Acad Elec 2008 Getstart

AutoCAD Electrical 2008
Getting Started
Part No. 22505-050000-5000A
January 30, 2007
2007 Autodesk, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Third Party Software Credits and Attributions

ACIS Copyright 1989-2001 Spatial Corp. Copyright 1999-2000 The Apache Software Foundation. All rights reserved. This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation (http://www.apache.org) subject to its license terms and conditions (http://xml. apache.org/dist/LICENSE.txt). Typefaces from the Bitstream typeface library Copyright 1992. HLM Copyright D-Cubed Ltd. 1996-2006. HLM is a trademark of D-Cubed Ltd. AutoCAD 2008 and AutoCAD LT are produced under a license of data derived from DIC Color Guide from Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc. Copyright Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc. All rights reserved. DIC and DIC Color Guide are registered trademarks of Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc. Portions of this software are based on the work of the Independent JPEG Group. Active Delivery 2.0 1999-2004 Inner Media, Inc. All rights reserved. ISYS and the ISYS logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of ISYS Search Software Inc. Copyright 1988-1997 Sam Leffler. Copyright 1991-1997 Silicon Graphics, Inc. Copyright Lingea s.r.o. 2006. The New Features Workshop contains Macromedia Flash Player software by Macromedi, Inc. Copyright 1995-2005 Macromedia, Inc. All rights reserved. Macromedia and Flash are registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States or other countries. Copyright 1996-2006 Macrovision Corporation. All rights reserved. Copyright 1996-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Copyright 2002 Hiseoph M. OLeary. PANTONE Colors displayed in the software application or in the user documentation may not match PANTONE-identified standards. Consult current PANTONE Color Publications for accurate color. PANTONE and other Pantone, Inc. trademarks are the property of Pantone, Inc. Pantone, Inc., 2004. Pantone Inc. is the coyright of color data and/or software which are licensed to Autodesk, Inc., to distribute for use only in combination with certain Autodesk software products. PANTONE Color Data and/or Software shall not be copied onto another disk or into memory unless as part of the execution of this Autodesk software product. Typefaces from Payne Loving Trust 1992, 1996. All rights reserved. RAL DESIGN RAL, Sankt Augustin, 2004 RAL CLASSIC RAL, Sankt Augustin, 2004 Representation of the RAL Colors is done with the approval of RAL Deutsches Institut fr Gtesicherung und Kennzeichnung e.V. (RAL German Institute for Quality Assurance and Certification, re. Assoc.), D-53757 Sankt Augustin. This product includes code licensed from RSA Security, Inc. Some portions licensed from IBM are available at http://oss.software.ibm.com/icu4j/. The Sentry Spelling-Checker Engine Copyright 1994-2003 Wintertree Software, Inc.
Portions of this software include one or more Boost libraries. Use of the Boost libraries is subject to its license agreement http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt. Stingray Objective Toolkit & Objective Grid Rogue Wave Software, Inc.. promis-e is a registered trademark of ECT International, Inc..
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Contents
AutoCAD Electrical Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter 1 Toolbar Commands in AutoCAD Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Command Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Main Electrical toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Main Electrical 2 toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Panel Layout toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Conversion toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Conduit Marker toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Power Check toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Panel Level/Sequencing toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Extra Libraries toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Chapter 2
Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Learning about Standards . Performing Exercises . . . Prerequisites . . . . . Help . . . . . . . . . Working with Projects . . . Working with Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 . 54 . 54 . 55 . 55 . 58
Ladder Style Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Chapter 3
Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
About Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Inserting Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Trimming Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Chapter 4
Schematic Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
About Schematic Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Inserting Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Relocating Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Aligning Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Inserting Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Editing Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Linking Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Editing Catalog Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Moving Between Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Swapping Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Creating Custom Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Adding Attribute Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Adding Wire Connection Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Saving Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Chapter 5
Circuitry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Moving an Existing Circuit . . . . . . . Creating a New Motor Circuit . . . . . . Saving and Inserting Standard Circuits . Inserting Saved Circuits Using WBlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 . 117 . 129 . 140
Chapter 6
PLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Inserting Ladders into Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . Inserting PLC Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Multiple Insert Component . . . . . . . . . . . Annotating PLC I/O Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . Inserting Wire Numbers Based on PLC I/O Addresses . Resequencing Ladders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 . 145 . 149 . 154 . 157 . 159
Chapter 7
Wire Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

About Wire Numbers . . . . . . . . . Attaching Source Signal Arrows . . . Attaching Destination Signal Arrows Inserting Wire Numbers . . . . . . . Working with Wire Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 . 162 . 164 . 169 . 172
vi | Contents
Chapter 8
Panel
Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 . 176 . 188 . 192 . 195
About Panel Layouts . . . . . . Inserting Panel Components . Modifying Attributes . . . . . . Adding Nameplate Footprints . Editing Terminal Strips . . . . .
Point-to-Point Chapter 9 Connector
Diagramming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Diagramming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 . 206 . 210 . 215 . 219 . 224 . 225
About Connector Diagramming . . . . Inserting Connectors . . . . . . . . . . Wiring Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . Grouping Wires . . . . . . . . . Modifying Connectors . . . . . . . . . Adding Wire Numbers . . . . . . Adding Connector Descriptions .
Chapter 10
Pneumatic, Hydraulic and P&ID Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Setting Up Hydraulic Drawings . . . . . Inserting Hydraulic Schematic Symbols . Creating Pipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Completing the Hydraulic Drawing . . . Setting Up Your P&ID Drawing . . . . . Inserting P&ID Schematic Symbols . . . Creating Pipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 . 229 . 233 . 238 . 245 . 249 . 252
Reports and Migrating AutoCAD Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 Chapter 11 Generating Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Generating Bill of Material Reports . Inserting BOM Tables into Drawings Editing BOM Tables on Drawings . . Changing Formats of BOMs . . . . . Exporting BOMs to Spreadsheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 . 259 . 260 . 263 . 264
Chapter 12
Migrating AutoCAD Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

About Tagging and Linking Tools . Exploding Block and Attributes . . Tagging Schematic Components . . Linking Schematic Attributes . . . Adding Wire Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268 . 268 . 270 . 271 . 274
Contents | vii
Adding Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 Tagging and Linking Panel Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 Updating Panel or Schematic Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
viii | Contents
AutoCAD Electrical Environment
Part 1 of this manual provides information on AutoCAD Electrical toolbars as well as information on how to set up a project.
In this part
Toolbar Commands in AutoCAD Electrical Projects
Toolbar Commands in AutoCAD Electrical
1
In this chapter
This chapter provides a list of the commands available on AutoCAD Electrical toolbars, along with a brief description of the function of each command and the associated toolbutton.
Command Summary
Command Summary
The following is a list of the AutoCAD Electrical commands, a brief description of each and the associated toolbutton. NOTE This list does not contain AutoCAD commands. You can turn on the visibility of the toolbars from the Projects Toolbars menu or by right-clicking a toolbar and selecting from the Electrical list. All of the smaller toolbars not listed here are found on the Main Electrical or Main Electrical 2 toolbars.
Main Electrical toolbar

Tooltip Command
Insert Component wd_insym_dlg
Description
Inserts selected components from the icon menu onto the drawing.
Insert Component (Catalog List) wd_inscat_s
Inserts schematic symbols by choosing a catalog number or a component description from a user-defined pick list. The data displayed in this pick list is stored in a database in generic Access format. The file name is wd_picklist.mdb and can be edited with Microsoft Access or from Add/Edit/Delete along the bottom of the pick list's dialog box. The AutoCAD Electrical normal search path sequence is used to locate this file.
Insert Component (Equipment List) ace_bom2sch
This spreadsheet organizes the selected usercreated equipment list and presents the list in a pick list. As you pick an item from the pick list, the appropriate schematic symbol is found and inserted in the drawing at your pick point. You can open a comma-delimited file, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, or Microsoft Access database file for input.
4 | Chapter 1 Toolbar Commands in AutoCAD Electrical
Tooltip Command
Insert Component (Panel List) ace_pnl2sch
Description
Lists panel components extracted from your panel drawing, finds the appropriate schematic symbol, and inserts the schematic components at your pick point. Lists panel terminals extracted from your panel drawing, finds the appropriate schematic symbol, and inserts the schematic terminals at your pick point. Use to update or change blocks in place. Attribute values are retained during the swapping process. Wire connections are also maintained even if the new symbol is slightly wider or narrower than the original. Inserts a copy of an existing component into the drawing and updates the component tags.
