New BIM Electrical Design 2.1 Plugin for Autodesk Revit

Schneider Electric, a leading company in power automation and management, introduced a new version of BIM Electrical Design 2.1 on July 27 of the current year. The plugin is designed for electrical power system design in facilities such as data centers, buildings, residential properties, and industrial sites.

Source: www.se.com

Electrical Design plugin from Schneider Electric

BIM Electrical Design was first announced at the annual Autodesk University Russia 2018 conference as a software product for efficiently developing electrical power projects in BIM. The company released the plugin under its innovative EcoStruxure concept to enable interoperability among different components.

EcoStruxure is based on Internet of Things (IoT) technology and includes several interconnected management layers: connected devices, online data collection and processing, analytics, and services. In simple terms, it enables Schneider Electric equipment to work efficiently with software that collects and processes relevant data, analyzes it, and recommends ways to optimize and improve system operation.

Integrating BIM technology with EcoStruxure offers several advantages, for example:

• modeling the building's operating load helps optimize the electrical system and improve its performance;

• all project participants can access technical documentation at any time;

• the model examines equipment behavior during emergencies, helping develop measures to prevent similar incidents during operation after construction.

The plugin was therefore designed specifically for fast, high-quality electrical network design for all types of facilities. It creates a virtual 3D model of the power supply throughout the building's life cycle, from design to operation. This reduces the likelihood of errors, lowers project costs, and simplifies coordination among participants.

Electrical power system design

Source: www.se.com

The 3D modeling process follows national standards, while the plugin significantly simplifies electrical system design.

Let's look at the capabilities BIM Electrical Design 2.1 offers for electrical calculations, cable lines, equipment selection, and supervisory control system design.

Equipment selection:

• users define their own rules for selecting switching and protection devices to disconnect electrical networks in cases of overcurrent or unacceptable leakage current;

• the software supports selection of devices and appropriate auxiliary equipment, including standard low-voltage switchboard configurations;

• users can access equipment series such as premium Acti 9 circuit breakers or ComPact NSX; manual selection mode and change restrictions are also available.

Automation of electrical engineering calculations, namely:

• loads;

• symmetrical loads;

• cable voltage drops;

• short-circuit currents.

Planning cable routing architecture, selecting cables, and monitoring circuit routing:

• calculation of cable lengths for the actual routing configuration;

• selection of cables with the required protection characteristics, for example by type, cross-section, and number of conductors;

• calculation of cable tray fill;

• circuit routing with detailed information on model, technical data, and more.

Design of electrical network supervisory control systems:

• generates block diagrams;

• prepares a preliminary Power Monitoring Expert (PME) configuration;

• installs protection devices—ASSET ADVISOR.

Finally, the plugin outputs are provided in accordance with design documentation standards GOST 21.613-2014, GOST 21.608-2014, GOST 21.613-2014, GOST 21.110-2013, and others.

Using this software can reduce operating expenses (OPEX) by up to 20%.

New version of BIM Electrical Design 2.1

Source: www.se.com

BIM Electrical Design 2.1 improves existing functions, updates the plugin interface, and adds configuration of web access from closed networks. The reporting module has been redesigned; its interface had not changed since the program launched in 2018. Users can now generate single-line diagrams for an entire project and cable schedules in just a few clicks. Row heights are set automatically, making it much easier to prepare documentation to GOST standards.

New features include:

• creation of reserve channel groups;

• support for two-phase circuits;

• simultaneous generation of multiple reports and export to Excel; adaptive GOST-compliant forms;

• a separate module to generate single-line diagrams for all switchboards in a project at once;

• calculation of cable lengths along cable support systems, from electrical receivers to switchboards;

• maintenance of cable schedules and specifications;

• calculation of cable lengths in cable trays and other cable support systems;

• visualization of function execution according to the plugin's algorithms;

• ability to configure calculation algorithms for addition to the ribbon;

• an updated ribbon interface that lets users navigate between reporting modules.

Specialists can download the original plugin from Schneider Electric's designer portal. An update for version 2.0 users is also available directly from the BIM Electrical Design plugin.

The plugin is useful for creating a high-quality virtual 3D model of a facility's power supply and automating engineering systems. It supports the design of electrical networks in different conditions and for all types of real estate facilities.

Most importantly, it helps achieve high reliability and energy efficiency after construction, during building operation. Managing a project through the plugin also significantly reduces errors and project costs.

Source: bimlib.pro