Every version of every board in one place, with previews, compare and review comments. For teams on Siemens Xpedition and PADS Professional, on a server your company runs.
No more guesswork about which copy is current. EEforce keeps one history per board, and the latest version is always the one at the top.
Lost time
Asking around which copy is the current one.
Wrong revision
Guessing, and building or reviewing the wrong one.
Overwritten work
Two engineers, one board, one afternoon: one of them loses their work.
Locked out
Without the EDA tool installed, nobody can even open a board.
SP-12 Main Board–□✕
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This PC›Engineering (Z:)›Hardware›Boards›SP-12 Main Board
Quick access
Desktop
Downloads
Documents
This PC
Engineering (Z:)
Hardware
Network
v1
v2
v2 Last?
V2 last last?
V2 latest?
v2_final?
v2_FINAL_real?
Copy of v2?
v3 (do not use)?
v3_Sanne?
backup final
Main Board v2.zip
SP-12 review FINAL.pdf
13 items
One place for every board
Every version of every board, always in order, and you can look at each one without opening the EDA tool.
Point at a circle to see what that part of the window does.Tap a circle to see what that part of the window does.How previews work
Comments on the design itself
Review with other engineers on the board, without another platform.
Older versions are flagged, so you see when a comment was made on an earlier revision.
No check-out needed. Anyone who can view a design can comment on it.
Check out, edit, check in
One editor at a time, so nobody overwrites anybody’s work.
Check out
Checked out by you
Edit downloads the files and reserves the design. Everyone can see who has it.
Edit
Open in Xpedition or PADS
The design opens in your editor, with the EEforce Companion on its title bar.
Check in
v5, checked in
Finish Editing with a short note. It becomes a new version, and the design is free again.
The lock lives on the server, so a dropped connection, a restart or a closed laptop does not lose your reservation. Checking out and checking in
The Companion, inside the editor
It rides on the title bar of every editor EEforce opens.
Nothing is installed into the design tools. It works with Xpedition VX and the year-based releases such as 2409, 2504 and 2604, and with every version of PADS Professional.
What changed between v4 and v5?
Put two versions on top of each other and step through every difference.
Two revisions, or two boards. You can compare against another board too.
only in v4only in v5unchanged
Not everyone has EDA tools installed
So they don’t need EEforce installed either. EEforce 365 shows the same projects, versions, previews and comments in a web browser.
Managers see status and history without asking around.
Test engineers check the exact version that is on the bench.
Purchasing gets the BOM of the board that is being built.
Manufacturing sees the layout, stack-up and 3D of the right revision.
EEforce 365 uses no licence seat, and signing in does not end anyone’s desktop session. Reviewing in the browser
eeforce.yourcompany.com/365
One server, set up once by IT
Designers use the desktop app and work in Xpedition and PADS Professional. Everyone else opens EEforce 365. All of it runs on a server your company owns.
Any Windows Server or Non-Home Desktop version released in last 5 years, coupled with a x64 CPU, and few GB of free RAM would work.
Desktop app
Tiny amount of disk and RAM on a decent PC is what you need. Client software can be easily downloaded from EEforce Server in your setup, no internet access is needed.
Licensing
One license file installed on the server. Seats are taken by the desktop app; EEforce 365 uses none.
If the license expires
The server keeps working in read-only mode: You can still browse, preview and download your data anytime.
Siemens Xpedition (all VX-series versions and the year-based releases such as 2409, 2504 and 2604) and every version of PADS Professional. Those get the full experience: one-click open, previews, bills of materials and the Companion inside the editor. Anything else can still be stored and versioned in a Folder design.
Do we need Xpedition or PADS installed just to look at a design?
No. Previewing, comparing, commenting, browsing files and downloading them all work with no design tool installed. Xpedition or PADS Professional is only needed when someone actually wants to edit a design.
Where are our designs kept?
On your company’s EEforce server, in a vault on the server’s own disks, or in S3-compatible or Azure Blob storage if your IT team prefers. Every version you have ever checked in is kept there, and is reached through the desktop app or EEforce 365. Deleted projects and designs go to a recovery area rather than being erased.
Can several engineers work on the same project at once?
Yes, on different designs. A single design is edited by one person at a time: checking it out locks it for you, and everyone else can still view, compare and comment on it until you check in or cancel. There is no automatic merging of two people’s edits to the same board.
What happens if the licence expires?
Nothing is locked away. The server switches to read-only mode: you can still sign in, browse, preview and download everything, and administration keeps working. Only checking designs out and in waits until the licence is renewed.
Does a colleague reviewing in the browser use a licence seat?
No. EEforce 365 runs in a web browser and consumes no seat, and it does not count as the single desktop session. A reviewer needs an EEforce account and at least the Viewer role on the project, which a Manager can grant from the Access screen. Editing designs is what needs a seat and the desktop app.
Does EEforce replace Xpedition or PADS Professional?
No. Creating and editing boards stays in Xpedition and PADS Professional. EEforce looks after everything around the design: where it lives, its versions, previews, comparisons, the review conversation and who may edit it.
Try it on your own designs
See EEforce on a test server with our engineers, or write to us about licensing and deployment.
Scroll to see how it works