Insert Terminal (Panel List) ace_pnl2sch_trm
Swap/Update Block wd_bswap_main
Copy Component wd_insym_same
Multiple Insert (Icon Menu) wd_insym_f Multiple Insert (Pick Master) wd_insym_f Link Components with Dashed Line wd_complink
Inserts a series of similar components at fence crossing points with underlying wires.
Inserts a copy of the selected component multiple times at each wire crossing and fence line intersection point. Draws a smart dashed line between stacked contacts of a multicontact component. When the dashed link line inserts, certain attributes automatically flip to invisible. Use the Attribute Hide command to turn the visibility of the selected attributes back on. Draws a dashed line from a component to a To arrow symbol.
Insert Reference Arrow To wd_reflink
Main Electrical toolbar | 5
Tooltip Command
Insert Reference Arrow From wd_reflink_d Insert PLC (Parametric) wd_inplc
Description
Draws a dashed line from a component to a From arrow symbol.
Generates PLC I/O modules on demand, in a variety of different graphical styles via a parametric generation technique. It is driven by a database file (ace_plc.mdb) and a handful of library symbol blocks. Inserts PLC I/O modules that are fixed library symbol blocks.
Insert PLC (Full Units) wd_insym_gomenu 33
Unity Pro Export to Spreadsheet aceUnityProImportPLC
Imports Unity Pro hardware (.xsy) and I/O variable (.xsy) files into AutoCAD Electrical to reformat the data into a PLC import spreadsheet. After the spreadsheet file is created use the Spreadsheet to PLC I/O Utility tool to automatically create PLC style drawing files. Prepares RSLogix 500 exported data to be processed by the Spreadsheet to PLC I/O Utility. Creates a set of PLC I/O drawings from spreadsheet data. A project's PLC I/O requirements, in spreadsheet or database format, can drive automatic generation of the I/O schematic drawings. Your information can be read directly in Excel format (.XLS), as a table in an Access Database file (.MDB), or you can save your information out to a comma-delimited format (CSV) and then let AutoCAD Electrical construct a set of PLC I/O wiring diagrams directly from your data. Ladders and modules insert automatically, breaking at the
RSLogix 500 Export to Spreadsheet wdio_rsl Spreadsheet to PLC I/O Utility wdio
Tooltip Command
Description
bottom of one ladder and continuing on the next (or on to the next drawing). PLC Database File Editor ace_plcedit Creates and modifies PLC I/O module definitions. All editing and creation of PLC data is stored within the PLC database file (ACE_PLC.MDB). Generates a connector symbol from userdefined parameters. The symbol is created on the fly, and inserted as a block insert into your active drawing file. Since these are created on an as-needed based, it eliminates the need for you to create and maintain a library of connector symbols. Imports a connector wire list from another application, such as Autodesk Inventor Professional Cable & Harness. NOTE If the AutoCAD Electrical drawing is missing one end of the connector or if a connection was not found, wiring information is displayed next to the pin and the information is written into a log file so you know AutoCAD Electrical was unable to resolve the wire connections in the drawing. The log file name is {drawing filename.LOG} and is found in the same folder as the drawing file.
Insert Connector wd_p2p_connector_dlg
Insert Connector from List ace_connector_import
Reverse Connector wd_react_do_flip_connector
Reverses the orientation of the connector about its horizontal or vertical axis. None of the existing wire connections automatically reroute to the reverse side of the connector and you will have to resolve wiring using the wire editing tools.
Tooltip Command
Rotate Connector wd_react_do_rotate_connector
Description
Rotates the connector about its insertion point in 90 degree increments. The wire connections do not reroute with each rotation of the connector. You must resolve wiring using the wire editing tools. Increases or decreases the connector's overall shell length. You might do this to make room for new pins or to capture previously added pins that fell beyond the connector shell. You identify which end of the connector is to be altered and the measurement of displacement. Splits the parametric connector into two separate block definitions (i.e. parent and a child or a child and another child). Adds pins to an existing connector.
Stretch Connector wd_react_do_stretch_connector
Split Connector wd_react_do_split_connector Add Connector Pins add_connector_pins
Delete Connector Pins wd_react_do_delpin_connector
Removes a pin from an existing connector and, if the connector has a defined pin list, frees this deleted pin to be re-inserted later on this connector or on a related child of this connector. Moves connector pin associated to selected connector.
Move Connector Pin wd_react_do_movepin_connector Swap Connector Pins wd_react_do_swappin_connector
Exchanges one set of connector pin numbers for another on an existing connector or between connectors on the drawing.
Tooltip Command
Description
NOTE You cannot swap a combination connector with a single plug or receptacle connector. Additionally, you cannot use this tool to swap pins from one side of a connector to the other.
Insert Splice wd_menu_load_schem; wd_insym_gomenu 48 Insert WBlocked Circuit wd_ins_circ
Inserts a splice symbol selected from the onscreen icon menu.
Inserts WBlocked circuitry (external drawing file) with automatic component tag update.
Insert Saved Circuit wd_insym_gomenu 19
Inserts a user circuit selected from on-screen icon menu.
Copy Circuit wd_copy_circ
Copies existing circuits and pastes the copied circuit to a specified location. The components are automatically retagged based on their new line reference locations. Moves the selected circuit to a specified location. The components are automatically retagged based on their new line reference locations and cross-references are updated. Saves windowed portions of circuitry for later reuse. Up to 24 circuits can be saved at any one time in this scratch menu. Edits components, PLC modules, terminal, wire numbers and signal arrows.
Move Circuit wd_move_circ
Save Circuit to Icon Menu wd_sav_usercirc Edit Component wd_sym_edit
Add/Edit Internal Jumper wd_jumper
Adds, changes, or deletes internal jumpers on a selected component. When wire numbers
Tooltip Command
Description
are inserted, these internal jumpers are read and wire numbers are assigned accordingly. Fix/UnFix Component Tag wd_fixed_comptag Copy Catalog Assignment wd_bomdata_same Edit User Table Data wd_user_ins_edit Toggles selected component tag between fixed and normal.
Inserts or edits catalog part numbers onto the currently selected component or footprint.
Edits user-defined Xdata on component or wire numbers and populates the User table in project database file. You can add, edit, or remove free-form user data records attached to the selected block insert. Retags components with contact updates. Run this when something changes on your drawing or project that affects the component tags. This can include revising the ladder line reference numbers or changing the tag format. Retag redoes each selected primary component tag, and then updates the related secondary components. You can select to update a single component, a group of components, a drawing, drawings within your project, or the entire project. Finds and replaces component and terminal text values or find and replace substrings within those values. You can do this on the active drawing or across the project drawing set. Finds and replaces terminal number text values or find and replace sub-strings within those values. You can do this on a selection from
Retag Components wd_circa_retag
Find/Edit/Replace Component Text wd_fr
Find/Replace Terminal Text wd_term_fr
Tooltip Command
Description
the active drawing, the entire active drawing, or across the project drawing set. Project-Wide Update/Retag wd_bump Scoot wd_scoot Updates component tags, wire numbers, ladder references, and select drawing settings.
Scoots selected components along their connected wires or scoots entire wires, including components, along the bus. A rectangle indicates the selected items. Aligns selected components with a master component. All connected wires are adjusted, and wire numbers recentered if necessary. You can align vertically or horizontally by flipping the command by typing V or H at the command line. Automatically moves the selected component to a new position.
Align wd_align
Move Component wd_movesym
Reverse/Flip Component wd_react_do_reverse_component
Reverses or flips selected component graphics and its associated attributes NOTE This tool only operates on a component with 2-wire connections (ex: limit switch contact symbol).
Stretch PLC Module wd_strblk
Stretches or compresses the windowed portion of PLC modules (or any block insert) while maintaining all of the original block information, including attributes. Splits selected PLC module into two separate block definitions (i.e. parent and a child or a child and another child).
Split PLC Module wd_splitblk
Tooltip Command
Move/Show Attribute wd_attr_m
Description
Moves the selected attributes to a picked point. The attributes remain tied to the block inserts Edits an attribute's text by picking right on the attribute. A dialog box displays and you type in a new attribute value. This utility also works on invisible attributes. It finds and displays the closest attribute to your pick point on a block insert. Hides selected attribute; to unhide pick on block graphics and un-toggle attribute name in the list. Select the graphic of a target block insert to display a listing of all attribute names and values. You can switch attributes between hidden and visible or you can edit individual attribute values. Adds a new attribute to an existing instance of a block insert.
