Autodesk Autocad Electrical 2004 Technical Overview

www.autodesk.com/autocadelectrical 1

AutoCAD Electrical 2004

ContentsIntroduction...............................................................................................................3

AutoCAD Electrical 2004 High-Level Overview.................................................................3

Fast Control Schematic Generation.............................................................................3

Automatic Wire Numbering and Component Tagging.....................................................4

Automatic Creation of PLC I/O Drawings from Spreadsheets ..........................................4

Smart Panel Layout Drawings ....................................................................................5

Automatic Reports ...................................................................................................6

Reuse of Existing Drawings .......................................................................................6

Real-Time Coil and Contact Cross-Referencing .............................................................7

Share Drawings with Customers and Vendors and Track Their Changes ...........................7

Web Publishing........................................................................................................8

Open and Flexible API ..............................................................................................8

Interface to Autodesk Inventor Professional Cable and Harness ......................................8

Feature Summary ....................................................................................................9

AutoCAD Electrical 2004 Technical Overview.................................................................15

Guiding Philosophy.................................................................................................15

Structure of an Intelligent AutoCAD Electrical Drawing ................................................17

Structure of an AutoCAD Electrical Multidrawing Project ..............................................21

Ladders and Line Reference Numbers .......................................................................22

Compatible Library Symbols ....................................................................................24

Component Insertion and Automatic Tagging.............................................................28

Component Catalog Lookup and Assignment..............................................................32

Retagging Component and Reusing Drawings in New Projects ......................................42

Automatic Wire Numbering......................................................................................47

Wire Reports .........................................................................................................52

Technical Overview

AutoCAD Electrical 2004 Technical Overview


Cable/Conductor Tracking .......................................................................................55

PLC Module Insertion..............................................................................................57

Terminals and Terminal Reporting ............................................................................61

Three-Phase Motor Control......................................................................................63

Panel Layout Drawings ...........................................................................................63

Pneumatic Layout ..................................................................................................65

Publish to Web ......................................................................................................66

Mark and Verify Feature for Revision Tracking............................................................66

AutoLISP and Script File Programming Hooks.............................................................67

Conclusion...............................................................................................................70



IntroductionThis document provides an overview of AutoCAD® Electrical 2004. For ease of use, it isorganized in two sections. The first section, “AutoCAD Electrical 2004 High-Level Overview,”introduces and summarizes the key benefits of using the product. The second section,“AutoCAD Electrical 2004 Technical Overview,” provides more detailed information on thecore functional areas of the software.

AutoCAD Electrical 2004 High-Level OverviewAutoCAD Electrical 2004 is for anyone designing or laying out ladder-style controlschematics or point-to-point wiring diagrams. If your design includes programmable logiccontroller (PLC) I/O, motor control, or discrete electrical control components, then AutoCADElectrical can help you save time and improve drawing accuracy.

AutoCAD Electrical uses the AutoCAD® DWG file to store important project information andso does not require a proprietary database. As a result you can edit and manipulateAutoCAD Electrical drawings using standard AutoCAD software and maintain completedrawing compatibility with other AutoCAD users.

AutoCAD Electrical provides the following high-level benefits.

Fast Control Schematic GenerationAutoCAD Electrical is an industry-specific versionof the AutoCAD software application designed foran electrical engineer or designer who designs ordocuments industrial control systems. WithAutoCAD Electrical, you can quickly designcontrol schematic drawings. The intuitive menusystem is easy to follow and understand.

AutoCAD Electrical ships with a comprehensiveset of JIC and IEC electrical symbols as well as aset of pneumatic symbols.

Figure 1. Users can select components fromthe icon menu or from a quick pick list thatrecalls the last six components inserted.



Automatic Wire Numbering and Component TaggingAutoCAD Electrical automatically placessequential or reference-based numbers on allwires and components based on the configurationyou choose. It also attaches a suffix to reference-based numbers and tags to ensure unique names(for example, 406, 406A, 406B).

This numbering convention is flexible enough tomeet most design requirements. If AutoCADElectrical determines that an inserted wire willinterfere with another object, it searches for aclear spot to place the wire number andautomatically draws a leader back to the wire, ifnecessary.

Automatic Creation of PLC I/O Drawings from SpreadsheetsWith AutoCAD Electrical, you can automatically generate a complete set of PLC I/O drawingsby defining your project’s I/O assignments using any spreadsheet program. Simply importyour finished spreadsheet into AutoCAD Electrical. It draws the ladders per your drawingconfiguration, places the I/O modules, inserts the addresses and description text, and evendrops in component and terminal symbols connected to each I/O point as defined in yourspreadsheet.

As AutoCAD Electrical works its way through your spreadsheet, it creates new drawings asrequired to accommodate the inserted modules. If a module doesn’t fit in a column,AutoCAD Electrical automatically breaks it at the bottom of the ladder and continues it atthe top of the next ladder column or in the next drawing.

Figure 2. Wire numbers and component tagsare automatically inserted based on theproject configuration.



Figure 3. AutoCAD Electrical can automatically create PLC I/O drawings from the datacontained in a spreadsheet.

Smart Panel Layout DrawingsOnce schematic creation is complete,AutoCAD Electrical extracts a list of schematiccomponents for placement into panel layoutdrawings. All you have to do is select a devicefrom this list and insert it. The footprintrepresentation of each schematic device isinserted into the layout at your selectionpoint. A link is established between theschematic and panel representations of adevice so that changes to one prompt forpermission to update the other. For example,when you change the tag ID of a schematicpilot light symbol, the software updates theequivalent panel representation of the pilotlight. Items that do not exist on theschematic, such as wire duct and mountinghardware, can be added to the layout andautomatically combined into a“smart” panel bill-of-materials report.

into this.

A few clicks can turn this…

Figure 4. The components in the panellayout drawings are linked back to thecomponents in the control schematics. Whenone device changes, it is automaticallyreflected on the other drawing in the project.



Automatic ReportsYou can generate many different types of reports at any stage of the project, including

• Bill of materials (BOM) reports (tallied, purchase list format, or by tag ID)

• From/to wire reports

• Cable reports

• Terminal reports

• PLC I/O reports

• Component reports

• Connector plug/jack reports

• Various exception and design rulescheck reports

You can insert reports into a drawing as atable or save them directly to Microsoft®

Excel, Microsoft® Access, XML, ASCII, orCSV format. You can also sort andcustomize reports to meet your specificneeds.

Reuse of Existing DrawingsWhen was the last time you started a design from a clean sheet of paper? Reusing drawingsfrom another project is easy with AutoCAD Electrical. You simply incorporate a copy of thatdrawing into your new project, and AutoCAD Electrical takes care of the rest. Or, when youwant to reuse an entire drawing set for your new design, you can use the Copy Projectutility.

Simply running the Insert Wire Number command and the Retag Component commandresequences the drawing into your project based on the configuration you have set up. Youcan also use the global Find/Replace/Edit command to substitute new values for componenttags, descriptions, and catalog numbers or use the From/To Spreadsheet utility to exportyour project to a spreadsheet, edit it, and then import the new data into the drawing.

Figure 5. Many reports, such as a bill ofmaterials, can be automatically exportedfrom the design and saved to various fileformats.



Real-Time Coil and Contact Cross-ReferencingHow many times have you assignedtoo many contacts to a relay in yourdesign? Did you catch it before thedrawings reached the shop floor? WithAutoCAD Electrical, you no longer haveto keep track of your coils andcontacts. AutoCAD Electrical sets up aparent/child relationship between thetwo and keeps track of how manycontacts are assigned to any coil ormulticontact device. The softwarealerts you when you have reached thelimit. It can even assign the nextavailable set of terminal pin numbersto each inserted child contact, basedon the parent coil’s assigned partnumber. Real-time cross-referencinginformation is displayed on thedrawings, and cross-referencingreports are available at any time.

Share Drawings with Customers and Vendors and Track Their ChangesAny flexible software package enables you to share drawings with customers and vendors,but AutoCAD Electrical goes one stepfurther. AutoCAD Electrical drawings canbe viewed and edited by any DWG-compatible program such as AutoCAD orAutoCAD LT® software. When you getdrawings back from outside sources,AutoCAD Electrical can create a report ofwhat was changed. And when it’s time fora drawing revision, AutoCAD Electrical cancreate a report of changes made since thelast update.

Figure 6. Relay coils and contacts areautomatically cross-referenced. Utilities areavailable to easily browse contacts ondifferent drawings.

Figure 7. You can generate a report thattells you every change made to a drawing orproject since it was last revised.



Web PublishingWith AutoCAD Electrical, you canpublish your designs to the Internetfor better collaboration with customersand vendors. AutoCAD Electricalautomatically creates the HTML pagesand links needed to post your designto the web. If you choose, users candrag these drawings directly from theweb into an AutoCAD session.Drawings maintain all AutoCADElectrical intelligence.

Open and Flexible APIThe AutoCAD Electrical API (application programming interface) enables you to extend thesoftware’s functionality to address your company-specific needs. The API consists of twohundred programming entry points into the software executable. You can use it to createpowerful, custom applications such as automatic schematic generation or special draftingand design utilities. These applications can be written using AutoLISP®, Visual LISP®,Microsoft Visual Basic®, Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, C, Visual C++®, or AutoCADscripting. As a programming example, full source code is provided for the Spreadsheet toPLC I/O drawing generator utility.

Interface to Autodesk Inventor Professional Cable and HarnessAutoCAD Electrical enables you to createa from/to wire list that you can importdirectly into Autodesk Inventor®

Professional for creating 3D wire harnessand cable designs. This list containspoint-to-point connector and pininformation and helps you furtherreduce the time needed to create 3Dcable and harness designs.

Figure 8. You can easily publish AutoCADElectrical projects as web pages.

Figure 9. AutoCAD Electrical isinteroperable with Autodesk InventorProfessional.



Feature SummaryThe following list is a summary of AutoCAD Electrical features.

Ladder Layout• Unlimited ladders per drawing, with horizontal or vertical orientation.

• Ability to add new ladders at any time, even on an existing drawing.

• Multiple ladder widths and rung spacing on same drawing.

• Support for line reference, X-zone, and X-Y grid reference modes; automatic X-Y axissetup.

• Support for nonladder-style, point-to-point wiring diagrams.

• Ability to use existing drawing format and title block.

