The first Eplan solution was effectively a pared-down, rather static early form of the digital system twin. Looking back, it’s immediately obvious. The Eplan wiring plan worked rather like the DNA of a new approach to information handling. Nowadays, every smart factory desperately needs the digital twin of panels and switchgear – and thus of all electrical engineering components in the entire system – as a time machine, knowledge store, simulator and central data hub. How it actually gets into the factories and their digital ecosystems, how it grows and is of benefit, is easily explained.
1. The automation twin
Cover image: Digital continuity and consistency in electrical automation planning – from planning and design through to production and operation.