Edit Selected Attribute wd_edattr
Hide Attribute (Single Picks) wd_attr_h
Add Attribute wd_addattr
Squeeze Attribute/Text wd_tx_sqz
Compresses an attribute to make it fit into a tight spot (such as between closely spaced components). Each click on the attribute dynamically changes the attribute's width factor by 5%. Expands an attribute. Each click on the attribute dynamically changes the attribute's width factor by 5%. Changes attribute text size when components or wire numbers have already been inserted onto your drawings.
Stretch Attribute/Text wd_tx_stretch
Change Attribute Size wd_attrsize
Tooltip Command
Rotate Attribute wd_tx_rotate
Description
Rotates the selected attribute text or MTEXT string 90 degrees from its current orientation. After rotation, press M and [space] to flip into the Move Attribute mode. Changes the justification of wire number text, component description text, or attributes.
Change Attribute Justification wd_tx_chgjust Change Attribute Layer wd_ch_attlay
Forces attribute text entities to a given layer. Select the target layer (type it in or select from the list), press OK and then select the attributes to change to the target layer. Flips a contact from one state (open or closed) to the other. It looks at the picked contact, reads its block name, and checks the 5th character position for either 1 or 2. It then substitutes 1 or 2 for the found character. Removes the selected component from the drawing. If you erase a parent schematic component, you have the option to search for related child components, surf to them, and delete them. Inserts single line wire segments on a wire layer (the wire layer does not have to be the current layer). Inserts vertical or horizontal bus wiring. Bus spacing defaults to the default ladder rung spacing for horizontal bus. Multiple bus wiring automatically breaks and reconnects to any underlying components that it finds in its path. If it crosses any existing wiring, wirecrossing gaps automatically insert (if the drawing is so configured).
Toggle NO/NC wd_swap_nonc
Delete Component wd_delsym
Insert Wire wd_inwire
Multiple Wire Bus wd_in3wire
Tooltip Command
Insert 22.5 Degree Wire wd_in22wire
Description
Inserts an angled (22.5 degree) line wire segment on a wire layer (the wire layer does not have to be the current layer). Inserts an angled (45 degree) line wire segments on a wire layer (the wire layer does not have to be the current layer). Inserts an angled (67.5 degree) line wire segments on a wire layer (the wire layer does not have to be the current layer). Bends a wire in a right angle and makes 3 right angle turns to avoid or add geometry. When a wire is defined at a right angle you can modify the wire and create a new right angle bend while maintaining the original wire connections to the components. NOTE This tool terminates if the bend attempts to connect two different wire networks or if the bend bypasses more than a single right angle turn.
Insert 45 Degree Wire wd_in45wire
Insert 67.5 Degree Wire wd_in67wire
Bend Wire wd_bendwire
Interconnect Components wd_inwire_connect Insert Wire Gap wd_wire_gap
Inserts wires between aligned connection points on a pair of selected components.
Inserts a gap/loop at the point of two crossing lines. Gaps are automatically inserted when a new wire crosses another. Flips the gap to the other wire. AutoCAD Electrical makes the gapped wire solid and flips the gap/loop to the crossing wire(s).
Flip Wire Gap wd_flip_gap
Tooltip Command
Delete Wire Gap wd_rmv_un_gaps
Description
Removes a gap/loop that is no longer needed in an existing wire.
Check/Repair Gap Pointers wd_gap_chk Change/Convert Wire Type wd_wirlay Create/Edit Wire Type _WireTypeSel
Verifies that the invisible Xdata pointers on both sides of a wire gap/loop are valid. If not, appropriate pointers are established. Changes between wire types and converts lines to wires. Use the grid control to sort and select the wire types for easy modification. Creates and edits wire types. Use the grid control to sort and select the wire types for easy modification. Lengthens a wire until it meets another wire or an AutoCAD Electrical component.
Stretch Wire wd_str_wire
Show Wires wd_audit_w_show
Highlights all wires and displays wire number to wire segment relationships.
Check/Trace Wire wd_aud_net_sstep
Helps troubleshoot problems with unconnected or shorted wires and invalid wire crossing gap pointers by single stepping through and highlighting each connected wire of the selected wire network. Predefines a wire network's connection sequence, either in a single drawing or across multiple drawing files. Shows the wire sequence defined using the Define Wire Sequence tool. If the wire sequence crosses multiple drawings and you try to view the sequence as an animation, a dialog
Edit Wire Sequence wd_wirseq_set
Show Wire Sequence wd_wirseq_sho
Tooltip Command
Description
box listing the off-drawing wire connection information displays so that you can indicate to go to the other drawings to continue viewing the sequence. Terminal: Show Internal/External Connections wd_wirseq_sho_termdesc Terminal: Mark Internal Connections wd_wirseq_i_termdesc Terminal: Mark External Connections wd_wirseq_e_termdesc Terminal: Erase Internal/External Connections wd_wirseq_blank_termdesc Cable Markers wd_insym_gomenu 30 Shows the state of the invisible attribute values for selected objects. The values are shown with red and green arrows.
Marks attributes with an 'I' for internal wiring.
Marks attributes with an 'E' for external wiring.
Erases a terminal's internal (I) or external (E) connection code. Select near a terminal's wire connection point to erase the connection code. Inserts cable markers onto the drawing. Cable markers carry a cable TAG value, just like any parent/child device combination. They can also carry a conductor color value (carried as a RATING1 attribute value on the marker block symbol). Inserts all the markers for a particular cable. In addition, you can edit existing cable marker sets, or even delete cable markers from this dialog box. Inserts a dot tee connection symbol at a manually drawn wire intersection. If present, this replaces an existing angled wire connec-
Multiple Cable Markers wd_cblmrk_ins
Insert Dot Tee Markers ace_insert_tee_dot
Tooltip Command
Description
tion symbol with a dot connection symbol. You cannot insert a tee connection symbol into empty space. A valid line wire ending (not crossing) at a tee intersection somewhere along the length of another line wire is needed. This means that it will not insert a tee connection symbol at a 90-degree wire turn. Insert Angled Tee Markers ace_insert_iec_tee_symbol Inserts an angled tee connection symbol at a manually drawn wire intersection. You can't insert a tee connection symbol into empty space. If present, this replaces an existing wire connection dot with a tee connection symbol. Toggles an existing angled tee connection symbol (or windowed symbols) through a total of 4 possible orientations. Right-click to toggle through the various tee connection orientations, and press ESC when the appropriate one displays. This replaces any dot tee symbols with angled tee symbols, and then toggles through the 4 possible orientations for each. Inserts ladders of a set width and length onto the drawing. There is no limit to the number of ladders that can be inserted into a drawing, but ladders may not overlap each other. Multiple ladder fragments in the same vertical column need to be vertically aligned along their left-hand side. NOTE These limitations do not apply when X-Y Grid or X-Zone referencing is selected.
Toggle Angled Tee Markers ace_toggle_iec_tee_connector
Insert Ladder wd_ins_ladder
Revise Ladder wd_revise_ladder
Adjusts the line reference numbering along the side of the ladders; however it doesn't change existing ladder rung spacing.
Tooltip Command
Renumber Ladder Reference wd_ladr2_reseq XY Grid ace_cfg_XY_grid
Description
Renumbers the ladder for the selected drawings from the active project.
Inserts the X-Y grid labels for drawings that use X-Y Grid for the Format Referencing. You can also change other settings from here (such as origin) instead of going back into the Drawing Properties dialog box. Your drawing must be configured for X-Y Grids. Set the Format Referencing in the Drawing Properties dialog box to X-Y Grid. Inserts the X grid labels for drawings that use X Zones for the Format Referencing. You can also change other settings from here (such as origin) instead of going back into the Drawing Properties dialog box. Your drawing must be configured for X Zones. Set the Format Referencing in the Drawing Properties dialog box to X Zones. Finds the nearest line reference location and places a ladder rung at that reference position (both bus wires must be visible on the screen for this to work. If the new rung encounters a schematic device floating in space, it tries to break the wire across the device. Removes a wire segment and dots as required. You can select a single wire or draw a fence through multiple wires to trim.
X Zone ace_cfg_X_zone
Add Rung wd_ins_rung
Trim Wire wd_wtrim
Main Electrical 2 toolbar

Tooltip Command
Insert Wire Numbers wd_ins_wn
Description
Inserts or updates wire numbers associated with wire line entities.
3 Phase Wire Numbers wd_3pwn
Inserts special wire numbering generally associated with 3-phase bus and motor circuits.