• Ability to automatically scale to metric units.

• Renumbering of ladder references at any time; support for embedded alphas and leadingzeros.

Component Insertion and Automatic Tagging• Icon menu access to 500+ symbols.

• Ability to automatically adapt to your layer naming convention on the fly.

• Ability to easily modify or expand JIC/IEC libraries.

• Reuse of your existing libraries; conversion tools provided.

• Automatic wire break and reconnect; automatic component alignment with wire.

• Ability to move component from one wire to another with automatic break, retag, andcleanup.

• Automatic sequential or reference-based component tagging with flexible format.

• Utility that builds custom, multiconnection devices on the fly.

• Manual tag annotation mode with real-time “tags used so far” list feature.

• Semiautomatic component annotation by referencing external text file.

• Support for component tags with leading zeros and IEC-style tagging.

• Automatic component retag for drawing rename or reuse in a new project; automatedcontact update.

Contact Tagging and Cross-Referencing• Annotate by

• Selecting “parent” or “sibling” component;

• Selecting from projectwide component extraction list;

• Manually typing annotation.

• Use bidirectional cross-referencing with flexible format.

• Set limits on coil maximum contact counts; automatic alert when you attempt to exceed.



• Use Toggle Spare Fill feature to include unused references in cross-reference annotation.

• Automatically track pin numbers, and automatically assign next pair of terminal pinnumbers when new contact is inserted and tied to existing coil or other parent device.

• Flip cross-reference annotation to smart multiline text to make it fit.

• Easily generate full reports and exception reports; quickly review coil and contactexceptions, viewing and editing each one in context.

Automatic Wire Numbering and Reports• Sequential or reference-based automatic wire numbering; PLC I/O address-based wire

numbering.

• Flexible wire number format.

• User-defined wire number suffix list for reference-based wire number tags.

• Support for embedded alpha characters and leading zeros.

• Predefined wire numbers.

• On-off drawing wire number signal “jumps” and daisy chains, with multiple arrow styles.

• Automatic wire number placement in clear spots and automatic wire leaders as required.

• Smart color/gauge wire labels inserted at any time and automatically updated if wirecolor/gauge assignment changes.

• Ability to number or renumber at any time: “new” only, windowed, whole drawing, orprojectwide.

• Automatic wire renumbering for connected wires if PLC I/O address changes.

• Wire connection, from/to, terminal plan, and wire number reports on demand, withspreadsheet export option.

• Cable or conductor color tracking, catalog lookup, reports on demand with spreadsheetexport option.

• Wire number exception report that lists duplicated and missing wire numbersprojectwide; quickly review exceptions, viewing and editing each one in context.

PLC I/O Modules• I/O modules are parametrically generated on the fly, with automatic address annotation.

• Major PLC manufacturers included, new modules can be added easily.

• Modules adapt to underlying rung spacing on the fly.

• Break or stretch module at any point during insertion; multiple breaks; independentplacement.

• Stretch module after insertion to provide space for parallel devices.

• Include or exclude no-connection terminals during module insertion.

• Automatically generate I/O drawings from spreadsheet listing, complete with text andconnected components.

• Apply five different looks across all modules or manufacturers, or define your own.



• Instantly list module addresses used so far; edit individual I/O addresses anddescriptions; support for modules with both inputs and outputs.

• Module and I/O connection point reports available on demand.

• Supports single I/O points distributed throughout drawing set; tracking tools provided.

• Supports “sideways” parametric PLC module generation.

• Supports complete PLC “shoebox” units, such as AB 1761 series.

• RSLogix™ import provides a way to create a spreadsheet from the RSLogix output.

Bills of Materials• Use extensive, online catalog lookup files in industry-standard Microsoft Access MDB

format.

• Create or modify new catalog item entries from AutoCAD software or externally usingMicrosoft Access.

• Generate comprehensive, real-time BOM reports at any time, including indentedsubassembly BOMs, total line-item purchase list BOMs, and by tag BOMs.

• Use three user fields for every catalog item and extract them into BOM reports.

• Extract BOMs by total project or by component location code (for example, BOM of PNL1items).

• Instantly check BOM on a single component at any time.

• Reference previous project’s BOM assignments in making new catalog assignments.

• Edit reports to add items not shown on any drawing, change order, and so forth.

• Save BOMs to Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, or comma-delimited files, or insert as atable into an AutoCAD drawing.

Drafting and Editing• Well-designed icon menus are easy to use and can be customized with a wizard.

• Insert Component command retains last six component insertions for quick selection.

• Devices automatically break and reconnect wires (without need for AutoCAD snap).

• Wire gap or loops are automatically drawn at wire crossings, if desired.

• Support for in-line wire text labels (in-line text breaks the wire).

• Trim wire segment utility automatically removes connection dots.

• Stretch Wire utility automatically stretches or trims wire end to connect to nearbycomponent.

• Wire leaders are automatically generated in congested areas.

• Scoot command aids circuit manipulation and editing.

• Multicontact dashed link lines automatically reconnect when one contact is moved.

• Alert when new contact insert exceeds maximum allowed on parent coil device;provision to automatically annotate new contacts with next available set of terminal pinnumbers.



• AutoCAD Electrical “surfer” quickly displays related components in context acrossmultiple drawings. Trace wire signal jumps from drawing to drawing. Go to anycomponent or wire number simply by entering its tag name.

• Automated component location marks (graphical symbols) represent different devicelocations.

• Terminals automatically increment during multiple insertions.

• Software provides terminal strip and terminal number tracking, terminal and wirenumber reports, terminal strip generator utility.

• Supports circuit insertion via WBLOCK as well as automatic retag, automatic wire break,and reconnect.

• Powerful block swapper utility swaps one component for another in place, preservingtext and reconnecting wires.

• Quickly swap an entire drawing’s symbols from one library to another (for example, JICto IEC or IEC to JIC).

• Retag component and wire at any time in windowed area, drawing, or projectwide.

• Easily search and replace text substring and catalog number across entire project.

• Edit component tags, descriptions, and catalog assignments from a spreadsheet ordatabase table; automated drawing update from spreadsheet or database table edits.

• Edit and update PLC I/O addresses and descriptions, stand-alone terminals, wirenumbers, and wire color and gauge settings from spreadsheet data.

• Use three-phase bus and motor control drafting tools and libraries.

• Use API hooks to call AutoCAD Electrical routines and menus from your own AutoLISP,Visual LISP, VBA, or script programs. Call external catalog part number lookup routinefrom AutoCAD Electrical.

Reports• Report types include BOM, cable reports, terminal reports, from/to wire reports, terminal

reports, component reports, connector plug/jack reports, and various exception anddesign rule check reports.

• Reformat report data, and select column order, primary/secondary sort, page numbers,time, and date.

• Add items, remove items, edit data, or change item order.

• Save report data to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, an ASCII file, a comma-delimited file,an XML file, or a Microsoft Access database file.

• Automatically export report data to user-defined script or batch file for printing orpostprocessing.

• Insert report data in tabular form right on the drawing with dynamic text height andwidth adjustment.

Panel Layout Capabilities• Integrated with schematic drawings, pick and place from extracted schematic list.



• Use vendor footprint library symbols as is. AutoCAD Electrical adds intelligence atinsertion time.

• Create new footprint symbols on the fly.

• Use bidirectional update capabilities between AutoCAD Electrical schematics and panellayout drawings.

• Generate ballooning, panel BOM, panel nameplates, and panel component reports andexception reports.

• Extract and merge schematic wire number, terminal pin connection, and wirecolor/gauge data right onto panel drawing symbols. You can also include far-end deviceconnection information in this annotation.

• Define wire connection sequencing on schematics, which then determines the format ofvarious from/to wire reports and wire connection data annotation applied to the paneldrawing symbols.

• Panel BOM can include unreferenced schematic items for a combined BOM report.

Pneumatic Layout Capabilities• Easily access pneumatic library symbols via icon menu.

• Automatically break and reconnect pipe, and automatically align component with pipe.

• Use drafting and editing features to modify pneumatic layout, including commands suchas Just Like, Stretch Pipe, Trim Pipe, and Scoot.

Drawing and Project Management• Use simple tools to add or remove drawings from a schematic or panel layout drawing

set of dozens to hundred of drawings.

• Flip back and forth between AutoCAD drawing file names and one-line drawingdescriptions using project drawing list, making it easier to find the drawing you want in alarge project set.

• Use the copy project utility to quickly create a new drawing set based on an existingAutoCAD Electrical project set.

• Subdivide large project set into sections and subsections for reports, wire lists, and soon.

• Use Mark/Verify utility to automatically track drawing changes related to componentsand wire numbers. Printed reports can be valuable for revision control.

• Automatically resequence when you insert or remove drawings from the middle of aproject drawing set using Renumber Sheet utility.

• AutoCAD Electrical automatically establishes links between project information and yourattributed title block.

• Use projectwide full or partial batch plotting, optional preplot and postplot user scriptfiles.

• Use projectwide ZIP file capability.

• Change text size globally or by category (for example, change all wire number textsizes) with text size change utility.



• Use projectwide component and wire number retagging and ladder line referencenumber resequencing.

• Publish a web page of selected drawings from an AutoCAD Electrical project.

Compatibility with Other Users• Uses standard AutoCAD blocks with attributes and extended entity data.

• Does not require a proprietary database. All drawing intelligence can be extracted fromAutoCAD DWG files.

• Customers and other team members can view and plot AutoCAD Electrical drawings andedit them with standard AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT software. The Mark and Verifycommand provides a report of all changes made to the drawing since the last snapshot.



AutoCAD Electrical 2004 Technical OverviewThis section provides in-depth information on the core functional areas of AutoCAD Electrical2004 software.

Guiding PhilosophyThe following section focuses on the key development principles to which AutoCAD Electricaladheres.

Simple to UseYou access all AutoCAD Electrical commands from a single pull-down menu or from afloating toolbar with flyouts. The following table lists a few of the top-level icons with adescription of their function.

Insert a new, blank ladder.

Insert any of hundreds of components.

Insert PLC I/O modules.

Insert wires.

Cut wires.

Start automatic wire numbering.

AutoCAD Electrical commands and drafting utilities are streamlined and intuitive. Dialogboxes are designed to help you—not get in the way. Color is abundant both in the iconmenus and in the resulting drawings. The drawings are attractive and easy to read becausecomponent annotation is applied to user-defined layers and colors, on the fly, at insertiontime.

