Cabling set-up management in an industrial installation : Trace Elec Cabling System

Cabling set-up management in an industrial installation

Trace Elec Cabling System enables you to manage, route, and optimise the insertion of cables of industrial installation. This software can manage an unlimited number of cables and drawing sheets, and thus allows you to conduct studies as diverse as special machines, production chains, industrial sites or electricity generation plants that would consist of thousands of cables.

Trace Elec Cabling System works by using a cable schedule imported from electrical CAD software, an EXCEL sheet, an optional cable synoptic module or dynamically from Trace Elec Pro projects. The cable synoptic module, which includes a comprehensive cable catalogue, allows you to enter data related to the synoptic of an electrical installation and definition of cables between appliances.

Trace Elec Cabling System uses a database management system, ACCESS, SQL Server or ORACLE according to the versions in order to adapt to the data volume and working practices of your company. This structure ensures data durability and enables easy data integration into any information system or production system.

The set-up of the cables can be accomplished on all types of plans compatible with the AutoCAD format. User draws the routes with the design tools available and a library of routes that can be customised. Each route has specific properties (product reference, size, reserve percentage, trunking fill / raceway fill, segregation, cable laying method) which will be taken in account by the routing algorithms.

Once the routes are defined, from the cable schedule, Trace Elec Cabling System calculates and optimises the cable runs according to the project constraints. The cable path calculation minimises the cable length, by taking into account the environmental constraints, cable laying method, segregation of power cables from control cables and the fill rate of the cable conduits and other types of cable paths. You can impose specific paths and passage points (nodes) for the cables to follow.

The cable length and the cable path details are made available in the drawings. They can also be exported with the help of reporting tools that come with the software.

Some advantages of Trace Elec Cabling System solution

Wide possibilities of import of cable schedules

Insertion on prepared plans in AutoCAD format

Multi-drawing implantation of cable paths

Furnished with a cable database

Routing engine with parameters

Integrated database (ACCESS or SQL Server)

ORACLE version available

Tools to draw and manage cable paths

Multi-user environment

Optional module: Cable Synoptic Diagram in order to make synoptic representation of
the installation

Integrated reports editing tool

Input cables and devices

Trace Elec Cabling System can work with data from multiple origins. The cable database can be enriched from different sources :

Import of data from any electrical CAD/CAE software

Import from EXCEL format

Import directly from Trace Elec Pro software

Input directly the cable schedule

Input graphically by creating a synoptic diagram of the installation with the optional

Module Cable Synoptic Diagram

Cable Synoptic Diagram Module
Cable synoptic module enables you to graphically represent the synoptic diagram of the installation by inserting the devices and cables on the drawing sheets in DWG format. The module is delivered with a symbol Library. The cable schedule for the routing is dynamically generated as and when the schematic diagrams are drawn and can thus complete an existing imported cable list.

Set-up plans

Trace Elec Cabling System offers a graphical interface with all AutoCAD compatible documents. The plans to be set-up can be a simple organizational synoptic, an architect's subcontractor blueprint, a detailed floor plan of an industrial site. Plans can have single or multiple sheets; the scale is managed independently for each sheet.

Draw and define routes

The different routes are placed with furnished design tools. A route consists of segments linking the devices and/or locations identified by their tags that have been already inserted in the set-up plan.

The routes are chosen in a customizable library, it has the following characteristics:

Product reference

Dimensions

Trunking / raceway fill rate

Reserve level that needs to be maintained for future

Segregation (by cable-type, signal family)

The intersections, the bends to represent change of direction, as well as the additional elements like man-hole cover, duct plate or panel feed-throughs/ lead-through connectors can also be taken into account and references can be added from a product catalogue.

Each segment of the route can be individually modified to be able to increase the length or impose a required length, or even take into account a difference in levels by entering the required height.

Cable properties, source and destination

A cable is predefined by a source and a destination which enables us to represent the terminal of a device or at a location. It disposes of a reference, a description and a family to which it belongs that is used for the segregation algorithms.

The additional properties like "diameter" and "weight" will be used for the fill rate calculation and the loading level of the routes.
It is possible to assign to each device ID, an additional length for example to take into account the length of cable running inside a cabinet or around to a machine to the terminal
For each junction, the system allows you to force a node or forbid certain segments of the route.

Routing engine and results

Once these elements are defined, Trace Elec Cabling System determines, for each cable, the shortest path taking into account all the constraints put in place. All the information entered or calculated is seen on screen. It can be modified using a table or can be exported in the text or Excel format.
For example:

Cable index card for cable data recap

Recap index card for route data

Cable list

Cumulative length by cable type

Cumulative length by route type

Details of the path followed by the cable

Cables placed in each route

Loading level (Kg) for each route

…

User can also visualise the path taken by a particular cable.
The integrated report editing tool enables you to add or to personalise the documentation.

The data can be displayed on the block plan,

...on separate list folios