PLC I/O Wire Numbers wd_plc_wn
Inserts wire numbers based on the I/O address that each PLC connected wire touches. Wire numbers go in as FIXED which means that they will not change if a wire number re-tag is run later on. Repositions the wire number text with an attached leader.
Wire Number Leader wd_wlead
Wire Color/Gauge Labels wd_wcolga
Inserts wire color gauge labels with a leader on your drawing's wiring.
In-Line Wire Labels wd_insym_gomenu 32
Inserts a reference-only in-line wire label.
Copy Wire Number wd_copy_wn
Inserts extra wire numbers anywhere on a wire network. These copies follow the network's main wire number attribute. If AutoCAD Electrical modifies it, then any wire number copies on the network also update. Extra wire numbers go on their own layer that is defined in the Define Layers dialog box. If you assign a color to this layer that is different than the normal wire number and fixed wire number layers, then it is easy to tell them apart from the network's main wire number.
Main Electrical 2 toolbar | 19
Tooltip Command
Copy Wire Number (InLine) (c:wd_insymn_repeat HT0_WGENERIC)
Description
Inserts extra wire numbers such that they appear in-line with the wire rather than above or below the wire. These copies follow the network's main wire number attribute; if AutoCAD Electrical modifies it then any wire number copies on the network also update. Extra wire numbers go on their own layer that is defined in the Define Layers dialog box. If you assign a color to this layer that is different than the normal wire number and fixed wire number layers, then it is easy to tell them apart from the network's main wire number. Adjusts the gap between the wire and the wire number text of wire numbers that are in-line with the wire. Moves an existing wire number from one segment of the network to another.
Adjust In-Line Wire/Label Gap wd_adjust_wgap Move Wire Number wd_movewn
Edit Wire Number wd_fixed_wn
Allows manual edit of an existing wire number or insert of a new one if none exists.
Fix Wire Numbers wd_force_fix_wn
Fixes all or many wire numbers on a drawing at their current values. Fixing a wire number means that the wire number tag is left unchanged if later processed or reprocessed by the automatic wire numbering utility. Swaps wire numbers between two wire networks.
Swap Wire Numbers wd_swapwn
Find/Replace Wire Numbers wd_fr_wn
Finds and replaces wire number text values or substrings within those values. You can do this on the active drawing or across the project drawing set.
Tooltip Command
Hide Wire Numbers wd_wnum_hidelay
Description
Moves the wire number to a special hide layer so that the number is no longer visible on the screen. The new hide layer is created from the wire number layer name with a _HIDE suffix. For example, if the wire number text layer is called WIRENO then the hide layer name is called WIRENO_HIDE. The layer is created automatically when needed and you are asked if you want to freeze this layer. Moves the wire number out of the hide layer so that the number is visible on the screen.
Unhide Wire Numbers wd_wnum_unhidelay
Flip Wire Number wd_mirror_wn
Flips the wire number across its associated wire.
Toggle Wire Number Inline wd_react_do_toggle_inline
Switches the wire number between above or below and in-line. If the selected wire number is in-line, it toggles to above or below based on the default Wire Number Placement setting in the Drawing Properties dialog box. If it starts as above or below, the selected wire number toggles to in-line. NOTE If there isn't room for a wire number to become an in-line wire number, it remains an above or below line wire number.
Source Signal Arrow wd_ssig
Copies wire number from a source-arrowed wire network to any/all associated destinationarrowed wire network.
Tooltip Command
Destination Signal Arrow wd_dsig
Description
Retrieves the wire number for a destinationarrowed wire network from its associated source-arrowed wire network. NOTE A Destination signal arrow cannot be tied to a wire network that carries a pre-assigned fixed wire number.
Update Signal References wd_ref_sigs
Updates cross-reference information for two types of cross-reference symbols. Wire number signal arrow symbols and standalone crossreference symbols. Inserts in-line source marker symbols and changes the connected wire on the fan-in side to be on a non-wire layer. Changes the connected common wires on the fan-out side to non-wire layer but leaves the individual segments on the opposite side of marker on the original wire layer. Defines a special layer or set of layers for the wires going out of a Fan In/Out source marker and the wires coming into a destination marker. Follows a signal from a specific source or destination symbol and lists the signal code references. Displays signal source and destination paths on the active drawing.
Fan In/Out Source wd_sfan
Fan In/Out Destination wd_dfan
Fan In/Out - Single Line Layer wd_faninoutlay
List Signal Code wd_siga_listsig
Show Signal Paths wd_showsigs
Signal Error/List Report wd_sig_xrpt
Displays sequence of the selected wire signal.
Tooltip Command
Wire Arrows for Reference Only wd_insym_gomenu 26 Delete Wire Numbers wd_del_wn
Description
Inserts non intelligent, reference-only arrows.
Deletes selected wire numbers. NOTE If you erase a wire number and select right on an extra wire number copy, AutoCAD Electrical erases just that copy but leaves the networks main wire number and any other copies in place.
Symbol Builder wd_sym_build
Converts existing symbols or creates new, custom components on the fly. It works nicely for quickly building power supplies, filters, drives, controllers, and other custom devices or for converting existing non-AutoCAD Electrical symbols to make them AutoCAD Electrical smart. Schematic symbols created or converted using the Symbol Builder are fully compatible with AutoCAD Electrical, break wires upon insertion, and appear in the various BOM, component, and wire connection reports. Launches the Icon Menu Wizard to easily modify or expand an icon menu, or replace an existing icon menu with your own custom menu. You can change the default icon menu using the Project Properties dialog box. The default icon menu can also be redefined in wd.env. Copies database/folder data listed in the Source into the Destination. A backup of the destination database is created before merging, however backup files are not created during panel content (folder) merges. The backup database file is created in the same
Icon Menu Wizard wd_wdmenu_wizard
Merge Utility acedbmerge
Tooltip Command
Description
directory as the original file and is named the same as the original, except that it has the extension .bak. Each run of this utility with the same destination database creates a new backup file, which will not overwrite any existing backup files. Associate Terminals ace_term_assoc_term Associates two or more terminal symbols together. Associating schematic terminals combines the terminals into a single terminal block property definition. The number of schematic terminals that can be combined is limited to the number of levels defined for the block properties. Breaks one or more terminal symbols out of an existing association. Schematic terminals are removed from any multi-tier relationship and any schematic-panel relationships. Panel terminals are removed from any schematicpanel relationships. Copies terminal properties from one terminal symbol to another. If the application of the terminal properties reduces the number of levels and the number of terminal symbols exceeds the total allowed, an alert displays and the properties are not copied. Collects and annotates groups of components that carry the same TAG text string value (such as 101CR). Components do not have to be of the same family to be cross-referenced; they just need to have the same TAG1/TAG2/TAG_*/TAG attribute values. Changes the visibility of cross-references. In most cases the cross-referencing should be
Break Apart Terminal Associations ace_term_break_assoc
Copy Terminal Block Properties ace_term_copy_properties
Component Cross-Reference wd_cross_ref
Hide/Unhide Cross-Reference
Tooltip Command
ace_xref_hide_unhide
Description
visible but there are times when you may not want the cross-referencing displayed on parent symbols. Inserts standalone cross-reference symbol (not tied to a wire). You use standalone cross-reference symbols just as you would wire source/destination arrow symbols but without the wires. Insert a source reference symbol, and then tie one or more destination reference symbols to it. These can be on the same drawing or scattered across the project drawing set. Updates cross-reference information for two types of cross-reference symbols: wire number signal arrow symbols and standalone crossreference symbols. It can update your source or destination signals singly, drawing-wide, or project-wide. Converts a long string of relay coil or source/destination cross-reference text to a multiline text entity (MTEXT). The underlying attribute value is maintained, but flipped to visible. The MTEXT entity is created at the same XY location as the underlying attribute. The MTEXT entity updates, scoots, and behaves as if it is an attribute tied to the component block. Displays all associated and parent components to the selected component. A complete list of components is extracted from the project drawing set. The component's tag is read, then all associated components are found and listed in the dialog box. A bill of material check can be performed to see if the item's descrip-
Insert Stand-Alone CrossReference wd_insym_gomenu 40
Update Stand-Alone Cross-Reference wd_ref_sa
Change Cross-Reference to Multiple Line Text wd_xref_c2mtx
Cross-Reference Check wd_quick_ref
Tooltip Command
Description
tion indicates that the quantity of contacts can be accommodated. Child Location/Description Update wd_loc_child Updates child and panel components with installation, location, and description values carried by the associated parent schematic component. Copies and/or adds cross-reference component overrides from another symbol. You can define components to have different crossreferencing styles. The settings specified using this tool override the drawing properties. Component overrides are copied when the component is copied; similarly they are applied to multiple inserts of the same component. Removes the component overrides so the cross-referencing commands use the settings for the drawing or project. Inserts location marks on symbols that are identified with location code in text form.