Figure 10. Floating toolbar.



Conforms to Your StandardsYou select horizontal or vertical ladders—any quantities, lengths, widths, or rung spacing.You select ladder line reference numbering, X-zone, or X-Y grid referencing system. Youchoose whether automatic wire numbering is sequential or reference-based, and you definethe default wire number format. Thesame goes for automatic componenttagging.

AutoCAD Electrical requires nopredefined layer names. Layernames conform to your standardsand are easy to set up in a drawingconfiguration dialog box. AutoCADElectrical automatically adapts, onthe fly, to whatever layer namingconvention you set up. You caneven set up different naming andcolor conventions for differentclients—just create client-specificprototype drawings and AutoCADElectrical adapts automatically tothat client’s standards.

No matter what layer is current,AutoCAD Electrical always puts newwires on a wire layer and wirenumber tags on the defined wirenumber layer. The parts and piecesof inserted electrical components always go to your defined layers (for example, tagattributes go to one layer, description attributes to another, switch position attributes toanother, cross-reference attributes to another).

No Predefined Drawing FormatsYour existing drawing border and title block can be used as is, without modification. You caninsert ladders in any combination, in random locations, with varying rung spacing andlengths. You can insert a new ladder onto an existing drawing at any time and at anylocation (as long as there is no overlap with other ladders). A ladder can be added, moved,stretched, or compressed without compromising the drawing’s integrity. AutoCAD Electricalcan tie in to your existing title block’s text or attributes for projectwide automatic updates.

No Proprietary DatabaseStandard AutoCAD blocks and attributes are used throughout the application. Your DWGfiles themselves form AutoCAD Electrical’s multidrawing project data set for interdrawingcross-referencing, wire numbering, and report generation. You do not need to maintain aproprietary, underlying database.

For performance reasons, AutoCAD Electrical creates a Microsoft Access database, but thisdata is derived wholly from the AutoCAD DWG files and regenerates automatically if the fileis deleted. Because of this openness and flexibility, you can use AutoCAD or AutoCAD LTsoftware to make minor edits to AutoCAD Electrical drawings. This generally means that aclient, customer, or vendor can view and edit your AutoCAD Electrical drawings withstandard AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT and send the drawings back to you with no loss of

Figure 11. Set up your layer naming conventionand AutoCAD Electrical automatically adapts to it onthe fly.



drawing intelligence (for example, cross-reference, wire tagging, BOM, and report extractionstill function correctly).

Open ArchitectureYou can modify AutoCAD Electrical software’s default symbol library to fit your designneeds. You can also make your own symbol library compatible with AutoCAD Electrical byusing the convenient symbol building utility provided. Easily expand and customize the iconmenu system. Add new modules and manufacturers to AutoCAD Electrical’s automatic PLCI/O drafting utility. Expand and modify catalog data files—add your own internal stocknumbers and watch AutoCAD Electrical format them into BOM reports.

Built on AutoCAD 2004AutoCAD Electrical is based on core AutoCAD functionality. All AutoCAD commands areavailable in AutoCAD Electrical.

Structure of an Intelligent AutoCAD Electrical DrawingAutoCAD Electrical drawings are native DWG drawings. The following section illustratessome of the methods the software uses to turn normal DWG drawings into designs forintelligent electrical controls.

Standard Blocks and AttributesStandard AutoCAD blocks and attributes are used throughout the product. AutoCADElectrical adds some extended entity data in certain operations (wire numbering, linkingcomponents with dashed lines, tying a location mark to a component, tying ends of a wiretogether that break across another wire).

Drawing SettingsOne special block with invisibleattributes must be present on yourdrawing for AutoCAD Electricalcommands to work. This block,WD_M.dwg, is insertedautomatically when an AutoCADElectrical command detects thatthis block is not present on thecurrent drawing (you are promptedto confirm block insertion). ThisWD_M block carries about 55attributes with various AutoCADElectrical settings for the drawing. Figure 12. Adding an invisible block makes existing

drawings compatible with AutoCAD Electrical software.



Drawing ConfigurationAutoCAD Electrical’s configuration dialog box gives you an easy way to adjust the settingsfor your drawing’s invisible WD_M block. These include ladder defaults, PLC moduledefaults, reference mode, and component and wire number formats.

WiresA wire is a line entity that is on a wire layer. You create thewire layer or layers and then tell AutoCAD Electrical thenames of these layers that are to be reserved for wires. Youcan specify one layer or many layers for wiring. You can givethem names that describe their wire color and gauge values(for example, RED_16_THW). You can use wild cards (RED*,WHT*, YEL*, and so forth) to tell AutoCAD Electrical whatlayers are valid. This means any line entities that AutoCADElectrical finds on layers with names such as RED_14_THHN,RED, and WHT_12_THHN are treated as wire entities.

Figure 13. Quickly adjust settings from easy-to-use configuration dialog box.

Figure 14. Use this dialogbox to edit wire layerassignments.



Figure 15. Sample circuit that has wires assigned to specific colorand gauge layers.

Figure 16. Portion of wire from/to report.



How Wires Connect

Two wire lines connect when the end of one falls within a trap distance of the end of anotheror the end falls anywhere along the other’s length (that is, Tee intersection). This trapdistance is 0.025 inches and 25.4 times larger in a full-size metric environment.

Smart Ladders

For reference-based numbering, ladder intelligence is carried by a single block on eachladder. This block has one visible attribute—the ladder’s first line reference number. ThisMaster Line Reference (MLR) block also carries invisible attributes that include ladder rungspacing and the ladder’s line reference increment value. All reference numbers after the firstone are text entities.

Reading Across Multiple Drawings

When AutoCAD Electrical needs to access data on other drawings in your drawing set, itreads across the binary DWG files using a special high-speed AutoCAD ARX program. This iswhy AutoCAD Electrical needs no underlying, proprietary database—the AutoCAD DWG filesthemselves are scanned in real time for the information that AutoCAD Electrical needs forsequential component tagging, wire numbering, cross-referencing, BOM generation, andwire connection reports.

AutoCAD Electrical creates and uses a runtime database file in Microsoft Access format tospeed up certain projectwide operations. AutoCAD Electrical automatically maintains this file

Figure 17. Ladder intelligence is carried by the first line reference number—the MasterLine Reference block.



and regenerates it from the drawing set if it gets lost or erased. This database file includes awealth of information that is open to your own external applications.

Automatic Link to Your Title Block

AutoCAD Electrical has provisions to tie in to your existing title block if it uses attributes (orcan be retrofitted with attributes). This allows for drawing and projectwide title blockupdates. Several methods are available to make this happen: one method maps AutoCADElectrical information to your existing attribute names, thus allowing your existing title blockto be used as is. AutoCAD Electrical can even link to title blocks on a per-client basis,automatically adapting to whatever title block it encounters.

Structure of an AutoCAD Electrical Multidrawing ProjectThe typical controls design consists of several drawings. AutoCAD Electrical designs functionin a project format. The following section describes how a project is defined.

Simple ASCII Text File

An AutoCAD Electrical project is organized by a simple ASCII text file. In this file is a list ofthe AutoCAD drawing file names that are to be processed together as the multidrawing set.Each drawing is listed with its complete path. Drawings can have paths from differentlocations. Some additional projectwide settings are also included in this ASCII file.

Standard AutoCAD, No Proprietary Database

Since it is nothing more than a simple ASCII file that defines a multidrawing AutoCADElectrical project, there is no underlying project database to maintain. You can edit, view,and plot AutoCAD Electrical drawings with AutoCAD commands. Backup and archival is

Figure 18. Multidrawing projects are created and managed fromthis easy-to-use dialog box.



simple. If an AutoCAD Electrical project list file is accidentally erased, you can create a newdrawing list manually.

Note: AutoCAD Electrical now creates a runtime database in Microsoft Access format tospeed up certain projectwide operations on large drawing sets. This database file is openand nonproprietary, and automatically regenerates if necessary.

Freedom to DesignYou can call up any AutoCAD drawing at any time, whether you have selected a project ornot. Since AutoCAD Electrical does not take over your system, you are not locked out ofdoing whatever you want at any time.

Ladders and Line Reference NumbersLadder InsertionYou can insert vertical or horizontal ladders in any combination, at random locations, withvarying rung spacing and lengths. Nothing needs to be preset. You can insert a new ladderonto an existing drawing at any time and at any location (as long as it does not overlap withother ladders). You can move, stretch, or compress a ladder without compromising thedrawing’s integrity. You can insert multiple ladder fragments into a single vertical column aslong as the left bus of all ladders is collinear.

Figure 19. This dialog box helps you insert a newladder into any drawing at any time.



Preinserted LaddersYou can set up your own border/format drawing with preinserted ladders, which can then betreated as a prototype drawing or copied to a new name as you begin a new drawing. Theladder line reference numbers can be automatically resequenced, at any time, using aRevise Ladder Format dialog box.

The Revise Ladder Format dialog box also enables you to assign a unique wire numberformat to a single ladder on your drawing. For example, a ladder of low-voltage controlwiring might require special markings. When AutoCAD Electrical processes the drawing forwire numbers, each wire network found on this marked ladder column is processed per itsspecial wire tag. Wiring in the other ladders is processed using the drawing’s normal wiretag format.

Line Reference NumbersLine reference numbers are not integers but are treated as character strings. As a result,there is no 65000 barrier (2 to the 16th power) found in some products. Line referencenumbers can begin or end in an alpha character or have embedded alpha characters andpunctuation. AutoCAD Electrical increments the text string as it inserts line referencenumbers along the ladder’s column.

Figure 20. Resequence existing ladder line referencenumbers at any time.



X-Y Grid ReferencingAutoCAD Electrical supports X-Y grid referencenumbering for component tags, wire numbers, orcross-referencing annotation.

X-Zone ReferencingX-zone referencing, common in IEC-style taggingand referencing, is another option you have withAutoCAD Electrical. A simple selection in theconfiguration dialog box enables this mode andguides you in setting up your zone spacing andnumbering values.

Point to Point Wiring DiagramsYou don’t need to use a ladder to get the fullbenefit from AutoCAD Electrical. Just insert yourcomponents and wire point to point after eithersetting up X-Y or X-zone referencing, or insertinga set of reference numbers (without a companionladder) along the left edge of your drawing.

