Discovering SAP Engineering Control Center

The SAP Engineering Control Center is an easy-to-use interface. It can be integrated into most common CAD systems. This means that you can start the control center as a standalone component, or integrated in your CAD system.

The SAP Engineering Control Center provides several benefits and key features.

• Easy-to-use interface
• Drag and drop
• Context-sensitive menus
• Harmonized icon/ribbon bars in authoring tool

• Integration into authoring application
• Leveraging SAP Document Management: secure file storage, versioning, status control, and linking to SAP ERP master data and processes
• 2D and 3D Viewing

• Easy creation of material master
• Automatic BOM creation

The control center can also be used as a standalone component. You can define concepts and store Word and Excel files in an SAP secure area. In this particular case, a CAD integration is not necessary. The main object is always a document info record. However, you are also able to create material masters or change numbers inside ECTR.

You are able to define search lists, object lists, or check the last used documents.

Some of the key features of the SAP Engineering Control Center include:

• One surface for managing engineering data
• Different CAD systems can be connected
• Context sensitive pull down menus
• Display of structures
• Connection to SAP ECM
• Export to Excel
• Automatic creation of Master data

The Engineering Control Center (ECTR) can be used as standalone or in conjunction with CAD Systems. Normally, the engineering department works with several CAD Systems and transfers the data to the SAP System with the use of ECTR. In the upcoming tasks, the ECTR is used as a standalone and maybe as an alternative User Interface.

The company has decided to develop a new forklift prototype. Therefore, development manager Thomas gets the request to set up necessary folders and objects inside ECTR. These folders are used by every department and as central storage for forklift specifications or other forklift relevant data.

Development manager Thomas gets the request of defining document and material searches. These objects can be used as templates for later scenarios.

Most used objects are connected to a favorites list, which is defined as an object list.

Thomas creates a new folder structure inside his private folder area. This structure follows the development process of the Concept, Design, Validation, and Production phases. At a later stage, this structure can be made available for everyone, when the structure is moved to the public folder.

As not all data have to be new ones, Thomas copies an existing folder out of the public folder into his private folder.

Development manager Thomas analyzes the existing data. There, he realizes some data are missing. Every forklift needs a handbook, which is delivered to customers. Therefore, Thomas starts the creation of a new handbook - a document with attached material.

Now, you have an impression of "working with an Engineering Control Center".

Various external systems can be connected to the SAP system using the SAP interface. This enables data to be transferred between third-party systems and the SAP system.

Authoring tools, such as Autodesk Inventor, are an important source of product information. SAP Engineering Control Center is the platform to integrate these tools into SAP S/4HANA and apply the product information in downstream processes.

When working with Inventor or other CAD systems, direct integration with the SAP Engineering Control Center is available. So, the user can start Inventor out of the control center, or vice versa. In this case, the new 3D model was created and the data transfer takes place out of Inventor.