E/E tool and data integration

The Capital application program interface (API) facility includes control over the user interface design, provision of custom actions, custom design rule checks, custom reporting, and many other parts of the process. Service-oriented architecture (SOA) web service technology provides interfaces at many key gateways into the Capital electrical design tools, allowing Capital to interoperate as control or follower with other systems such as PLM, MCAD, component libraries, purchasing and costing systems.

Capital is a data-centric suite that delivers benefits such as managed supplier data exchange, repurposing and process control. Capabilities such as user, library and release management are inherent to all Capital products. Capital’s integration tools augment these.

Sophisticated integrations are available with common MCAD and PLM platforms, creating a digital thread with these adjacent applications. Capital is able to publish and consume web services (SOA), and uses open services for lifecycle collaboration (OSLC) for integrations with requirements capture and test case management tools. A robust API is available, enabling the creation of forward-compatible extensions such as custom checks or rule checks, using Java or JavaScript plug-ins.

Capital has a rich set of data management capabilities for a standalone electrical design environment. Integrations can be achieved using available web services and API customizations with any PLM system. However, when paired with Teamcenter, many of these native data management capabilities are done in that environment to ensure a consistent overall product structure and development lifecycle.

Capital embeds the Teamcenter Active Workspace inside the electrical tool environment to provide electrical designers direct access to the product structure, feature definitions and other multi-domain data. Capital designs can be submitted to a Teamcenter workflow to control the lifecycle and approval process using native tracking and notification mechanisms. This tight integration allows Capital to focus on the efficient model-driven design of electrical models, while at the same time integrating into the overall product development process.

Intelligent styling can create a library of different drawing styles to suit particular end-users. Styles can be changed at the touch of a button and process design data to adapt or be reconfigured intelligently. For example, recolor any wires that are integral to a device or generate and display a signal table beside every device if it is an electronic control unit (ECU).

Our software provides automated synchronization of designs and component library data for companies with geographically dispersed Capital installations. Process management facilities provide full support for scheduling and change tracking at the individual attribute level, including the time, site and librarian identity.

Companies can use web access to Capital design data, including diagrams, data and reports – allowing wide-scale access to electrical design data without needing specialized knowledge of the Capital tools. Standard facilities include project and design browsing, intelligent diagrams with hyperlinked cross-references and access to all attribute data, diagram generation to create custom diagrams, and generation of reports such as component lists, bill of materials (BOMs) and design comparison reports. The web browser and all Capital data functions and reports are customizable using the API, allowing companies to integrate the facility into their enterprise web tools.