard-preconfigured switchgear systems. This facilitated the sales process by offering preconfigured systems. Just as auto manufacturers offer cars with a “sports package” that already include some options – so were the switchgear packaged in the “Wiring Manual” project for the new switchgear type 8DJH. The first version of NXTools+ Graphics had to deal with four switchgear types, and the only documentation was for air-insulated switchgear. Over the years, more switchgear types have been added to bring today’s total to 21. This growth has brought a whole new set of issues: For each switchgear type, individual front and plan views need to be created Each switchgear has its own rules of placement and component combinations With Siemens’ success in the switchgear sector, and the diagrams as a component of this process, new languages needed to be added to the tool – both in the user interface and in the documentation When it was initially created, the tool was designed for extensibility. The use of Visio in the solution also introduced a huge advantage in the ease of extensibility for new components (third-party provided shapes) or diagram types (driven by new switchgear). Exponentially increased number of components – new shape-creation methods With every new switchgear type, new shapes also needed to be provided so that front diagrams and plan views could be created. When the first version was introduced, the diagrams were created purely through Visio shapes – the huge variability and amount of possible configurations made this approach unusable for the gas-insulated switchgear. In addition, the tool was used primarily for European and the U.S switchgear and later on for Chinese and Indian switchgear. The strategy was to allow the local IT support to not only plan and build the switchgear interlocking in NXTools+, but also provide the shapes and diagram parts that were to be imported into the documentation. As appropriate as this approach is, it also introduced another problem: how to ensure not only the graphical
introduced issues when the diagram was exported to other file formats. Diagram rules in NXTools+ Graphics at a glance The Diagram Validation functionality now checks every diagram created against a predefined set of rules, which ensures data and shape consistency. Both factors help manage the increased amount of checking tasks when implementing shape and text elements that are delivered from outside of Siemens and need to be made part of the diagram(s). This also adds a whole dimension of fault tolerance to the tool without the need to have each rule coded separately into the production code, which would decrease the creation performance – a factor that is also crucial when thousands of users are creating diagrams in parallel with the solution. Benefits Since the implementation of Visio 2010, Siemens E D MV has seen several improvements in overall tool usage and a great reduction in the time formerly invested in ensuring diagram consistency and accuracy. With this new version, checking for errors mainly consists of checking the rules output window. Heyns comments, “It is incredible how much time such an easy-to-overlook function can save in our everyday work.” Better integration of external data and graphics Due to the new and improved DXF import, even files from non-current file formats or files with complex details are imported with high accuracy. This greatly reduces the amount of time for redoing or correcting the imported components and speeds up the diagram creation process, especially the process of implementing and adding new switchgear or diagram types to the solution. Ready for new, more complex diagram types For this fiscal year and the coming year, five new switchgear types are planned – every one of them adding more complexity than any of the previous types. The new diagram types planned could previously only be implemented with great effort due to the high complexity of the visualization rules that apply to these diagram types. With the new Visio 2010 based solution, this becomes a feasible task, since new versions can be released more quickly and diagram accuracy can still remain at the level necessary to keep customers satisfied. for even more switchgear and users The tool was initially created for 150 users, and now has reached 1,600