Customised software aids electrical design

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Aug 26, 2002

Cadlogic has customised its vanilla Paracad+ software as a practical aid to hundreds of MEM Circuit Protection and Control system builders, assemblers and contractors.

Cadlogic has customised its vanilla Paracad+ computer-aided design (CAD) software as a practical aid to hundreds of MEM Circuit Protection and Control system builders, assemblers and contractors who wish to design and install MEM circuit breaker/fuse-protected modular panelboard systems.

The tailored Paracad+ package is called Memshield 2 Advantage software.

It produces dimensioned drawings while enabling its users to key in parts, to obtain weight and price information, and to communicate any required layout modifications efficiently and speedily to MEM.

The program also generates fully accurate part numbers and bills-of-materials, eliminating potential errors in specification arising from the great variety of catalogue options afforded by the flexibility of the modular panelboard system.

The software tells you precisely which components you require.

What is more, files can later be e-mailed to contractors on site to be read by their copy of the system, improving both quality and speed of communication.

The program was written by Cadlogic late in 2000, and was up and running in Spring 2001.

Feedback from the users prompts ongoing fine-tuning of Cadlogic's CAD system to meet their needs.

In overall charge of it at MEM Circuit Protection and Control, Birmingham, is Chris Pack, Product Manager - Circuit Breaker Products.

Components included in the software comprise all that is needed for fused and circuit breaker protection for electrical supplies up to 2000A.

These are busbars, HRC fuses, fuse combination switches, connection sets, miniature circuit breakers (MCBs), moulded case circuit breakers (MCCBs), the latest air circuit breakers (ACBs) and meter packs.

Typical applications cover electrical supplies for lighting, power, lifts, safety and security systems, HVAC, machinery and equipment.

MEM builds for specific projects in the UK and international markets ranging from schools, colleges, health centres and prisons to industrial and commercial sites such as high-rise office blocks, superstores, factories and mass transportation.

In particular, one of the UK's major panel builders and an approved system builder for MEM Circuit Protection and Control, the B and S Group, has found that Memshield 2 Advantage software has markedly improved its turnaround on quotations and contract administration.

Andy Farley, National Sales Manager of the B and S Group, goes on to say: "The software also facilitates comparisons to guide and assist our customers in the selection and specification process".

Since its foundation in 1989, the B and S Group, now boasting an advanced 2500m2 manufacturing facility in the city of Chester, has become a well-respected name in the design, production, installation and maintenance of a wide spectrum of power management and control systems.

These include LV/MV switchgear, motor control centres, AC/DC standby systems and metering systems.

Accordingly, given its complex workload and the intricacy of each job with a host of possible variations, the B and S Group has been delighted with the contribution made by the Memshield 2 Advantage software system to overall productivity, efficiency and customer service.