Cabinet layout - PLCdesign

Electrical cabinet layout – Excel based tool

Cabinet layout is an Excel workbook created to design the internal distribution of the components in any control or electrical panel. It has been designed primarily as a tool capable of generating very quickly the cabinet drawing and its bill of materials, with a tool as usual as Excel.

With the same tool it is possible to perform several tasks:

Design, in each case, the most suitable internal cabinet layout.
Calculate the man-hours of wiring and cabinet construction.
Calculate the price of the complete electrical cabinet.
Compare several alternatives: depending on the materials used, layout, etc.
Make a drawing of dimensions and internal distribution with the bill of materials.
Generate an Excel or PDF file for the client.
Easily incorporate other features to suit your needs using Excel formulas or macros.It is a tool especially designed for the proposal phase, both for System Integrators and Panel Builders.

**Which are the principal characteristics of this electrical Cabinet layout tool?**

It’s an Excel workbook so it is not necessary to install any additional software on the PC. The user can perform other calculations in parallel (prices, wiring times, thermal dissipation, etc.) and use his/her spreadsheets.
It calculates the spacing requirements of each type of component (relays, terminals, etc.) and the number of units that can be mounted in each area of the panel.
The components can be mounted on horizontal or vertical strips and combine both on the same panel. Almost any combination is possible: front, rear, side mounting plates, pivoting or fixed frames, etc.
The external dimensions of the electrical cabinet and mounting areas are defined by the user. They can be used millimeters or inches, and change the units at any time.
The user can freely enter the data of the components normally used: dimensions (width and height), short description to be shown on the drawing, long description for the bill of materials, and optionally, the unit price.
It’s possible to design up to 8 panels, each with two views or mounting areas. During the design, you can see the missing components and the occupied space.
The generation of the drawing is made by the user through a userform with some command buttons. The inclusion in the drawing of the dimensions, the base/plinth, the descriptions, the number of units, etc. is optional. It’s also possible to assign a color to each component.
The drawing can be modified by using Excel functions, it can also be exported to another Excel file or to a PDF document.
In each Excel file you can save up to 10 different configurations, each of them with 8 panels and/or 16 mounting areas. Additionally it’s possible to save up to 10 drawing pages.
The Bill of Materials can be inserted into the drawing and, optionally, to include the dimensions.

Price: 60 € (license valid for 12 months and 1 PC)

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Video Overview version 1.0

Benefits for Solution Providers:

The generation of the electrical cabinet layout drawing and bill of materials is very fast.
It allows them to calculate in a few minutes the space required and the number of panels.
It can be used as a preliminary step to the use of other drafting programs and to generate layout drawings during the proposal phase.
It allows you to compare prices of complete electrical cabinets, including materials and man-hours costs for wiring and assembly.
It is a help tool for the development of standard solutions. For each type of solution or client you can use a different Excel file including up to 10 configurations.
Being based on Excel it’s very simple to complement with other calculations. For example, by adding material and labor prices for wiring and assembly, adding lists of materials (relays, converters, power supplies, etc.) from different manufacturers, etc. Current spreadsheets can be used and linked.
It is a very low cost tool, not comparable to other electrical design programs, but with great advantages for many users and that requires very little training as it is an Excel application.

What are the advantages of this electrical Cabinet Layout tool for panel builders?

It helps them to elaborate the offer of the electrical or control cabinet:

In a few minutes it allows them to calculate the space required and the number of panels. It is very simple and fast to develop several options.
It calculates the wiring and assembly time of each type of component and, therefore, calculates the cost of labor and materials. The user only has to configure and enter their average times the first time and save the Excel file as master file.
It helps them to generate very quickly the cabinet layout drawing with its bill of materials, for each of the solutions analyzed.
All this allows to reduce the preparation time of each proposal, reducing the errors and the response time to the clients.
Being based on Excel it’s very simple to complement with other calculations. For example, adding lists of materials (relays, converters, power supplies, etc.) from different manufacturers, etc.
It is a very low cost tool, not comparable to other electrical design programs, but with great advantages and requiring a very short training time as it is an Excel application.

Do you need any additional function?

Maybe a macro that generates the complete offer and email it?

Contact us at info@plcdesign.xyz and tell us what you need. We can easily add, at very low cost, other functionalities customized to your specific case.