New tool democratizes electrical CAD generation, promoting ease-of-use and fast adoption.
Siemens Digital Industries Software has strengthened the position of its cloud-based engineering and business platform, Siemens Xcelerator, by integrating and rebranding its recently acquired Radica Software ECAD technology as Capital Electra X.
This follows the trend within the engineering software and PLM industry of offering organizations a one-stop-shop for their entire operations—from product design to manufacturing, in the field analysis and end-of-life. In this case, the added tool promises to democratize the design of electrical components for small to medium businesses that want to update their products for the digital age. It also aims to simplify the costs and training needed to get traditional ECAD design tools operational.

“Many products across multiple industries are differentiated via increasingly sophisticated electrical content, driving rapid adoption of commercial electrical design tools,” said Frances Evans, senior vice president, Integrated Electrical Systems, Siemens Digital Industries Software. “However, individual electrical engineers or small design teams often struggle with the higher cost-of-ownership and longer time-to-productivity of more complex enterprise-focused solutions. Instead, a browser-based SaaS solution designed for ease of use, rapid adoption and with minimal training requirements, will enable them to create electrical schematics easier and faster, using any device, for a low monthly cost.”
This is far from Siemens’ first dive into electrical design tools, as pointed out by Chad Jackson, CEO and Chief Analyst, Lifecycle Insights. He noted that the company is already a leader in enterprise electrical design tools for larger organizations in the automotive, aerospace and off-road vehicle industries.
Jackson added, “Our research has shown that companies of many sizes are building out electrical design competencies to support the development of smart, connected products. With Capital Electra X, Siemens supports small and medium-sized businesses’ efforts to incorporate electrical systems into their offerings with power and ease of access. More broadly, this acquisition bolsters the entire Capital suite, allowing Siemens to serve the right solution to those working on products of any complexity and in any stage of growth.”
So, what about Capital Electra X differentiates it from other tools and makes it an enticing offer for small to medium businesses? First, it’s cloud native and browser-based; both features lower cost-of-ownership and time-to-productivity. Next, it offers a lot of functionality from the Radica Software Electra Cloud technology—which already serviced over 300 customers in 50 countries. Also, by adding this technology to the Xcelerator platform, it enables better collaboration between other tools in that portfolio.
As for the democratization features in Capital Electra X—the ones that in theory make ECAD accessible to more users with less training—these include:
- A drag-and-drop user interface.
- Circuit libraries for component reuse.
- Automatic intelligent renaming and wiring of added components.
- One click report generation.
- Team dashboards for collaboration and easy access to projects.
For more on Siemens and ECAD, read: Airbus Extends Its Digital Thread for E/E Systems Development by Selecting Siemens’ Capital.