Copy/Add Component Override ace_xref_add
Remove Component Override ace_xref_rmv Location Symbols wd_locsym
Location Box wd_loc_box
Draws a dashed box around selected components. A description can be assigned to the box, and components within the box can have their location and installation code(s) changed. Performs mass copies of location, installation, group, or mount codes to all of the components you select. You either type in the desired code, pick from an on-line list, or pick a similar master component.
Copy Installation/Location Code Values wd_copyloc
Tooltip Command
Surfer wd_surf
Description
Moves from reference to reference across the project drawing set. A new window opens and the original window closes when Surf is selected unless you hold the Shift key while running the command. Continues a previous surf session from the point where you left off.
Continue Surfer wd_cs
Previous Project Drawing c:wd_proj_dprev
Loads the drawing listed above the current drawing in the project explorer, and closes the current drawing. Loads the drawing listed below the current drawing in the project explorer, and closes the current drawing. Selects schematic reports such as Bill of Material, Component lists, Wire From/To, PLC descriptions. Displays components that do not carry a catalog number assignment. The components are marked with diamond-shaped temporary graphics. Displays a report of detected problems or potential problems. You can save this file for reference or surf the file to view and correct the errors. Displays a report of detected problems or potential problems. You can save this file for reference or surf the file to view and correct the errors.
Next Project Drawing wd_proj_dnext
Schematic Reports ace_report_schem
Show Missing Catalog Assignment wd_show_no_bomdata
Electrical Audit _auditcmd
Drawing Audit wd_aud
Tooltip Command
Report Format File Setup ace_report_wizard
Description
Creates and maintains report formatting files.
Automatic Report Selection ace_report_auto User Defined Attribute List ace_uda
Defines a list of reports and their format files to run automatically.
Creates an attribute text file (*.wda) of userdefined attributes defined on AutoCAD Electrical block files. The User Defined Attribute List is used by report tools to determine which additional attributes are listed in a report. The list file name can be the same as the active project or named Default to be used by the entire system. The Default .wda file is saved in the base project folder, while the <project_name>.wda file is saved in the same folder as the project definition file (*.wdp). Extracts wire list information into an XML export file to be used exclusively with Autodesk Inventor Professional Cable and Harness. NOTE You must first configure wire numbering to be On per Wire Basis for export and set up the appropriate variables before running the report.
Autodesk Inventor Professional Export ace_xml_export
Unity Pro Export aceUnityProExportPLC
Creates the Unity Pro I/O variable file (.xsy) in the Unity Pro XML format. The XML file contains the PLC I/O addresses and descriptions for import into the Unity Pro software. Exports the selected data category to a comma-delimited, Excel XLS, or Access MDB file format for editing.
Export to Spreadsheet wd_data_export
Tooltip Command
Update from Spreadsheet wd_data_importf Update from Project Scratch Database wd_import_scratch_mdb Insert Spreadsheet Data to Table wd_14_csv2tab Drawing Properties wd_dwg_config
Description
Updates components, wire numbers, terminal text, and PLC I/O data from data imported from a spreadsheet. Updates project drawings; attribute text only, from edits to the project's scratch database file. Inserts comma-delimited spreadsheet data into a drawing as a table.
Defines defaults for component and wire tag formats, signal references, cross references, and layers. Renames layers one by one, or multiple layers at once by using the Find/Replace method. In addition to renaming the layer, this also updates the AutoCAD Electrical layer assignment information carried on the drawing's WD_M block. For example, if DEMO-WIRES is currently assigned as an AutoCAD Electrical wire layer, and you rename it using this utility, the new layer name is substituted for DEMOWIRES in the AutoCAD Electrical wire layer name list. Displays differences between drawing and project settings. Allows update.
Rename Schematic Layers wd_edlay
Settings Compare wd_compare_d_2_p
Project Manager wd_picprj
Lists the drawing files associated with each open project. Use this to add new drawings, reorder drawing files, and change project settings. You cannot have two projects open in the Project Manager with the same project name.
Tooltip Command
Copy Project wd_cpyprj
Description
Copies an existing project to a new name and creates renamed copies of the drawing files.
Project-Wide Update/Retag wd_bump Project-Wide Utilities wd_prj_run
Updates component tags, wire numbers, ladder references, and select drawing settings.
Updates wire numbers, component tags, and attribute text. Allows user-defined scripts to be applied project-wide. Places an invisible mark on each component before sending the drawings to a client. When the drawings are returned, a list is generated that includes any components or wire numbers that have been modified, edited, or copied. NOTE This command writes information to the project database file that is used to check for deleted components. Your drawings must be named and part of the active project to use this command.
Mark/Verify Drawings wd_mark
Language Conversion wd_blab
Translates component description text from one language to another. Description text and switch position text is processed on schematic and panel components. Opens the current language table for review and modification. The default table is wd_lang1.mdb Rebuilds or freshens the project temporary database file for connections, cross-referencing, and reporting.
Edit Language Database File wd_blab_edit Rebuild/Freshen Project Database (c:wd_mdb_rebuildall nil)
Panel Layout toolbar

Tooltip Command
Insert Footprint (Icon Menu) wd_do_psym_in
Description
Inserts panel footprint selected from on-screen icon menu. This icon menu can be modified, expanded, or replaced with your own custom menu. You can change the default icon menu using the Project Properties dialog box. Use the Icon Menu Wizard to easily modify the menu. Inserts and annotates panel footprint by referencing the project's schematic component list. This report provides error checking between the schematics and the panel layout drawings. The program looks at the selected components, both schematic and panel, to find a match in the project. For each schematic component selected, the routine tries to find a matching panel component based on tag, location, and installation information. If a match is found, then it further compares catalog information looking for any discrepancies. The program looks at each selected panel component looking for a matching schematic component in the same way. Inserts panel footprint using a generic shape or by converting an existing non intelligent AutoCAD block. Inserts and annotates panel footprint using manufacturer-specific icon menu. This can save a lot of time if you frequently use the same vendor and panel components. You can even apply this method to create client-specific menus making it easier to use the vendor or components that each client prefers.
Insert Footprint (Schematic List) wd_plo
Insert Footprint (Manual) wd_psym_in_mfp
Insert Footprint (Manufacturer Menu) ace_menu_pnl_vendor
Panel Layout toolbar | 31
Tooltip Command
Insert Footprint (Catalog List) wd_inscat_p
Description
Inserts and annotates panel footprint from user-defined list of components with catalog assignments. The data displayed in this pick list is stored in a database in generic Microsoft Access format. The file name is wd_picklist.mdb and can be edited with Access or from Add/Edit/Delete along the bottom of the pick list's dialog box. The AutoCAD Electrical normal search path sequence is used to locate this file. Inserts and annotates panel footprint from user-defined list of equipment.
Insert Footprint (Equipment List) ace_bom2pnl Terminal Strip Editor ace_tse
Displays terminal strips inside of the active project database. The combination of Function, Location, and Terminal Strip values make a complete unique record for selection in the Terminal Strip Selection dialog box. Controls the Tabular Terminal layout format automatically. This creates a new drawing file with each section break and automatically adds them to the project listing. The terminal strip's function (installation) code, location code, and tag are written to the Page Description Field inside of the Project Listing (*.WDP). Inserts and annotates panel terminals by referencing the project's schematic terminal list. This report provides error checking between the schematic terminals and panel layout terminals. The program looks at the selected terminals, both schematic and panel, looking for a match in the project. For each schematic terminal selected, it tries to find a matching panel terminal based on tag, location, and
Terminal Strip Table Generator ace_auto_tsg
Insert Terminal (Schematic List) wd_ptrm_lo
Tooltip Command
Description
installation information. If a match is found, then it compares catalog information, and description information, looking for any discrepancies. The program then looks at each selected panel terminal looking for a matching schematic terminal in the same way. Insert Terminal (Manual) wd_psyma_in_mfpt Inserts and annotates panel terminal footprint using a generic shape or by converting an existing non intelligent AutoCAD block. Some schematic components may not carry manufacturer/catalog information or have a part number assigned that is not listed in the footprint lookup file. In such a case, AutoCAD Electrical cannot determine what footprint block needs to be used so you have to select to make catalog assignments, select or create a footprint, or create a lookup entry on the fly. Copies selected panel footprint on active drawing. Use the Copy Footprint tool instead of AutoCAD Copy when a panel component footprint has a balloon or a nameplate associated to it. Since AutoCAD Electrical establishes invisible Xdata pointers when these are tied to a footprint, they are properly updated when copied using this utility. Edits panel footprint or terminal. Converts selected block if it is not AutoCAD Electrical compatible. In some cases, a footprint update may be required due to manufacturer, catalog or assembly value changes. When asked whether to manually force a footprint change, click No to leave the existing footprint block as is or click Yes to set up a footprint lookup database file or manually draw a simple footprint representation.
