Component Series
Introduction
Manufacturers will often group the components they produce into named "series", typically based on some common characteristic (for example: size, use case, or compatibility/interoperability).
Certain operations in EDS can be aided by component series, and some operations require the use of component series:
Transit segments in Paneldes require a sealing block series to be specified, and the series must contain at least one sealing block catalog component.
In addition to components series defined by manufacturers, EDS also supports user-defined series.
Note: EDS considers component series to be manufacturer-specific, to avoid confusion if the same series name is used by more than one manufacturer.
Manufacturer-defined Series
When a manufacturer states that a component belongs to a particular series, the series name can be specified in the component's record in the catalog file.
A component can belong to more than one manufacturer series. EDS will read series names from any catalog column name starting with SERIES (eg SERIES, SERIESB, SERIES2). EDS will also interpret the value in a series column as a comma separated list of series names.
For example:| MFG | CATNO | SERIES | SERIESRGN | Component belongs to these series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XX | SAMPLE1001 | 400V | US | XX: 400V XX: US |
| XX | SAMPLE1002 | 400V | US,EU | XX: 400V XX: US XX: EU |
| XX | SAMPLE1003 | US | XX: US |
User-defined Series
If a catalog does not include manufacturer-defined series, or the manufacturer defined series in a catalog are not suitable for your needs (for example if you wish to exclude parts that aren't available from your supplier), you can create a user-defined series. A component can simultaneously belong to multiple manufacturer-defined series and multiple user-defined series.
User-defined series are specified in a DBF file, which can be present at any of the following locations:
UserSeries.dbf in the configured EDS Catalog directory, for example C:\EDS80\MET_CAT\UserSeries.dbf
UserSeries.dbf in the configured EDS User Symbols directory, for example C:\EDS80\USER_SYMB\UserSeries.dbf
<prjname>UserSeries.dbf in the current project directory, for example X:\Projects\Plant1\Plant1UserSeries.prj.
Note:
EDS loads user-defined series from all of the above DBF files (if present). If the same series is defined in more than one UserSeries.dbf, the definition in the latter files above will supercede the definitions in the earlier files.
If a user-defined series uses the same name as a manufacturer-defined series, the manufacturer-defined series will be ignored, and only the components specified by the user-defined series will be considered part of the series.
UserSeries.dbf Structure
Any UserSeries.dbf file should have the following structure:
| Column Name | Expected Column Values |
|---|---|
| MFG | The two-digit manufacturer code the series belongs to. |
| SERIES | The series name. |
| DESC | An optional description of the series. |
| CATNO_1 | The catalog number of a component that should be included in the series (one per column). The catalog number must match a catalog number (in the CATNO column) of a component record present in the catalogs of the corresponding manufacturer (specified by the code in the MFG column). |
| CATNO_2 | |
| CATNO_... | |
| Any additional (non CATNO) columns are ignored, and can be used for user data (eg notes). | |
To help with organisation, the catalog numbers for a particular user-defined series can be spread across multiple records, provided the MFG and SERIES values are the same for each record. For example, the following two records would result in a single user-defined series (RM_SmSq from the RX manufacturer), containing 7 components:
| MFG | SERIES | DESC | NOTES | CATNO_1 | CATNO_2 | CATNO_3 | CATNO_4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RX | RM_SmSq | Subset of RM block series with only small square blocks | Sealing Blocks | RM00100151000 | RM00100201000 | RM00100301000 | |
| RX | RM_SmSq | Subset of RM block series with only small square blocks | Compensation Blocks | RM00305241000 | RM00310121000 | RM00300151000 | RM00300201000 |
Creating a User-defined Series
Create or open a UserSeries.dbf file at one of the above locations.
Add as many new records as needed to define the new series.
Enter the same MFG code and SERIES name for each record that will contain catalog numbers for the series.
Optionally, enter a description for the series in the DESC column.Enter catalog numbers of the components that should belong to the series into the successively numbered CATNO_n columns of the added record(s).
Note: The catalog numbers must match catalog numbers (in the CATNO column) of component records present in the catalogs of the corresponding manufacturer (specified by the code in the MFG column).Save and close the DBF file.