Making Existing Drawings Compatible with AutoCAD ElectricalYou can add intelligence to an existing AutoCAD drawing by manually inserting AutoCADElectrical’s special ladder line reference block at the correct location on each of thedrawing’s ladders, using aladder setup dialog box.After you have set up anexisting drawing in thismanner, new wiring andcomponents respond toAutoCAD Electrical features.Your existing drawings, eventhose converted to AutoCADfrom other products or otherCAD systems, can be quicklyset up to take advantage ofsome of AutoCAD Electrical’sautomated drafting features.

Compatible LibrarySymbols AutoCAD Electrical symbols

Figure 21. X-Y grid reference taggingsupport.

Figure 22. Use this dialog box to add intelligence to existingdrawings created in programs other than AutoCAD Electrical.Many AutoCAD Electrical features can then be used onexisting drawings.



are standard AutoCAD blocks with attributes. The following section describes thecharacteristics that make them intelligent electrical symbols.

Standard Blocks and AttributesStandard AutoCAD blocks and attributes are used for AutoCAD Electrical–compatible librarysymbols. No XDATA is used at the symbol library level.

Wire Connection PointsComponent wire connection points are marked by tiny, invisible attributes with the nameX?TERM*—the question mark is a code that identifies which direction a wire normallyconnects from. The asterisk (*) is a sequential number code that matches the wireconnection point attribute with acorresponding, visible, terminal numberATTDEF called TERM*.

For example, a push button symbol mighthave these attribute pairs:X4TERM01/TERM01 and X1TERM02/TERM02for the left and right connection points,respectively. This technique essentially allowsan unlimited number of terminals and terminalnumbers to be present on a library symbol.When you insert the symbol into your circuit,AutoCAD Electrical can correctly match wirenumber connections with terminal numbersand correctly report them in various terminaland wire connection reports. A line wireconnects to a component when the end of thewire falls within a trap distance of acomponent’s X?TERM* attribute.

Symbol InsertionLibrary symbols are constructed on layer 0 with color BYLAYER. At insertion time AutoCADElectrical moves various parts of the inserted symbol to your configured layers and colors.There are about a dozen layer categories that you set up to match your layer namingconvention.

Horizontal and Vertical SymbolsHorizontal symbols are not rotated for insertion into vertical wires. There is a separatevertical library symbol for each horizontal symbol. Horizontal symbols begin with H andvertical with V. AutoCAD Electrical keys off this naming convention to automatically insertthe correct version of a selected symbol based on the orientation of the underlying wiresegment. This produces a more attractive output.

Symbol Width and Automatic Wire BreakSymbols can be any width. AutoCAD Electrical automatically determines symbol width onthe fly at insertion time and correctly breaks any underlying wires. It does this by readingthe locations of the symbol’s X?TERM* attributes, matching them with nearby wires (withinthe trap distance), and breaking, trimming, or extending the underlying wires as required.The underlying wire need not be continuous. AutoCAD Electrical correctly inserts a symbol

Figure 23. AutoCAD Electrical symbolHPB11.DWG—symbol for N.O. standardpush button. Note wire connection andterminal number attribute pairs.



into a gap in a wire (if the ends of the gap fall within the trap distance of the connectionpoints) or at the end of a wire stub.

Modifying SymbolsYou can modify the appearance of the default AutoCAD Electrical symbol libraries toconform to your standards. You can adjust the library symbols’ attribute definition text sizesand locations. You can even do this after you have created your drawings. AutoCADElectrical has easy-to-use tools to adjust attribute position, width, and individual or globalsize.

Making Existing Symbol Library Compatible with AutoCAD ElectricalYou can make your existing symbol library compatible with AutoCAD Electrical by adding orrenaming attributes to those expected by AutoCAD Electrical. A symbol building utilitymakes this a relatively simple task. AutoCAD Electrical also requires that your symbolnames follow its naming convention. It is easy to add your new symbols to AutoCADElectrical’s colorful, streamlined icon menu system. You don’t have to remember symbolnames—just pick them from the easy-to-use menu system or program them into yourexisting tablet or custom menus.

Creating Fully Compatible, Custom Symbols on the FlyAutoCAD Electrical’s symbol building utility enables you to create a fully compatible, customcomponent in place on your drawing. For example, you might need a symbol for a specialpower supply, drive, or controller. Draw the shape, and then use the utility to insert thewire connection points, pick placement for key text, and then instantly turn it into anintelligent AutoCAD Electrical symbol. When you position it, it breaks and reconnects tounderlying wiring. Assign a catalog number to it, just like a regular AutoCAD Electricalcomponent. BOM, component, and wire connection reports include these custom-builtdevices as well as the regular AutoCAD Electrical components.

Adjusting Symbol ScaleYou can automatically scale symbols up or down atinsertion time by presetting an overall AutoCAD Electricaldrawing scale factor. This affects the size of newly insertedcomponents, wire number size and offset from wire, wiregaps, and wire leaders. Make this change in the dialog boxshown here, accessible from the main configuration dialogbox.

Figure 24. Change all scalingfactors from this dialog box.Here, everything goes in 25percent bigger than the defaultsize.



Working in a Metric EnvironmentIf you are working in a metric environment, then you caninstruct AutoCAD Electrical to use a scale factor of 25.4.This allows use of AutoCAD Electrical’s default inch unitsymbol library in a metric environment. Alternatively, ifyou create your own full-size metric symbol library, selectmm Full Size in this dialog box. This directs AutoCADElectrical to use a 1.0 scale factor, but the wire connectiontrap distance is scaled up to millimeter units.

Note: A full-size metric IEC-style library and icon menuare also available.

Figure 25. Set up AutoCADElectrical to work in a metricenvironment using inchsymbols scaled up tomillimeter units.



Component Insertion and Automatic TaggingThe following section coversinserting components and the tagsthat get placed on themautomatically.

Component SelectionThere are several ways to choose acomponent to insert:

• Select the icon from the iconmenu.

• Use quick pick—retains last sixcomponents inserted. Thisoption is along the right columnof the opening page of the iconmenu.

• Type in the component’s filename in the bottom-left cornerof the menu.

• Browse to the library symbolDWG file name.

• Use quick pick Just Likecommand—enables you to usethe drawing itself as an icon menu.

AutoCAD Snap mode does not need to be active during component insertion. AutoCADElectrical’s symbol insertion utility automatically moves an inserted symbol in line with theunderlying wire if the symbol is inserted slightly above or below the wire (but within trapdistance).

Automatic Component Tagging Automatic component tags can be sequential or referencebased. You make your selection on the Component Taggingarea of the main configuration dialog box. The defaultcomponent tagging format is set up in the edit box. It is atext string with replaceable parameters. You arrange the tagformat to meet your conventions. Valid parameters are %Ffor family code (for example, PB, CR, SS), %S for assignedsheet number, %D for user-defined drawing name, and %Nfor the sequential or line reference number.

Examples:

%F%N Yields tags like “PB100” %N-%F” Yields tags like “100-PB” %F-%S%N Yields tags like “PB-4100” where “4” is the

drawing’s assigned sheet number text string

Figure 26. Select components from the icon menu orfrom a quick pick list that retains the last sixcomponents inserted.

Figure 27. Set componenttagging mode and format inthis area of the drawingconfiguration dialog box.



IEC-Style Tagging Support

AutoCAD Electrical includes component tagreplaceable parameters for IEC-style project,installation, and location codes. These are givenby parameters %P, %I, and %L. You set upvalues for these in the drawing’s configurationdialog box, and they are applied to the entiredrawing.

Reference-Based Component Tags

Reference-based tagsautomatically get a suffix attachedto ensure unique tag names, toavoid multiple push buttons on thesame line reference with the sametag name, for example. You chooseone of the default suffix lists fromthis configuration dialog box orcreate your own custom list tomatch your company’s taggingconvention.

Sequential Component Tags

For sequential component tags, each drawing is assigned a beginning number for all parentcomponents on that drawing. You can assign either a range of numbers per drawing or the

Figure 29. Select a default suffix list for reference-basedcomponent tags or insert your own suffix list in the row ofedit boxes.

Figure 28. IEC style installation andlocation codes can be easily configured.



same beginning number for every drawing in your project (for example, 1). In this case, asyou insert a new component, AutoCAD Electrical automatically scans the complete drawingset to find the next available number in the sequence.

Tagged from External File You can reference an externalfile to quickly annotate a new orexisting component or contacton your drawing. AutoCADElectrical can reference a motorlist text file or field device listexported from a spreadsheet orP&ID drawing.

The example shown here is acomma-delimited export from aP&ID application. Some of thecomponents on the P&ID alsoneed to show up on yourelectrical drawings. Simplyinstruct AutoCAD Electrical todisplay the file, select the itemfrom the list, and guideAutoCAD Electrical as itannotates your component. Apredefined, fixed file format isnot required.

Figure 30. Quickly annotate your component from a listextracted from a spreadsheet or drawing such as a P&IDdrawing (shown here).

Figure 31. Pick values from selected line, andposition.

Figure 32. Solenoid valve tag,location code, and description pulledfrom external file. No retypingrequired.



Child Contact Tagging In addition to manual entry, there are two automated ways to annotate a relay contact (orany child contact):

• Parent/sibling—just select theparent coil or sibling contact (if it isvisible onscreen). The contact isannotated, and the parent coil’scross-reference is updated in realtime.

• Dialog box list—instruct AutoCADElectrical to quickly extract andpresent a list of all parent coilsused in the project—complete withtag name, sheet number, and fulldescription text. Simply pick fromthe list. The contact is then fullyannotated.

Coil and Contact Cross-Referencing You can run cross-referencing on a single drawing or for all drawings projectwide in batchmode. With either mode, the software automatically generates an exception report and afull cross-reference report. With the exception report, you can “surf” automatically fromreference to reference, checking each coil or contact in context, and edit each as necessary.

Figure 33. Quickly and accurately annotate acontact by simply selecting it from a real-timecoil/description list.

Figure 34. Cross-reference exception report. This report found some coilswith no contacts.



Contact Count Check Select any component and get a real-timecheck on the number of contacts assignedto a given relay (or any parentcomponent). AutoCAD Electrical quicklyscans the entire project’s set of DWG files.This tool also enables you to confirm thatthe parent’s BOM catalog selection iscorrect for the required number of contactreferences.