Copy Footprint wd_psym_cped
Edit Footprint wd_psymed
Tooltip Command
Make Xdata Visible wd_pnlsb_x2a
Description
Converts any piece of non-visible extended entity data (Xdata) into a visible attribute tied directly to the footprint block. Inserts item number balloon.
Insert Balloon wd_balloon
Wire Annotation of Panel Footprint wd_pnlw_s2p Panel Reports ace_report_panel
Annotates panel footprint symbols with wire connection information extracted from selected schematics. Selects panel reports such as Bill of Material, Component lists, Nameplates.
Rebuild/Freshen Project Database (c:wd_mdb_rebuildall nil) Insert Panel Assembly wd_pins
Rebuilds or freshens the project temporary database file for connections, cross-referencing, and reporting.
Inserts WBlocked panel footprint assembly. Use the Insert Panel Assembly utility instead of the AutoCAD Insert/Explode command when you want to insert a WBlocked group of panel component footprints with balloons or nameplates. Since AutoCAD Electrical establishes invisible Xdata pointers when these are tied to a footprint, they are properly updated when copied using this utility. Copies one or more selected panel footprints.
Copy Assembly wd_pcopy
Copy Installation Code wd_pnl_copyinst
Copies Installation Code to one or more selected panel footprints.
Tooltip Command
Copy Location Code wd_pnl_copyloc
Description
Copies Location Code to one or more selected panel footprints.
Copy Mount Code wd_pnl_copymnt
Copies Mount Code to one or more selected panel footprints.
Copy Group Code wd_pnl_copygrp
Copies Group Code to one or more selected panel footprints.
Resequence Item Numbers wd_edplay
Assigns or resequences item number assignments on a drawing or project. This extracts all panel components and nameplates and resequences their item numbers starting at the value you provide. Resequencing is based on the main MFG/CAT/ASSYCODE value combination. Additional multi-catalog numbers on a specific component are ignored. Only the main part number combination is used to group similar components together under a common item number. Edits the catalog number and footprint block name lookup file. The footprint lookup database links a manufacturer's catalog part numbers to appropriate footprint block .dwg files. This information is in a multitable Access database file (footprint_lookup.mdb). Edits the records in the schematic_lookup.mdb file to use for mapping panel footprints and terminal representations to the equivalent schematic component block names. Renames panel-related layers and updates panel drawing settings. The Panel Layer Rename utility makes it easy to rename layers
Footprint Database File Editor wd_fped
Schematic Database File Editor ace_acced_schematic_lookup Rename Panel Layers wd_edplay
Tooltip Command
Description
one by one, or multiple layers at once by using the Find/Replace method. In addition to renaming the layer, this also updates the AutoCAD Electrical layer assignment information carried on the drawing's WD_M block. For example, if DEMO-WIRES is currently assigned as an AutoCAD Electrical wire layer, and you rename it using this utility, the new layer name is substituted for DEMO-WIRES in the AutoCAD Electrical wire layer name list. Update Footprint Layers wd_padj_lay Updates selected footprint layer assignments to match panel drawing settings layer assignments. Sets panel footprint drawing defaults such as text sizes and layer assignments. Configuration settings are saved as attribute values on a nonvisible block named WD_PNLM (that inserts at 0,0). If your current drawing does not have this block present when any AutoCAD Electrical panel layout command is invoked, AutoCAD Electrical pauses and asks you for permission to insert this block.
Panel Configuration wd_pnldwg_cfg
Conversion toolbar
Tooltip Command
Special Explode ace_migr_burst
Description
Explodes attributes and blocks to geometry and text entities while maintaining the value previously defined in the attributes. You can take advantage of the tagging tools to modify the text entities to attributes and the linking tools to make various blocks.
Tooltip Command
Block Replacement ace_migr_replace
Description
Performs drawing-wide and project-wide block replacements using a user-defined spreadsheet. This automatically maps the unconverted drawing's non-AutoCAD Electrical block inserts and attributes to appropriate AutoCAD Electrical-smart component symbols drawn from a symbol library. Converts drawing files from promise to AutoCAD Electrical. It examines the current symbol attributes on the drawing and maps them to the equivalent AutoCAD Electrical attribute to make them AutoCAD Electricalsmart. Makes selected text entities an attributed block file with the TAG1 attribute visible. The template block file (HDV1_CONVERT.DWG or VDV1_CONVERT.DWG depending on the drawing properties) contains attributes for a schematic component. Makes selected text entities an attributed PLC address associated to a PLC tag. The template block file (PLCIO_ADDR_CONVERT.DWG, PLCIO_CONVERT.DWG, PLCIO_V_ADDR_CONVERT.DWG, or PLCIO_V_CONVERT.DWG depending on the drawing properties) contains attributes found useful for PLC addressing. After the addressing is defined on the block, select a PLC Tag or place one into the symbol definition for use with AutoCAD Electrical. Makes selected text entities an attributed block file with the TAG2 attribute visible. The template block file (HDV2_CONVERT.DWG or VDV2_CONVERT.DWG depending on the
Promise Conversion ace_p2ae
Tag Schematic Component ace_migr_tag1
Tag PLC ace_migr_plctag
Tag Child ace_migr_tag2
Conversion toolbar | 37
Tooltip Command
Description
drawing properties) contains attributes used for a child component. Tag Child - N.O. ace_migr_tag2_no Makes selected text entities an attributed block file with the TAG2 attribute visible. The template block file (HDV21_CONVERT.DWG or VDV21_CONVERT.DWG depending on the drawing properties) contains attributes used for a child normally open contact component. Makes the selected text entities an attributed block file with the TAG2 attribute visible. The template block file (HDV22_CONVERT.DWG or VDV22_CONVERT.DWG depending on the drawing properties) contains attributes used for a child normally closed contact component. Makes the selected text entities an attributed block file with the TAG2 attribute visible. The template block file (HDV23_CONVERT.DWG or VDV23_CONVERT.DWG depending on the drawing properties) contains attributes used for a child Form C contact component. Makes the selected text entities an attributed block file with the TAGSTRIP and TERM01 attribute visible. The template block file (HT0T_CONVERT.DWG or VT0T_CONVERT.DWG depending on the drawing properties) contains attributes used for a terminal block component containing a terminal number. Makes the selected text entities an attributed block file with the TAGSTRIP and WIRENO attribute visible. The template block file (HT0W_CONVERT.DWG or VT0W_CON-
Tag Child - N.C. ace_migr_tag2_nc
Tag Child - Form C Command
Tag Schematic Terminal - Terminal Number ace_migr_tagstrip_t
Tag Schematic Terminal - Wire Number ace_migr_tagstrip_w
Tooltip Command
Description
VERT.DWG depending on the drawing properties) contains attributes used for a terminal block component containing a wire number as the terminal number. Tag Schematic Terminal - Wire Number Change ace_migr_tagstrip_wchg Makes the selected text entities an attributed block file with the TAGSTRIP and TERM01 attribute visible. The template block file (HT1T_CONVERT.DWG or VT1T_CONVERT.DWG depending on the drawing properties) contains attributes used for a terminal block component that changes the wire number. This creates a terminal number block that has a different wire number for each wire connected to it. Links simple text as Description 1-3 attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical block file. You can link them as description attributes to one or more existing template block definitions. During the conversion process, the text entity is removed and replaced with the next available description attribute, up to 3. Links another string of text to a tag attribute, creating a split tag. Create the device Tag using the TAG1, TAG, or P_TAG1 attributes, and then use this tool to select the existing TAG attribute on the drawing and link another string of text, creating a split tag situation. The first TAG becomes the Part1 of the split tag while the linked portion becomes the Part2 of the split tag. Links simple text to a PLC address attribute as PLC I/O address description attributes. During the conversion process, the text entity is removed and replaced with the next available PLC address description attribute, up to 5.
