The Interactive Engineering Catalogue from SKF, available on CD-ROM and online on the Internet, offers a number of advantages over print catalogues.To enable the most suitable SKF product for a design to be chosen, it is important that user-friendly product catalogues and application handbooks are available. A product catalogue should clearly present all the necessary information on a product. It is not just a question of showing tables of product data; these should be backed by information on how to apply the product correctly, including mounting and lubrication instructions as well as the necessary calculation information.
To make SKF catalogues even more user-friendly, whilst increasing the volume of information and giving a new dimension to the functionality, the most important SKF product catalogues have been combined in computerised form. The result: the SKF Interactive Engineering Catalogue, which is available both as a CD-ROM and on the Internet.

Computerised versus print
Is a computerised catalogue better than a print one? This is not necessarily so. It all depends on the structure of the computerised version. Some catalogues are basically just scanned versions of existing print ones. When devising the SKF catalogue, much attention was paid to exploiting the capabilities of the computer, including calculations and the visualisation of various procedures, e.g., mounting, using both animations and video clips.
Another benefit of a computerised catalogue is that it can store much more information than can be included in book form, because the book is limited by practical considerations of size and weight. With this in mind it was decided to combine the contents of various SKF print catalogues: the General Catalogue, Large Bearings, Needle Roller Bearings, Plain Bearings and CR Seals. At the moment two language versions are available in the system: English and German. Other language versions will be added as they become available.
Some 16,000 products are shown in table form, including all necessary data. Each product type is described in detail, with design and tolerance specifications as well as calculation methods. Much general bearing information is included, with chap-ters on application principles, selection of bearing type and size, lubrication, mounting and maintenance, etc. In the seal section, the various sealing principles are described and detailed instructions are given as to how to select seals for different conditions.

User-friendly system
A catalogue may contain a wealth of information, but it will be useless if sought-after information cannot be found easily and quickly. The “nervous system” of the SKF catalogue consists of contents lists. These are always visible on the right-hand side of the screen. The contents lists allow each separate chapter in the catalogue to be accessed, and it is also easy to move upwards or downwards in the chapter hierarchies.
Each chapter is clearly marked with its title as well as the title of the section. These titles are also found in the contents list, so that there is never any doubt about where in the catalogue one is. The main Contents menu is accessible from anywhere in the program, simply by clicking the mouse.
A print document is often superior to a computer screen as regards ease of reading, but the drawbacks of the screen presentation can be minimised. For example, the main body of text in the SKF catalogue appears on a light grey background which is kind to the eye. The text field is flexible in size, i.e., it adapts to the available window size and horizontal scrolling is avoided. The text has also been formatted to resemble that in SKF print publications so that users will feel at home with the information.
To be able to look at illustrations at the same time as reading the text, the system provides for all drawings, diagrams, tables, etc., to appear in separate windows; they are called to the screen by clicking the highlighted references in the text. There is virtually no limit to the number of windows that can be up on the screen at the same time. It is also possible to keep a window from one section even when looking at another section.

Useful features
To make long product tables easy to use, the table heading is kept in position while the tabular information is scrolled, so that there is never any doubt about what the figures represent. Because of the horizontal space limitation, not all the product data can be included on one line. However, by clicking on the product designation, a dimensioned drawing will be called up that contains all the remaining product data. In the English version it is possible to have the product tables in Imperial units simply by clicking a button; SI units are the norm. Several product tables can be displayed at the same time.
One of the computer-specific benefits is that CAD files can be created for import to CAD programs. A well-proven parametric design is employed so that finished drawings need not be stored in the system.
Another computer-specific benefit is the ability to calculate. The equations and diagrams are shown as in a print catalogue, but separate calculation windows can be called up. By selecting a bearing from a product table, the data necessary for the calculation are automatically put in.

Search facility
A search facility is available for both text and product searches from anywhere in the program. With text searches the result is a number of representative pages for the actual word. With product searches, those products that have designations including the sought-after designation are listed, together with the title of the product table. By clicking on the desired product, the relevant product table will be opened and the sought-after bearing will be highlighted.
All texts, illustrations, tables and calculation windows can be printed. In addition to being available on a CD, the catalogue is also online on the Internet. The functions are identical to those on the CD; this makes the Interactive Engineering Catalogue unique as an Internet application. The online version is continuously updated.

Leif Lewinschal
SKF Sverige AB, Göteborg, Sweden