Working from the other side of the world
Original article date: November 1999
As regulars will know, I have decamped to ‘down under’ for a while, and I’m trying to continue with my design work in the UK from the other side of the world. So far, so good, but as telephone and postal contact with UK suppliers is difficult, I’m really putting web sites and CD-Roms to the test.
Here’s some really useful feedback for any supplier creating a useful web site with an online library. Look at it from the visitor’s point of view, and cross reference the site. If a person wants a network device that works with a particular PLC, they should be able to find it in the network section and the PLC section. There’s nothing wrong with multiple links to the same download in different places!
Don’t assume people arrive at the site knowing the reference number for the manual they want. Include a brief bit of ‘what’s in this manual’ to save them downloading the wrong one. Be non-ambiguous with nomenclature. On a few occasions I found two very different pieces of kit referred to by the same name. All that seemed different was that the manuals had different ref numbers. I had to download both to see which I wanted.
A feature which would be great in online libraries is the ’shopping basket’ approach. Select a handful of manuals, then hit GO and have them emailed to you. The way things are done at present, once two or more downloads are in progress, it’s well nigh impossible to carry on surfing and select the next one.
Now, let’s move on to CD-Roms. Firstly, a gripe. There are 30 or more free CD-Roms on my desk still waiting to be installed and checked out. Some of them were clearly created by someone who thinks their CD-Rom is the only one I’ll ever see, because to use it I have to install upwards of 10Mb onto my hard disk. My message to them is get real! I grudgingly put up with 10Mb from the RS CD-Rom because it is an integral part of my job, but I can’t afford that level of space for every supplier who ever made a CD-Rom, can I?
But on a happier note, I must reccommend a very nice CD-Rom from PHD (01525 853488) a company which provides a selection of automation components such as pneumatic grippers slides and rotary actuators. It contains talking video tutorials to show you how to use it (and also how to use the components!), clear product selection, and sizing that eventually generates CAD output in DXF, IGES or some 3D formats.
And best of all, the ‘run from CD’ installation parked less than 300K on my hard disk. It’s obviously had a vast amount of effort put into it, but it really does give you all you need with no accompanying paperwork. I understand they did it in-house. Ten out of ten for that one.
I have recently been using a CD-Rom from Wixroyd, who make standard parts. I also had a glimpse at the matching website, due live any day now. It allows a browse through some PDF pictures, and then if you find what you want, you can download CAD files. The only problem I had was that some of the PDF pictures are a bit indistinct (almost as if someone scanned a paper catalogue’s pictures) and so if anything is unclear (one thing was) you simply have to email them (but they respond immediately!). It is well worth re-creating diagrams from scratch if you are ever putting a site like this up, because with the PDF format people expect to be able to zoom in if things are unclear.
Every now and then someone does something so right you need to shout about it. I needed a polymer bush, for a pharmaceutical application, and I needed the exact dimensions. I knew Igus do these. I typed in igus.com (a guess) and within about a minute was noting down the dimensions I needed. This site is not flash, but it has pictures, descriptions, drawings and tables of spec data. The contrast between this and some of the far less useful, far more posey sites is breathtaking.
November 1999