Automatic Check Alternatively, you can preset themaximum number of N.O. and N.C.contacts allowed on a per-coil basis.AutoCAD Electrical then flags you whenyou try to insert a contact that exceedsthe coil’s preset limit.

AutoCAD Electrical “Surfer” Select any component in Surf mode and AutoCAD Electricalpresents a list of all related references across all drawings ofyour project. Pick from this list and AutoCAD Electrical quicklyzooms in on that component reference, showing it in context inthe schematic drawing. Quickly surf from reference toreference, even across multiple drawings. Stop and make quickedits to any component as you move through the list.

You can also use the AutoCAD Electrical surfer feature to findand go to a specific component or wire number, even if it ishidden in some obscure corner of your drawing set. Say thatyou want to find where motor M45 appears in your drawing set.Just type M45 at the prompt. AutoCAD Electrical returns a surflist of all M45 references. One click on the surf list and you’rethere, zoomed in on M45 and ready to go. Or say you want tofind where wire number I:10012 appears on the schematics.Just type in the number and, if it exists, in moments you willsee it in context.

Component Catalog Lookup and AssignmentOne of the most valuable benefits of using AutoCAD Electrical is the ability to assign cataloginformation to components in the design. This section discusses the process of assigningcatalog numbers to components and the added benefits of doing so.

Catalog Files in MDB Format Component catalog data is provided in standard Microsoft Access format (MDB). Eachcatalog item is represented by record fields giving catalog number, manufacturer,

Figure 35. Pick any parent component orcontact and get a complete rundown oncontact tally, parent BOM catalogassignment, and reference locations. Makecatalog changes on the fly when necessary.

Figure 36. List for allCR406 references. Selectfrom the list to go to thedevice even if it is onanother drawing.



descriptions, ratings, and optional subassembly BOM links. The catalog database is not asingle lookup table but is broken down in many smaller tables. A catalog database table isavailable for each parent or stand-alone component type. The component symbol’s blockname defines the name of the catalog file that AutoCAD Electrical references to service it.For example, a standard N.O. push button symbol, HPB11 or VPB11 (horizontal or vertical),triggers AutoCAD Electrical to reference catalog table PB11 in the database file. For amushroom head PB, N.O. (symbol HPB11M or VPB11M), AutoCAD Electrical accesses catalogtable PB11M. Optionally, you can use a familywide catalog table (for example, OL, foroverloads).

AutoCAD Electrical comes with several dozen sample catalog lookup tables for push buttons,selector switches, pilot lights, relays, and PLC I/O modules. Each table includes partnumbers, descriptions, and ratings for many dozens or hundreds of components from majormanufacturers. You can easily expand and modify these tables or create new ones asneeded in AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD, or Microsoft Access software applications.

Note: Microsoft Access is not required to create or edit AutoCAD Electrical’s catalog lookuptables—see following sections for details.

Making Catalog Assignments You can make catalog assignments at component insertion time or at any time later withthe Edit Component, Copy BOM, or Quick Check command. In each case, select CatalogLookup in the dialog box. AutoCAD Electrical opens the appropriate catalog table (based onyour component’s block name). Pick from three pull-down selections narrowing searchcriteria (for example, Allen-Bradley, Master 600V relay, 120 AC Coil). AutoCAD Electricalinstantly displays all catalog numbers that meet your search criteria. Pick the one you wantand the information is copied to your component. Only the vendor and catalog number areactually saved on the block (as invisible data on MFG, CAT, and optional ASSYCODEattributes). Later, for BOM reports, the catalog tables are again accessed to retrieve the fulldescription of each component and output to the report.



Quick BOM Checks You can do a quick catalog BOM data check at any time on a selected component or duringinsertion to confirm that you have found the exact catalog item you wanted. The displayshows you what the item looks like in a BOM report.

Figure 37. Access online catalog data at any time to quickly search andfind the manufacturer and catalog number you want. Your selection issaved on the component for later extraction into a BOM.

Figure 38. One quick pick brings up the full catalog description of your selecteddrawing component. This quick BOM check feature is built in to several ofAutoCAD Electrical’s insertion, editing, and selection tools.



Consistent Use of Standard Components AutoCAD Electrical helps you stay consistent in component selection across yourmultidrawing project. For example, when you insert a standard red pilot light, you can haveAutoCAD Electrical quickly check the entire project to see how many standard red pilotlights you, or others working on the project, have inserted into the drawing set so far. Onceit scans your drawing set, AutoCAD Electrical then presents a dialog box showing thequantities, manufacturer, and catalog numbers of all red pilot lights found in your project.Pick from this list. Click the Quick BOM Chk button, if necessary, to confirm your choice andthen click OK to make your newly inserted pilot light catalog number match the dialog boxselection.

Catalog Record Structure The catalog record structure is used for all AutoCAD Electrical catalog lookup databaserecords. Three user fields are provided (for example, internal store room code, cost, specialinstructions). If present, user field values are formatted right into the BOM reports.

field name width description CAT 60 catalog number MFG 24 1st query field—manufacturer code DESC 60 generic description TYPE 60 2nd query field (field name may vary) RATING 60 3rd query field (field name may vary) MISC 60 1st misc field (field name may vary) MISC2 60 2nd misc field (field name may vary) ASSYCODE 60 code to flag that this item has subassembly items ASSYLIST 24 code to flag this is a subassembly item of a main item ASSYQTY 8 subassembly quantity (blank = qty of “1”) USER1 24 field #1 for user’s use USER2 24 field #2 for user’s use USER3 24 field #3 for user’s use TEXTVALS 80 predefine attribute values WEBLINK 255 associate .pdf file or web URL to component

Figure 39. Here are all standard red pilot lights used on all drawings in theproject. Just select from this list to assign the same manufacturer andcatalog numbers to your new pilot light. Click Quick BOM Chk for full cataloginformation on your selection.



Creating and Editing Catalog Files You can view and edit catalog lookup files in AutoCAD Electrical. You can add new catalogentries to an existing catalog file or a new MDB catalog table created without ever leavingAutoCAD Electrical. You can also edit these catalog tables using Microsoft Access.

BOM Reports on Demand

BOM reports are available at any time on a per-drawing or per-project basis. You can createa BOM report for schematics only, panel items only, or a combined schematic and panelBOM. You can extract a BOM report based on a single component location code (forexample, all CAB3 items) or extract a BOM for all items in the project, no matter where theyare. To be extractable into a BOM report, a component must have a catalog number. Forlocation-specific BOMs, components must be marked with a location code attribute value.AutoCAD Electrical editing tools make this easy to set up. BOM reports can also include a“where used” tag as a column option in the BOM display/output. For example, if the BOMreports five AB green pilot lights with a catalog number of 800H-PR16G, the five pilot lighttag ID names can be listed in the report.

Figure 40. Quickly edit or expand catalog data files using Microsoft Access.Here is a small portion of the database table for standard red pilot lights.

Figure 41. You can extract BOM reports such as this one atany time.



Inserting BOM as Table You can insert any AutoCAD Electrical BOM, wire, terminal, PLC, or component report intoyour AutoCAD drawing in tabular form. Formatting options enable you to dynamicallystretch or compress the table to fit in a given space. Each cell is inserted as a stand-alonetext entity so you can make edits without disrupting the alignment of other cells in the row.

Figure 42. Insert BOM or other reports right onto your drawing in table form.



BOM Report Export to Spreadsheet You can save AutoCAD Electrical’s BOM output directly to a Microsoft Excel or Access file aswell as to an ASCII text file. The opportunities for doing useful things with the data in thisformat are almost unlimited.

Catalog Database User Fields Each catalog record in every component database table has three blank user fields that youcan use in any way you see fit. Information entered into these user fields is extracted intothe BOM report along with the record’s other fields. For example, one field might beassigned to carry in-house storeroom stock numbers. This means the BOM shows both themanufacturer’s part number and description and the storeroom code.

Figure 43. An AutoCAD Electrical BOM report imported into an Excel spreadsheet.



Figure 44. Add a new catalog item to the Standard Red Pilot Lightcatalog database table, right in AutoCAD Electrical. Assign your owninternal part number to the item in one of the user fields.

Figure 45. Example of how an internal part number, entered into auser field in the catalog data table, appears in the extracted BOMreport for this project or any project that uses a BOG-123R pilotlight.



Subassembly or Indented BOM AutoCAD Electrical supports subassembly or indented bill of materials. For example, aSiemens relay with six N.O. and two N.C. contacts requires two separate catalog numbers.You can set up subassembly relationships in the catalog files using three fields set aside forthis purpose (ASSYCODE, ASSYLIST, ASSYQTY). Then, when you pick the main item (forexample, Siemens relay with 6NO, 2NC), AutoCAD Electrical automatically finds andextracts the multiple catalog items that make up the relay assembly.

Figure 46. AutoCAD Electrical supports automatic subassembly orindented BOM extraction and reporting.



Component List Report In addition to a tallied BOM report, AutoCAD Electrical gives you the option to extractreports listing every individual component along with its catalog assignment and otherattribute values. You can even instruct AutoCAD Electrical to search the online catalog filefor a catalog number match and then format additional information pulled from this onlinecatalog database. Any user information you previously tied to the catalog number alsoappears, formatted neatly into your report output. You can use component reports forschematic items or for panel layout items (including nonschematic items like enclosures,hardware, wire duct, and so forth).

Figure 47. Extract projectwide component reports on demand. Save astext file, insert on drawing, or export to spreadsheet or databaseprogram.



An easy-to-use dialog box enables you to add or remove reported data columns orrearrange them to give you the report format you want. Just like the BOM report, you cansave this component list report to a Microsoft Excel, Access, or ASCII file, or insert it intabular form right onto an AutoCAD Electrical drawing.

Retagging Component and Reusing Drawings in New ProjectsThis section discusses reusing existing project sets and some of the different tools availableto resequence component tags to fit the new project requirements.

Reusing an Existing Drawing Reusing a drawing copied from a previous project is easy. For a single drawing, use theCONFIG dialog box to set component tagging and wire numbering modes and formats asrequired by the new project. Then use the Revise Ladder utility to resequence ladder linereference numbers. For multiple drawings, or an entire project set, use the ProjectResequence command to revise ladders, retag components, and even update the cross-references. If necessary, you can rerun the Wire Numbering command to resequence wirenumbers. You can also update component tags, descriptions, and catalog numbers asdescribed in the following section.