Link Descriptions ace_migr_desc1
Link Split Tag ace_migr_split_tag
Link PLC Address Descriptions ace_migr_plclink_desc
Tooltip Command
Link Terminal Number ace_migr_termtxt
Description
Links simple text to a TAGSTRIP attribute as a terminal number attribute on an AutoCAD Electrical terminal block symbol. During the conversion process, the text entity is removed and replaced with the TERM01 or WIRENO attribute. Links simple text as Location attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical block file. The entity value is used as the Location value for one or more template block definitions. If only one template block is selected for the link, the text entity is removed and replaced with the Location attribute. Links simple text as Installation attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical block file. The entity value is used as the Installation value for one or more template block definitions. If only one template block is selected for the link, the text entity is removed and replaced with the Installation attribute. Links simple text as manufacturer attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical block file. The entity value is used as the Manufacturer value for one or more template block definitions. If only one template block is selected for the link, the text entity is removed and replaced with the Manufacturer attribute. Links simple text as Catalog Number attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical block file. The entity value is used as the Catalog Number value for one or more template block definitions. If only one template block is selected for the link, the text entity is removed and replaced with the Catalog Number attribute.
Link Location Code ace_migr_loc
Link Installation Code ace_migr_inst
Link Manufacturer ace_migr_mfg
Link Catalog Number ace_migr_cat
Tooltip Command
Link Rating ace_migr_rating
Description
Links simple text as Rating 1-12 attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical block file. The entity value is used as the rating value for one or more template block definitions. If only one template block is selected for the link, the text entity is removed and replaced with the rating attribute, up to 12. Links simple text (that is not an attribute definition or part of geometry) as User (01-99) attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical block file. The entity value is used as the user value for one or more template block definitions. If only one template block is selected for the link, the text entity is removed and replaced with the user attribute, up to 99. Window selection is allowed. Selects the tagged template block file and displays everything (such as description, location, manufacturer, and catalog number codes) that has been linked to it. Selects an existing linked attribute and unlinks the attribute from the symbol, changing the attribute to AutoCAD text. Adds wire connection attributes to the existing tagged block file. Select line endpoints or geometry to add the appropriate wire connection attributes to. A new block definition is created with the newly added wire connections. You can subsequently create a new block file if the block is exploded. Adds AutoCAD geometry to a template block file to be created as part of a unique block instance. It creates a new block definition with
Link User ace_migr_user
Show Links ace_migr_show_links
Un Link ace_migr_unlink
Add Wire Connections ace_migr_wire_conn
Add Geometry ace_migr_add_geom
Tooltip Command
Description
the newly added geometry. You can subsequently create a new block file if the block is exploded. Tag Panel Component ace_migr_p_tag1 Makes selected text entities an attributed block file with the P_TAG1 attribute visible. The template block file (ACE_P_TAG1_CONVERT.DWG) contains attributes for a panel component. Makes selected text entities an attributed block file with the DESC1-3 attributes visible. The template block file (ACE_NP_CONVERT.DWG) contains attributes used in nameplate symbols. If the description text strings were previously defined as attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical panel component block definition, the attribute values on the panel component are hidden and the nameplate attributes DESC1-3 are added and made visible. Makes selected text entities an attributed block file with the TERM01 terminal number attribute visible. The template block file (ACE_TERMT_CONVERT.DWG) contains attributes for terminal numbers. Makes selected text entities an attributed block file with the WIRENO wire number attribute visible. The template block file (ACE_TERMW_CONVERT.DWG) contains attributes for panel terminal symbols. Links simple text as Description 1-3 attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical Panel block file. You can link them as description attributes to one or more existing template block definitions. During the conversion process, the text entity
Tag Nameplate ace_migr_np
Tag Panel Terminal Terminal Number ace_migr_fpt_t
Tag Panel Terminal Wire Number ace_migr_fpt_w
Link Description ace_migr_desc1
Tooltip Command
Description
is removed and replaced with the next available description attribute, up to 3. Link Split Tag ace_migr_split_tag Links another string of text to a tag attribute, creating a split tag. Create the device Tag using the TAG1, TAG, or P_TAG1 attributes, and then use this tool to select the existing TAG attribute on the drawing and link another string of text, creating a split tag situation. The first TAG becomes the Part1 of the split tag while the linked portion becomes the Part2 of the split tag. Links simple text as an Item Number attribute on an AutoCAD Electrical Panel block file. During the conversion process, the text entity is removed and replaced with the Item Number attribute (P_ITEM). Links simple text as Location attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical Panel block file. The entity value is used as the Location value for one or more template block definitions. If only one template block is selected for the link, the text entity is removed and replaced with the Location attribute. Links simple text as Installation attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical Panel block file. The entity value is used as the Installation value for one or more template block definitions. If only one template block is selected for the link, the text entity is removed and replaced with the Installation attribute. Links simple text as manufacturer attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical Panel block file. The entity value is used as the Manufacturer value
Link Item Number ace_migr_item
Link Location Code ace_migr_loc
Link Installation Code ace_migr_inst
Link Manufacturer ace_migr_mfg
Tooltip Command
Description
for one or more template block definitions. If only one template block is selected for the link, the text entity is removed and replaced with the Manufacturer attribute. Link Catalog Number ace_migr_cat Links simple text as Catalog Number attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical Panel block file. The entity value is used as the Catalog Number value for one or more template block definitions. If only one template block is selected for the link, the text entity is removed and replaced with the Catalog Number attribute. Links simple text as Rating 1-12 attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical Panel block file. The entity value is used as the rating value for one or more template block definitions. If only one template block is selected for the link, the text entity is removed and replaced with the rating attribute, up to 12. Links simple text (that is not an attribute definition or part of geometry) as User (01-99) attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical block file. The entity value is used as the user value for one or more template block definitions. If only one template block is selected for the link, the text entity is removed and replaced with the user attribute, up to 99. Window selection is allowed. Selects the tagged template block file and displays everything (such as description, location, manufacturer, and catalog number codes) that has been linked to it.
Link Rating ace_migr_rating
Link User ace_migr_user
Show Links ace_migr_show_links
Tooltip Command
Un Link ace_migr_unlink
Description
Selects an existing linked attribute and unlinks the attribute from the symbol, changing the attribute to AutoCAD text. Adds wire connection attributes to the existing tagged block file. Select line endpoints or geometry to add the appropriate wire connection attributes to. A new block definition is created with the newly added wire connections. You can subsequently create a new block file if the block is exploded. Adds AutoCAD geometry to a template block file to be created as part of a unique block instance. It creates a new block definition with the newly added geometry. You can subsequently create a new block file if the block is exploded. Converts the upper-most line reference number on a non-intelligent ladder to be AutoCAD Electrical-aware. Changes wire types and converts lines to wires. Use the grid control to sort and select the wire types for easy modification. Converts a text object to an AutoCAD Electrical compatible wire number.
Add Wire Connections ace_migr_add_geom
Add Geometry ace_migr_add_geom
Convert Ladder wd_dumb_ladder
Change/Convert Wire Type wd_wirlay Convert Text to Wire Numbers wd_convert_wn Convert Block to Source Arrow wd_convert_src
Replace a non-AutoCAD Electrical source arrow with a smart AutoCAD Electrical source arrow and maps the information to the new AutoCAD Electrical source.
Tooltip Command
Convert Block to Destination Arrow wd_convert_dest Check/Repair Gap Pointers wd_gap_chk Stretch Wire wd_str_wire
Description
Replaces a non-AutoCAD Electrical destination arrow with a smart AutoCAD Electrical destination arrow. Verifies that the invisible Xdata pointers on both sides of a wire gap/loop are valid. If not, appropriate pointers are established. Lengthens a wire until it meets another wire or an AutoCAD Electrical component.
Change Attribute Size wd_attrsize
Quickly changes attribute text size when components or wire numbers have already been inserted onto your drawings. Adds a new attribute to an existing instance of a block insert.
Add Attribute wd_addattr
Convert Text to Attribute Definition wd_tx2attr
Converts a text object into an attribute definition object. This is not an attribute associated to an already-inserted block. This is an attribute definition possibly on a library symbol that becomes an attribute when the symbol drawing is inserted as a block into another drawing. Allows display and edit of an object's 1000 type extended entity data (Xdata).
Xdata Editor wd_xdata
Convert to Schematic Component wd_convert
Takes non-AutoCAD Electrical blocks or graphics representing a symbol and replaces it with an AutoCAD Electrical block and transfers the attribute or text values to this new AutoCAD Electrical block.
