I was in Los Angeles last week and had the opportunity to visit with Charlie Irwin at AFM Engineering in Santa Ana, CA. AFM makes automated machinery for printing for various industries including medical and consumer products and Charlie has been doing this for 32 years now.
They use AutoCAD Electrical for their schematic designs, whether it's for a new customer machine, or retro-fitting an old machine with new controls.
The biggest benefit that Charlie sees in AutoCAD Electrical is that you get a complete documentation package when you use ACE for controls design. The wires are numbered and colored you get full schematic documentation, and anyone who has the machine now has a manual to perform any servicing that is needed. Most companies have AutoCAD, and the fact that they have the schematics documented in AutoCAD Electrical is a great selling tool for AFM. In fact, they advertise on their website that they use AutoCAD for their documentation.
Charlie also appreciates how easy it is to reuse old components, make modifications and swap out components, and create his own custom library of parts. It may take a little work to create these custom components up front, but in the long run, there are less mistakes made on the shop floor and less rework needed.
Another invaluable part of Charlie's success has been the service he has received from his local reseller KETIV. They are always there to provide support and training where needed. KETIV is one of Autodesk's finest resellers, and my thanks to their President, Kanwar Anand, for taking me around to visit with customers when I was in LA.
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