Retagging Components You can retag components at any time—just one, all components in a window, the entiredrawing, or the entire project drawing set. This makes reusing an old drawing or changingtag formats midway through the design easy to do. During retag, the command removescomponent tags from all selected stand-alone and parent components. It then retags thembased on current line reference numbers or next available sequential number. All childcontacts in the selection set are updated per the new tag name on the parents. Childcontacts with no parent in the retag selection set are not updated. You even have the optionto update child contacts (of retagged parents) not included in the selection set, even if theyare on another drawing in the project set.

Figure 48. Choose fields and field order for reports.



Global Find/Replace/Edit This utility enables you toquickly find and substitutenew values for componenttags, descriptions, andcatalog numbers. Thisworks on one drawing oracross the entire AutoCADElectrical project. Set upsimple or complex searchcriteria in a dialog box. Forexample, say you havethree identical transferlines, and the associateddrawing sets aredifferentiated by little morethan different keywords indescriptions, locationnames, and tag names. Youcan create one set ofdrawings, make two copies,and then use AutoCADElectrical’sFind/Replace/Edit utility tomake global substitutionsacross each drawing set.You can also switch to Surfmode, which lets you first view each wired component and then edit it in context.

You can set up fairly complex search criteria. The example shown in the following dialog boxcauses AutoCAD Electrical to search theentire project for all relay components(tag contains substring CR) that are inMAIN CAB. For each match, if AutoCADElectrical finds the word RAM in therelay’s first line of description, then itsubstitutes the word PLUNGER.

For each match, AutoCAD Electricaldisplays this dialog box and gives you theopportunity to accept, skip, or manuallytype in additional changes.

Figure 49. Set up simple or complex search and replace criteria inthis dialog box.

Figure 50. A match on projectwide Find andReplace query.



Using a Spreadsheet for Projectwide Edits and Retag Another way to update or retag components is through aspreadsheet edit utility. AutoCAD Electrical lets you take asnapshot of your multidrawing project and then export it toyour favorite spreadsheet program.

Make your edits on the spreadsheet, and then let AutoCADElectrical update the components on each drawing based onyour spreadsheet edits. In the spreadsheet you can assignor change component tags, descriptions, location codes,vendor and catalog number assignments, componentratings, switch position names, and much more. For eachdrawing, instruct AutoCAD Electrical to reference thiscommon spreadsheet output file and update componentannotation accordingly. You can even assign a differentcomponent block name in the spreadsheet and AutoCADElectrical automatically swaps it out and inserts the newone. All spreadsheet updates are automatically noted in alog file.

This spreadsheet edit and drawing update concept hassome useful possibilities. For example, standard circuitscould be set up in the form of a project template. Then,based oncustomerrequirements,thespreadsheetsnapshot of thetemplatedrawing set ismodified—componentdescriptions,location codes,catalognumbers,device ratings,and such areannotated withspreadsheetedits. Theneach drawing inthe templateset is called upin AutoCAD.AutoCADElectrical isinstructed to

Figure 51. Save yourmultidrawing component datadirectly to a Microsoft Excelspreadsheet for editing.

Figure 52. Use spreadsheet editing tools to modify extracted component textfrom your drawing set. Then instruct AutoCAD Electrical to update thedrawings to match.



reference the common spreadsheet output file to update the drawing’s componentannotation and settings as required.

The spreadsheet edit concept can also be applied to stand-alone terminal symbols,projectwide, and to wire numbers and wire color/gauge layer assignments.

Copy Circuit AutoCAD Electricalincludes a Copy Circuitutility. It works just likethe AutoCAD Copycommand—you selectthe circuit you want toduplicate and then copyit with a from/to set oflocation selections.Componentsautomatically retagbased on the new linereference location ornext available sequentialnumber. Child contactsthat have their parentsincluded in the copiedcircuit retag and cross-reference automatically. Those that do not have parents included in the copied circuit revertto their generic state (for example, orphan contact CR101 reverts to CR).

Using Standard AutoCAD Since AutoCAD Electrical does not depend on an underlying project database, you are freeto use the standard AutoCAD Copy command, in most cases, to copy components oruntagged wires. Run AutoCAD Electrical’s Retag command to automatically update yournewly copied components and the Wire Numbering command to update copied wiring.

Save Circuit to Menu AutoCAD Electrical also has a save circuit feature. Select a standard circuit you plan to reuseon a regular basis. AutoCAD Electrical saves this circuit to disk, just like a standard AutoCADWBLOCK operation. It also creates an icon menu representation of the circuit and inserts it,automatically, into AutoCAD Electrical’s icon menu system. Later, when you need to reusethat circuit, you just select its icon from the menu and insert it into your new drawing.Components in the inserted circuit automatically retag based on the current line referenceor starting at the next available sequential tag numbers.

A good application of this feature might be to build and save several commonly used three-phase motor starter circuits: full-voltage reversing, nonreversing, with and without safetydisconnect at the motor, with and without power factor correction capacitor. Then,whenever you need one of these standard circuits, you can quickly insert it from theautomatically generated icon menu. The circuit goes in and automatically retags based on

Figure 53. Use Copy Circuit utility to duplicate portions of yourcircuit. Copied components automatically retag and cross-reference.



its inserted location or next available sequential tag numbers (if sequential tagging isselected).

Inserting Wblocked Circuits This is another way to insert complete circuits or partial subcircuits into your drawings on anas-needed basis. First, build up a Wblock library of these standard circuits, for example,different configurations of motor control. Draw each, one at a time, and then use theSaveAs or Wblock command to save it to your hard disk. Then, when you need a special,predrawn circuit, choose AutoCAD Electrical’s Insert Circ command, and find the targetcircuit using the dialog box shown here and insert it into your drawing.

In this example, the components of the motor circuit automatically retag based on thedrawing’s selected tagging mode. Add wiring and components, if necessary, to complete thecircuit. Run the Wire Numbering command to finish the job.

Figure 54. Use this dialog box to find and insert a predrawncircuit into the current drawing.



Automatic Wire NumberingThis section discusses how AutoCAD Electrical numbers the wires in your designsautomatically. It also covers the different options for configuring the wire numbering format.

Wire Number Block and Attribute A wire number is a block consisting of one visible attribute. AutoCAD Electrical places theblock’s origin on a wire segment of the wire network, generally midway between theendpoints of the network’s upper-left (or only) segment. Wire numbers are not numbers buttext strings (with no 65000 character limit). Awire number can begin or end with an alphacharacter or have embedded characters orpunctuation.

Automatic Wire Number Leaders If AutoCAD Electrical determines that a new wirenumber will bump into something, itautomatically searches laterally along the wirefor a clear spot to position the wire numberattribute. If no clear area is found, AutoCADElectrical then searches up or down, away fromthe wire, for a clear spot and then automaticallydraws a leader back to the wire.

Figure 55. Wblocked three-phase motor circuit inserted into the currentdrawing. Add components and wiring as required.

Figure 56. Wire numbers automaticallypop up (or down) on wire leaders whenthey bump into existing text orgraphics.



Wire Numbering Mode Wire numbers can be sequential or reference-based. Youmake this selection in the Wire Numbering area of themain configuration dialog box. You also use this section ofthe dialog box to set the default format for the drawing’swire tag. A format of %N means that each wire number isjust the calculated sequential or reference-based number.A W%N puts the letter W in front of every wire number. A%S-%N puts the drawing’s sheet number and a dash infront of every wire number.

Reference-Based Wire Numbers AutoCAD Electrical automatically attaches a suffix to reference-based wire number tags toensure unique tag names and to avoid multiple wire networks with the same wire numberbeginning on the same line reference. You choose one of the default suffix lists or createyour own custom list to match your company’s tagging convention.

Figure 57. Wire numberingsetup.

Figure 58. Select a default suffix list for reference-based wirenumbering or insert your own suffix list in the row of editboxes.



Sequential Wire Numbers With sequential wire numbering, each drawing is assigned a beginning sequential wirenumber. You can either assign a range of numbers per drawing or assign the samebeginning sequential number for every drawing in your project (for example, 1). In thiscase, as you insert a new component that triggers a new wire number (or you run theAutoCAD Electrical wire numbering utility), AutoCAD Electrical automatically scans thecomplete drawing set to find the next available sequential wire number and confirms thateach new number is unique as it is inserted.

Scope of Wire Numbering and Renumbering Automatic wire numbering can be run on a single wire, a windowed portion of a drawing,the whole drawing, or the entire drawing set. You can instruct the software to process onlynew wire networks, leaving existing wire numbers alone. It verifies the uniqueness of eachnew wire number at insertion time (based on a check of the active drawing only forreference-based wire numbers, but the whole project for sequential-based wire numbering).

Whenever you run the Wire Number command, AutoCAD Electrical verifies the integrity ofthe selected wire networks and any previously inserted wire number blocks. If it findsanything amiss, AutoCAD Electrical automatically performs a cleanup. This means that if yousend your drawings to a client who uses standard AutoCAD to move things around, AutoCADElectrical can generally repair the intelligent wire numbers once the drawings come back toyou.

Extra Wire Number Copies You can insert extra wire number copies at any location on a wire network. These numbersautomatically update with the network’s main wire number. A wire network has one mainwire number block or attribute but can have many of these extra wire number copies. Thesecopies automatically go on their own layer (set up in the Layers dialog box). Generally, thislayer is assigned a different color so you can easily differentiate the main wire number fromthe copies.

Setting a Wire Number to “Fixed” You can switch any main wire number to a fixed wire number. A fixed wire number is onethat does not change when AutoCAD Electrical is instructed to retag the drawing with newwire numbers. For example, you might always want your hot and neutral bus wires to betagged 1X1 and N2 respectively—you don’t want AutoCAD Electrical to renumber thesewires.

You can change a wire number to fixed by changing the attribute name on the wire numberblock. This is done in place. Changing a wire number to a fixed state also moves theattribute to a layer preassigned for fixed wire numbers. This means that fixed wire numberscan show up as a different color from normal wire numbers (or extras). You identify thislayer in the AutoCAD Electrical Layers dialog box. AutoCAD Electrical provides a means tochange a windowed area or the entire drawing to fixed—good protection when drawings arecomplete and on their way to the panel shop or the field.



