Brewing with Electricity: The SOLIDWORKS Brewery- Pitching the Yeast

At this point during the brew process, a bready yet malty aroma is filling the kitchen and is slightly offset by the distinct hoppy fragrance all us beer drinkers truly enjoy. And as the boil phase winds down, we prepare for the next stage during which our wort will actually start becoming beer.

Our last main ingredient is added at this point – yeast. Remember all that sugar we tried to capture when we were lautering? Well, let the fermentation process begin!

Before we can simply add the yeast, however, we need to bring the temperature of our wort down to approximately sixty-eight degrees (Fahrenheit), which is ideal for the yeast to start consuming all those sugars and produce alcohol.

One nice little touch Earl has rigged up within his electrical cabinet is the ability to automatically shut down the heating element inside the boil kettle as soon as the timer reaches zero. When we take a peek inside the cabinet, we probably wouldn’t even notice the small circuit that has been added – so what better way to show the design intent than by routing these wires in 3D – making our design really come to life.

In my experience as an electrical engineer, most of us stick to the old 2D side of the house, leaving the 3D space to the mechanical team. But why should they have all the fun, glitz, and glamour? Well, we can use it too – and it’s not that hard!

If the mechanical team has built our assembly, with just two clicks of the mouse we can simply “associate” components from our schematic to parts within our 3D assembly. Besides associating our electrical parts to 3D parts, we also need to make our 3D parts “electrically intelligent.” This tells the wires in our schematic exactly where they need to route. Next we need to draw a 3D sketch, which acts as a guide for our wires when we are ready to route. And lastly, we simply select the “Route Wires” option and let the software do everything for us.

It’s amazing how routing the wires in 3D opens up the communication between not only the mechanical and electrical teams, but also management, logistics, marketing, sales, field services, and not to mention customers. Your design intent is captured in a clear and precise image for all to see. That open communication helps alleviate errors and streamline your development, which in turn helps get your product to market faster.

So be sure to check out Episode 6 in our “Brewing with Electricity” mini-series where we finally turn our wort into beer.

If you are still looking for more great information on SOLIDWORKS Electrical, including topics such as “Understanding Project Macros,” check out our videos on these more detailed topics at my.solidworks.com – simply search for Electric Brewery.

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