Easy to use, elecworks enhances productivity while generating high quality electrical documentation.

Whether it be baguettes, breads, loaves or buns, Mérand Mécapâte, founded in 1954 and based near Rennes in Western France, produces all kinds of machines for bakers and for industrial production in hypermarkets. If the actual machine production is outsourced, electrical design is the responsibility of the internal engineering department with a team of 5 people. Possible communication with the SolidWorks-equipped mechanical team was a strong incentive to acquire elecworks in the context of a future integrated 3D design process.

Using AutoCAD initially, the engineering department was looking for a true electrical CAD software including intelligent electrical features to increase its productivity. “With AutoCAD, it was painstaking. We had to draw the components one by one. There was no automatic numbering nor any automatic single-line component wiring, “says Mr. Mickaël Poulain, engineering manager “With a standard component, elecworks provides automatic wiring that can be changed but already connected to the lines already drawn. Elecworks also includes a large component library and automatic wire numbering. We are not limited in terms of schematic pages in a project. Now, with elecworks we spend 1/3 less time on drawing and documenting our controls allowing greater focus on the project design. “

Their machines are used to separate the dough into loaves, to stretch it into shape, to scrape sideways cuts, to let it rest, etc.. Mérand Mécapâte’s product range extends to standard machines which differ in their capacity (by flour weight) and their hourly yield. Customers then choose options, such as the bread cutting, the humidity rate, the delivery on a net or the dough kneading.

All these machines therefore have a common core before being adapted to the needs of each client. “Depending on the type of machine, the drawing part is 50 to 100 hours of work. The copy and paste feature is much used. It does not take us too much time to draw these standard machines but just adjustments on options “says Mickaël Poulain who highlights elecworks benefits: “elecworks allows you high quality drawings and design. It is easy to use with direct features easy to handle. Elecworks is flexible. Its productivity is very interesting for a lower investment compared to other similar tools. An excel extraction of BOMs allows fast data drawing use.” For this company, who generates 45% of its turnover abroad, the multilingual translation feature in elecworks is also an asset.

With a set of drawings covering over 500 machines, the engineering department has in a year quickly redesigned its drawings for a hundred machines as needed on a case by case basis. All new machines are now designed with elecworks. The next step would be to merge the elecworks controls design with the elecworks for 3D models. M. Poulain already identifies potential benefits: “At the workshop cablers in charge of wiring and assembly or panel installation have sometimes trouble reading the drawing in 2D. In some cases, when there are many mechanical components, the 3D visual design is more understandable. “