Wire Number Signal Jumps

Assigned wire numbers can jumpfrom drawing to drawing usingAutoCAD Electrical’sSource/Destination signal concept.The wire number that getsassigned to a wire network markedwith a source arrow automaticallymigrates to one or moredestination networks marked witha corresponding destination arrow.There is no limit to the number ofsignal source/destinationrelationships you can set up inyour project. You can daisy chainsource and destination arrowsfrom one ladder column to the next and from the bottom of one drawing to the top of thenext.

Source arrows carry an invisible attribute for which you assign a unique value such asNEUTRAL or PNL-4 CB3 HOT or LS-123 NO. At every destination network, you insert adestination arrow and reference the alias name of the desired source network. AutoCADElectrical makes this easy—it extracts all source network names from all drawings, in realtime, and presents them to you in a dialog box list. During wire tagging, AutoCAD Electricalmatches these source/destination links across the drawing set. It takes whatever wirenumber gets assigned to each source network and copies it to each of the correspondingdestination networks.

Figure 59. Insert wire signal jump source anddestination arrows from this dialog box. Choose fromdifferent arrow styles.



Wire Crossing Gaps and Loops A gap and loop pair is automatically created when one wire crosses another (using AutoCADElectrical’s Insert Wire utility). XDATA links the two gapped pieces together so that a wirenumber on one side of a gap automatically carries over to the other side of the gap. Two ofthese crossing wires are shown in the preceding figure. In AutoCAD Electrical’s configurationdialog box, you select to show loops across the gaps, just the gaps, or no gaps.

Figure 60. AutoCAD Electrical supports on- and off-drawing wire number jumps. Wirenumber 25 leaves this drawing and goes to line reference 113. Wire number 18 comesfrom another drawing’s line reference location 205.

Figure 61. Define howAutoCAD Electricalhandles wires that cross.



Wire ReportsAutoCAD Electrical stores a lot of information about a design in the DWG drawing itself.Some of that information pertains to the wires and the devices they are connected to. Thissection discusses several different wire and cable reports.

Wire From/To Report The key to taking full advantageof AutoCAD Electrical’s from/toreport is this: as you constructyour drawings, mark componentswith location codes (for example,PNL1, JBOX2). AutoCAD Electricalhas tools that make this taskeasy. The following sampledrawing fragment showscomponents that have beenmarked with location codes.

When you run AutoCADElectrical’s from/to wiring report,AutoCAD Electrical first extractswiring and componentinformation along with all thedifferent location codes (forunmarked components the softwareuses location code “??”). It thendisplays a dialog box that shows a listof the extracted location codes along the left and right sides. You choose the combination ofFrom and To locations that you want AutoCAD Electrical to use to format your customfrom/to wiring report.

You pick the From locations from the list on the left and the To codes from the list on theright. Your selections move to the center of the dialog box.

Figure 62. Text based from/to wire lists can be easilygenerated from a control schematic such as the one above.



When you have the combination you want to report, click OK. AutoCAD Electrical thenapplies your selection to the extracted wiring and component data. It formats and displaysthe report. You can then manipulate the report format and write it out to a text file,spreadsheet, or ruled table right on the drawing.

Figure 63. This combination reports all wiring that goes fromJBOX1 and passes to all other locations.



If you select all locationcodes for both From and To,then AutoCAD Electrical givesa full report of all wiring.Using the previous circuit asan example, here is the fulloutput exported to an ASCIIreport file.

AutoCAD Electrical attemptsto report each wire the wayit is actually connected onthe drawing.

Wire Connection Sequence For wire networks with morethan two device connections(for example, hot or neutralbus), you can predefine thewire connection sequencingright on the schematics. Thisis as simple as picking neareach wire connection point inthe order that the wireconnections are to be made.This information then affects the various AutoCAD Electrical wire and cable from/to reportsand also wire connection data annotated onto panel layout drawings.

Figure 64. AutoCAD Electrical formats the data and displaysthe result. You can modify the report format; add or removecolumns; sort; output to a report file, spreadsheet, ordatabase; or insert the report on the drawing as a ruled table.

Figure 65. Full from/to wire report (between all locationcombinations) in ASCII output format.



Component Wire Connection Report This type of wiring report lists each component wire connection pin number and what wirenumber and wire color/gauge (that is, wire layer name) connects to it. As with otherreports, you can reformat and sort the report on the fly and then output it to an ASCII textfile or spreadsheet, or insert it as a ruled table right on your drawing.

Cable/Conductor Tracking AutoCAD Electrical gives you the ability to assign cable numbers, perform catalog lookup,and make conductor color assignments to wires that are to be considered cable related.AutoCAD Electrical tracks how many conductors are available in each cable (based oncatalog number lookup), what conductors have been assigned, and a list of what conductorsare available. All this is done from easy-to-use dialog boxes.

Figure 66. Component wire connection report.



Cable Marker Assignment and Catalog Lookup Insert a parent cable marker in any existing wire.Like a component, it gets a cable tag number(which you can override) and cable description.You can perform a catalog lookup to assign a partnumber to the cable. This process establishes howmany conductors are available and their colormarkings.

As you mark additional wires with child markers,AutoCAD Electrical tracks which conductors havebeen used so far and automatically increments tothe next available conductor color (or you canmanually pick from those that are still availablefor assignment). AutoCAD Electrical alerts you ifyou happen to manually assign two or more wiresto the same cable conductor.

Cable Reports As for a wiring report, you can extract cable connection list reports or cable from/to reports.You can insert these report outputs right on the drawing as a cable connection table or, likeany AutoCAD Electrical report, you can divert them to an ASCII, comma-delimited, MicrosoftExcel, or Microsoft Access file.

Figure 67. AutoCAD Electrical trackswhich conductors in a given cable arealready in use, projectwide.

Figure 68. Simple cable from/to report. You can also instructAutoCAD Electrical to include conductor pin number data in yourcable reports.



PLC Module InsertionThis section discusses how AutoCADElectrical eliminates many of theredundant tasks involved in designingPLC I/O drawings.

Select and Insert Quickly insert any of hundreds of PLCI/O modules. You select the PLCmanufacturer and module numberfrom an easy-to-use dialog box. Thenpick where you want to insert themodule onto your drawing. Thesoftware inserts the module withunderlying wires automaticallybreaking and reconnecting. Youprovide the beginning address andincremented address numbers foreach I/O point.

Parametric Generation Modules are generated parametrically on the fly. This process allows the resulting module toautomatically adapt to the underlying rung spacing. It lets you break the module into two,three, or more pieces at any point and position the pieces anywhere on the drawing duringinsertion. You can even split a module across drawings. You can also add spacers after anyI/O point during insertion to add extra space for parallel devices or outputs.

Figure 69. PLC I/O Module Selection/Insert dialogbox.



Open System The I/O module parametric build process is based on ASCII text files. There is at least onefile per manufacturer. You are free to expand these files and add new ones.

Figure 70. Identical I/O module inserted normally, with spacers added in threeplaces, and broken into three pieces with one piece having a spacer added. Theresulting modules remain single blocks. The split module is made up of separateblocks.



Graphical Styles The software includes five parametric libraries for PLC module generation. Each libraryprovides a different modulestyle, or look. You selectwhich style you want fromthe main PLC menu, andthe software uses thatlibrary to generatewhatever vendor or moduleyou then select.

To create a new look forPLC modules, you copy anexisting style’s small set ofparametric library symbolsto new names. Then editeach to give the desiredlook. There are about 24simple symbols per library(for example, left terminal,right terminal, I/O pointwith left terminal). That isall. You do not have tomake any changes to theexisting PLC vendor datafiles. Just select the newstyle’s number at insertion time, and AutoCAD Electrical accesses your new parametriclibrary set to create your custom I/O module graphics. It’s easy to switch from look to lookon the fly.

Address-Based Wire Numbering AutoCAD Electrical supports wirenumbering based on theconnected PLC I/O addressnumber. Because it uses thereplaceable parameter conceptused for regular wire numbering,you can add a prefix or suffix tothe address-based wire number.

Figure 71. The same PLC module (AB 1771-IA) inserted witheach of the five different looks, or styles. You can apply eachlook to all modules from all manufacturers.

Figure 72. PLC I/O address-based wire numbering.



Single, Stand-Alone I/O Points AutoCAD Electrical supports stand-alone I/O points spread out over your drawing set (asopposed to showing all points grouped together into a module). The software includes toolsto help you track what I/O points have been used and the address of the next availablepoint.

Automatic PLC I/O Drawings from Spreadsheet Data AutoCAD Electricalenables you to define anew project’s I/Oassignments using yourfavorite spreadsheetprogram. You theninstruct AutoCADElectrical toautomatically createthe appropriatedrawings to match thespreadsheet data.AutoCAD Electricalinserts ladders and theI/O modules insequence. It breaksmodules as required tofit in each ladder andcontinues any extra onthe next ladder or newdrawing, depending onconfiguration anddrawing space. If your spreadsheet includes connected component information, AutoCADElectrical inserts and annotates those components too.

Figure 73. You can use a spreadsheet I/O listing to automaticallygenerate I/O drawings.



You can adapt this utility to meet your specific drawing requirements (number of ladders,placement, spacing, title block border name). This program is supplied in AutoLISP sourcecode format and thus serves as an example of how you can create custom script files andAutoLISP programs that make calls into the AutoCAD Electrical software.

Terminals and Terminal ReportingThis section covers how AutoCAD Electrical helps you use and track terminals within yourdesigns.

Terminal Types and Shapes

AutoCAD Electrical’s default library includes six terminal shapes in four stand-alone terminalfamily types:

• Terminals with no annotation• Terminals that automatically carry a copy of the connected wire number• Terminals with terminal number annotation independent of wire number• Terminals that force a wire number change through them

Inserting and Tracking

Drafting tools streamline terminal insertion and annotation. Terminals automatically snap tointersections and break the wires. Wire number annotation goes in automatically. Fornonwire number terminals, AutoCAD Electrical helps you keep terminal number annotationstraight by tracking what numbers have been used on the active drawing and the entireproject. When inserting multiple terminals, the software automatically increments theterminal number with each new insertion.

Figure 74. First of five drawings generated automatically from the spreadsheet data shown inthe previous figure. Modules automatically break at the bottom of each ladder and continue onthe next ladder or drawing.



