With FluidDraw, Festo offers an accessible software that guides users to create circuit diagrams quickly and easily, with the correct symbols and in compliance with the applicable standards.

It is a great advantage for maintenance people if, when tracing problems, they can fall back on diagrams that unambiguously show how an installation is structured. In engineering and process optimisation, too, there are many tasks that become much easier if the design of machines and pneumatic systems is well documented. It is therefore no coincidence that the story of the digital twin is one of the building blocks of the factory of the future.

But in the design department where those pneumatic systems are designed and built, the ambition to document everything with diagrams often meets with practical objections. With software programmes that are not designed to draw pneumatic diagrams, it is a difficult and time-consuming task to find out how such diagrams are built up and what symbols should be used to unambiguously represent the various components and their mutual relationships.

Integration with Quick Search Plus

For many users, their first acquaintance with FluidDraw will ring a bell because in terms of look and feel, the software is very reminiscent of Festo's FluidSim programme which is used in many schools to simulate the operation of pneumatic systems. However, the comparison ends there, because FluidDraw is in all respects a fully-fledged drawing package that was created for professionals in machine and system construction. The software is not limited to pneumatics, as the electrical section of a machine can also be designed in FluidDraw.

One of the advantages of FluidDraw is its integration with the free Quick Search Plus tool from Festo. With this, users can very easily look up the components they use in a project and integrate an entire parts list of components in the diagram with just one click of the mouse. Complex components such as air supply combination units and valve islands are thus immediately and correctly positioned in the circuit diagram and only need to be connected. Associated data such as type numbers are automatically assigned to the symbol and reused when the software generates a parts list.

Small and large projects

FluidDraw is very accessible in terms of pricing and user-friendliness which makes the software an ideal solution for users who are not permanently occupied with design drawings. But it is also a fully-fledged solution for the design and management of large projects. The software provides the possibility of realising projects with multiple sheets with automatic management of cross references between the various design drawings.

The integrated symbol libraries ensure that drawings are made according to the applicable standards (ISO 1219 for the pneumatic part and EN 10628 for the electrical part). The result can then be exported to all common file formats (pdf, dxf, svg, bitmap formats, txt, csv).

FluidDraw 365

Festo's FluidDraw software offers an answer to this. The program has not only been specifically developed for the creation of pneumatic diagrams, but also takes into account the fact that the people who design and build pneumatic systems are not always experienced drafts people. Thanks to a range of tools and extensive component libraries, users are supported in creating the necessary circuit diagrams quickly and easily.

The licensing model was also modified when launching the new version of FluidDraw, thereby making the software more accessible in this area as well. Users can now choose between a classic licence for permanent use of the new software and a FluidDraw 365 subscription which automatically renews annually and provides permanent access to the latest version of the software.

The program can run on a server but can also be installed on individual PCs. The licence can be easily transferred so that users can choose which configuration suits them best at any time. In this way, several users can share a licence as long as they do not log in simultaneously.

Wondering what this software can do for you?

A small test is often sufficient to become convinced. A free trial 30 day trial is available for you to discover what FluidDraw. You can simply download this from our catalogue. Students can use the student version free of charge for one academic year. How best to download this version is described in this file on Festo4students.

Following the launch of the latest version of FluidDraw, Festo organised a webinar in which Thierry Van den Bosch and Markus Klement demonstrated the capabilities of the software. You can also find a whole series of short demos about the various functionalities on our YouTube channel.

The software itself can be purchased via the Festo app store.