Terminal Plan ReportYou can extract a terminal report at any time. It lists terminal number, assigned terminalstrip code, assigned location code, attached wire number on each side, and wire layer nameon each side (that is, color and gauge), and what component is at each end of eachconnected wire.

You can save this report as an Excel, Access, or ASCII text file, or insert it as a table rightonto your AutoCAD Electrical drawing. You can strip out various columns of data and, if youwant, insert the terminal number list as a table on your drawing. This would resemble aterminal strip layout diagram. Alternatively, you could leave the connected wire numbercolumn on each side of the terminal number. Inserting this representation as a table wouldresemble a terminal strip that includes wiring information.

Figure 75. Terminal plan report for circuitry shown.



Three-Phase Motor ControlAutoCAD Electrical has library symbol support for drafting three-phase motor controlcircuits. Three-pole breakers, switches, and motor contactors automatically adapt to theunderlying three-phase rung spacing, on the fly.

Panel Layout DrawingsAutoCAD Electrical’s panel layout features give you tools to create intelligent mechanicalpanel layout drawings. Here are the key features:

Figure 76. Icon menu and library support for both three-phase and single-phase circuits.

Figure 77. Standard three-phase motor circuits can be saved out asblocks and then reinserted as needed—components renumberautomatically.



• Layouts can be derived from information from the AutoCAD Electrical schematicdrawings, or they can be constructed independently of schematics.

• AutoCAD Electrical has no special naming or attribute requirements for mechanicalfootprint symbols. This means that vendor-supplied footprint symbols, in AutoCADformat, can be used as is with AutoCAD Electrical.

• Bidirectional update capabilities mean that certain schematic edits automatically updatethe panel drawings, and vice versa.

• AutoCAD Electrical can show schematic wire numbers, color/gauge, terminal pinnumbers, and far-end component connection information on each panel footprintsymbol. The software can force an automatic update of this information after makingchanges to schematic wiring.

• AutoCAD Electrical extracts various reports from these smart panel layout drawings,including panel BOM reports, panel component and item lists, wire connection reports,name plate reports, schematic reports, and panel exception reports.

• AutoCAD Electrical uses Rockwell Software’s RAISE/ABECAD utility for panel footprintinsertion.



Pneumatic LayoutAutoCAD Electrical includes a pneumatic icon menu and associated symbol library. AllAutoCAD Electrical schematic features apply to this drawing type as well. Here are the keyfeatures:

• Easy-to-use icon menu forinserting pneumatic symbols.

• Ability to insert pipe as easily asyou insert wires on a schematic.

• Pipes that automatically breakand reconnect on componentinsertion.

• Access to all AutoCAD Electricalschematic drafting and editingcapabilities to modify thepneumatic layout, includingInsert Just Like, Stretch Pipe,Trim Pipe, Catalog Part NumberLookup, and Scoot.

• Projectwide utilities, includingBOM reports, title block updates,and batch plotting.

Figure 78. Pneumatic icon menu.



Publish to WebThis utility builds a web page of selected drawings from your current AutoCAD Electricalproject. Your web page and its configuration files are stored in your file system so you canpreview and test before posting to the web. Outside AutoCAD Electrical, you post your webpage by copying the files to a website.

If you choose to include your drawings in the web file pages, the i-drop® function isavailable from your web page. Browse to a drawing on your web page, and click the i-dropicon below the bottom-left corner of the image. You can then drag the DWG file from theweb page straight into your AutoCAD Electrical session.

Mark and Verify Feature for Revision TrackingThis powerful feature has a couple of possible uses:

• When you get AutoCAD Electrical drawings back from a customer, AutoCAD Electricalcan print a report of any changes.

• When it’s time to issue a revised drawing set, AutoCAD Electrical can print a report ofchanges made to the drawing set since the last revision update.

Figure 79. A sample project web page.



For example, AutoCAD Electrical can detect and report (after an initial Mark command onthe drawing set) any changes to a fuse or circuit breaker rating value, a timer’s timingrange, terminal number, component tag, wire number, beginning ladder reference number,manufacturer or part number, or pressure or temperature switch rating label.

For example, just before transmitting the drawing set to the customer, you can runAutoCAD Electrical’s Mark command. This command adds invisible data markers to AutoCADElectrical schematic and panel items. These markers track any edits, copies, or new blockinsertions made to electrical-related entities with AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD, or AutoCADLT software. When the drawings return, you run AutoCAD Electrical’s Verify command for areport on what has been added, copied, and edited. You can browse through this list toquickly see each customer change in context. You can quickly reset these markers to begina new period of revision tracking, perhaps from the point of a project revision or versionchange.

Here are the categories of edits that AutoCAD Electrical can report using the Mark and Verifycommands:

• New inserts: component, stand-alone terminal, wire number, panel footprint, signalsource/destination arrows

• Copied items: same as above• Edited items: tag, manufacturer, catalog number, location, description text, location

code, terminal numbers, ratingx values• Deleted items: components, wire numbers

AutoLISP and Script File Programming HooksYou can write powerful custom applications that tie into AutoCAD Electrical. The followingare just a few of the many entry points available to programmers and integrators.

Insert electrical component at specific X-Y coordinate, automatically orient with and thenbreak any underlying wires:

(c:wd_insym2 symname basepoint scale dlgflag)

symname = symbol name (for example, HCR1)

basepoint = insertion point

scale = insertion scale (default = 1.0)

dlgflag = nil to suppress the Insert/Edit dialog box, 1 = display dialog box

RETURN = entity name of new insert

Example: (setq comp_en (c:wd_insym2 “HCR1” “8.125,10.0” 1.0 nil))

Insert a WBLOCKed circuit into the current drawing and trigger automatic retag update:

(c:wd_ins_circ2 dwgname basepoint scale wireflg)

dwgname = AutoCAD drawing to insert

basepoint = insertion point

scale = insertion scale (default = 1.0)



wireflg = 1 to preserve any fixed wire numbers on WBLOCKed insert,nil=erase all

RETURN = none

Example: (c:wd_ins_circ2 “/cim/AutoCAD Electrical/user/2sp_rev”“10.5,12.0” 1.0 1)

Insert or change a wire number related to specified wire entity:

(c:wd_putwn wire_en wirenum)

wire_en = wire line entity name

wirenum = wire number text string

RETURN = handle number of wire number insert, nil if failed

Example: (setq hdl (c:wd_putwn wen “1X2”))

Retrieve an attribute value from a block insert:

(c:wd_getattrval comp_en attrname)

comp_en = entity name of block insert

attrname = attribute name to find and retrieve (wildcards okay)

RETURN = attribute value (or nil if attribute not found)

Example: (setq val (c:wd_getattrval comp_en “TAG1”))

Modify an attribute value on a block insert:

(c:wd_modattrval comp_en attrname newval)

comp_en = entity name of block insert

attrname = attribute name to find and modify (wildcards okay)

newval = new value to insert on attribute

RETURN = 1 if success, nil if attribute name not found

Example: (setq rtrn (c:wd_modattrval comp_en “TAG1” “PB1001A”))

Load a different AutoCAD Electrical–compatible icon menu data file (that is, file in samegeneral format as the default /cim/AutoCAD Electrical/AutoCAD Electrical_menu.dat file butperhaps referencing a different set of symbols such as pneumatic or hydraulic):

(c:wd_loadmenu filename)

filename = AutoCAD Electrical–compatible menu ACSII data file name

RETURN = none

Example: (c:wd_loadmenu “pneumat.dat”)



Parametrically build a PLC module, break underlying wires, automatically increment addressnumbers:

(c:wd_inplc_nd plc_xy style firstaddr veryfirsta base_carry beg_ix end_ix usr_rv(c:wd_find_sel_plc catkey) a%%lst)

plc_xy = beginning insertion point

style = PLC style number (digit 1 through 9). Defines the look of the graphicsthat will be generated

firstaddr = first addr for module or this piece of broken module

veryfirsta = first addr of the overall module

base_carry = numbering method (8=octal, 10=decimal, 16=hex, nil=promptuser if necessary)

catkey = PLC module part number (for match in AutoCAD Electrical’sparametric data file)

Insert a new ladder and autonumber:

(c:wd_in_ladder Lc_ph pt1 pt2 rungl isvert rungw rungv Lc_3sp

rungi gridxy_mode Lc_dr def_1st nonums)

Lc_ph = 1 for single phase ladder, 3 for three-phase ladder

pt1 = XYZ coordinate of left, top-most reference of ladder

pt2 = XYZ of bottom reference of ladder. If pt2=nil then the bottom point iscalculated as offset from pt1 given in length value rungl.

isvert = V to create a ladder with vertical rungs (that is, horizontal ladder)or = H to create ladder with horizontal rungs (that is, vertical ladder)

rungw = ladder width

rungv = vertical distance between successive rungs

Lc_3sp = spacing between three-phase bus (real value) when Lc_ph = 3

rungi = rung ref number increment (default = 1)

gridxy_mode = nil for line-ref based ladders, = 1 for X-Y grid or X-Zoneladder that will not have line reference numbers attached to it

Lc_dr = –1 to suppress drawing all rungs, =0 draw all, =1 to skip every otherrung, =2 skip two, draw one

def_1st = first line ref value (alphanumeric string, not integer)

nonums = nil to insert line ref text ents along column; =1 to suppress



ConclusionThis technical overview document provided a brief overview of the capabilities of AutoCADElectrical software. We encourage you to explore the powerful capabilities of AutoCADElectrical 2004 by asking your reseller for more information or for an AutoCAD Electricaltest-drive CD. Your local reseller can also conduct local training events that will helpincrease your productivity and efficiency with the software.

If you have any questions about AutoCAD Electrical 2004 software or to purchase a license,contact an Autodesk Authorized Reseller or your local Autodesk representative.

Thank you for your interest in AutoCAD Electrical 2004. We think you’ll agree that AutoCADElectrical 2004 is today’s best system for electrical design and drafting.

Autodesk, Inc.111 McInnis ParkwaySan Rafael, CA 94903USA

Autodesk, AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, Autodesk Inventor, AutoLISP, i-drop, and Visual LISP are registered trademarks of Autodesk,Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

© 2003 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

Autodesk Autocad Electrical 2004 Technical Overview

Documents

Transcript of Autodesk Autocad Electrical 2004 Technical Overview