Tooltip Command
Map Attributes from Old to New wd_convert_edit
Description
Reassigns attributes from a converted block to those expected by AutoCAD Electrical. This allows you to continue what you started with Convert to Schematic Component. Use this if you did not finish mapping values from your non-AutoCAD Electrical block. Lets you update or change blocks in place. Attribute values are retained during the swapping process. Wire connections are also maintained even if the new symbol is slightly wider or narrower than the original.
Swap/Update Block wd_bswap_main
Conduit Marker toolbar

Tooltip Command
Conduit Marker (Pick) wd_wway1_endconn
Description
Formats an inter-wiring list from a selection of interconnected components. Inserts as a conduit tag. Formats an inter-wiring list from a subset of a component from/to report. Inserts as a conduit tag. Edits conduit marker tag, descriptions, and wire assignments.
Conduit Marker (From/To List) wd_wway1_fromto Edit Conduit Marker wd_wway2_edit
Conduit Marker Report wd_wway2_rpt
Extracts conduit marker information into a report. Extractable conduit marker symbols are named WWAY*. A conduit can be represented by a line or a polyline and by itself does not carry any intelligence. However, you can insert a conduit marker symbol and asso-
Conduit Marker toolbar | 47
Tooltip Command
Description
ciate it to a conduit. The conduit marker symbol then carries wire information intelligence pulled from the AutoCAD Electrical drawings. Wire/Conduit Routing Report wd_wway2_seq_rpt Extract Wire Data wd_wway1_wd3 Reports a list of conduit tag assignments that a given wire or cable passes through.
Extracts schematic wiring information prior to conduit assignment.
Power Check toolbar

Tooltip Command
Add/Edit Power Source/Load Levels wd_pow1_P_set
Description
Marks a component with a power source and load value. A related routine, when invoked, then scans the wire interconnections and reports if there is too much load on a given power source Marks a component with a PASSPWR flag. The PASSPWR flag instructs the Power Report to pass through the marked component when calculating the load on a given source. If a component carries the PASSPWR flag the Power Report program will pass through the component and continue looking for load values on the network. NOTE Certain components don't need a PASSPWR flag (such as terminals and contacts) since they are automatically passed through.
Mark Component To Pass Power wd_pow1_passpwr
Tooltip Command
Power Load Check Report wd_pow1_check_pwr
Description
Scans the wire interconnections and reports if there is too much load on a given power source.
Panel Level/Sequencing toolbar

Tooltip Command
Insert/Edit Panel Level Assignment wdlev_edseq
Description
Allows viewing, assigning, or editing 3-digit level codes and 4-digit sequence codes on panel footprint components. This coding, when present, can influence the way that AutoCAD Electrical calculates the wire connection from/to sequence. As it processes the schematic component representations and wiring, it checks for any coding found on the panel footprint and panel terminal strip representations. If present, it adjusts the from/to sequencing accordingly. Reports which component symbols do not have leveling and sequencing information already assigned to them. This is used as a troubleshooting mechanism to aid in the assignment of leveling and sequencing information to provide better wire routing capabilities. Allows viewing or editing 3-digit level codes for boundary boxes. Devices placed within the boundary box take on the boundary's level codes. The dialog box lists the number of device footprints found within the boundary and the number of devices that currently do not match the boundary default.
Missing Level/Sequence Assignments ace_wdlev_blank
Insert/Edit Boundary Box Assignment wdbox
Panel Level/Sequencing toolbar | 49
Tooltip Command
Remove Level/Sequencing assignment wd_wdlev_remove Copy Level Assignments wdlev_copyseq
Description
Removes routing assignments found on components, boundary boxes, or terminals.
Allows defining or capturing a common set of level assignments for panel footprint components and then copy these 3-digit level codes to one or multiple footprints. This coding, when present, influences the way that AutoCAD Electrical calculates the wire connection from/to sequence. As it processes the schematic component representations and wiring, it checks for any coding found on the panel footprint and panel terminal strip representations. When present, it adjusts the from/to sequencing accordingly. Displays terminal level/sequencing assignments.
Show Terminal Strip Sequencing Assignments wdlev_sholev Show Footprint Sequencing Assignments wdlev_sho_AtoB View/Edit Component Sequence wdlev_addseq Show Footprint Component Sequence wdlev_shoseq Freshen Wire Data wd_pnlw_x_frm2all_&ts_rpt
Displays footprint level/sequencing assignments through terminal strips.
Sequences component footprints sharing the same level assignment.
Displays footprint level/sequencing assignments.
Freshens wire connection table in project's database.
Tooltip Command
Insert Terminal Strip Representation wd_psyma_in_mfptstrip Panel Terminal Strip Report wd_lev_ts_rpt
Description
Define a rectangle as a supplementary terminal strip to be used in the wiring routing information over large control system equipment. Allows for selection of a supplementary terminal strip representation to display wiring information inside of a report generator dialog, and subsequently insert a terminal strip layout drawing. Swaps wire annotation text from one side of the terminal strip to the other. The Internal and External default definition applies when the terminal strip is initially placed.
Panel Terminal Strip Swap Wire Text wdlev_ts_swaptx
Extra Libraries toolbar

Tooltip Command
Insert Pneumatic Components (c:wd_loadmenu ACE_PNEU_MENU.DAT); wd_insym_dlg
Description
Inserts Pneumatic components from an onscreen icon menu. This icon menu can be modified, expanded, or replaced with your own custom menu. You can change the default icon menu using the Project Properties dialog box. Use the Icon Menu Wizard to easily modify the menu. Inserts hydraulic components from an onscreen icon menu. This icon menu can be modified, expanded, or replaced with your own custom menu. You can change the default icon menu using the Project Properties dialog box. Use the Icon Menu Wizard to easily modify the menu.
Insert Hydraulic Component (c:wd_loadmenu ACE_HYD_MENU.DAT); wd_insym_dlg
Extra Libraries toolbar | 51
Tooltip Command
Insert P&ID Component (c:wd_loadmenu ACE_PID_MENU.DAT); wd_insym_dlg
Description
Inserts P&ID components from an on-screen icon menu. This icon menu can be modified, expanded, or replaced with your own custom menu. You can change the default icon menu using the Project Properties dialog box. Use the Icon Menu Wizard to easily modify the menu.
Projects
2
In this chapter

AutoCAD Electrical software extends the capabilities of AutoCAD so that you can quickly build and manage an electrical controls drawing set. This manual provides concepts and exercises to help you get started with AutoCAD Electrical.
Learning about Standards Performing Exercises Working with Projects Working with Drawings
53
Learning about Standards

AutoCAD Electrical currently supports the following industry standards: JIC (US), IEC (Europe), JIS (Japan), GB (China) and AS (Australia). Although AutoCAD Electrical supports many standards, the Getting Started manual follows the JIC standard and sample drawing set. Since the workflow for both JIC and IEC are nearly identical, you can perform the following exercises using the IEC demo drawing set, however your components and wire numbering will display differently.
Performing Exercises
All of the AutoCAD commands and features are available while working on AutoCAD Electrical drawings. All intelligence is carried directly on the drawing using AutoCAD blocks with attributes and XDATA. AutoCAD Electrical does not require any underlying database. Backup exercise files are found at Program Files\Autodesk\Acade <version>\Tutorial\Electrical\Aegs. If you make a mistake while working through the exercises in this manual, simply browse to and copy the demo file(s) to your project folder. NOTE The exercises in this manual must be performed in order. It is advised to turn off the AutoCAD DYN feature (found on the status bar) before starting the exercises. The Getting Started manual uses two manufacturers: Allen Bradley and Siemens. You must install both manufacturers in order to have the same results that are shown here. If you need to install content from these manufacturers, open the Add or Remove Programs tool in your Control Panel, select AutoCAD Electrical, and click Change/Remove. Click Add/Remove Features, click Next on the first screen, and then select AB and Siemens on the Manufacturer Contents Selection screen.
Prerequisites
It is assumed that you have a working knowledge of the AutoCAD interface and tools. If you do not, review the AutoCAD online documentation.
54 | Chapter 2 Projects
It is recommended that you have a working knowledge of Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP, and a working knowledge of electrical design and schematic ladder wiring diagrams.
Help
The AutoCAD Electrical Help system provides detailed concepts, procedures, and reference information about every product feature. To access the Help system:

Select Help Electrical Help Topics from the standard toolbar. Click the Help button or press F1 within a dialog box or at a command prompt.
Be more productive with Autodesk software. Get trained at an Autodesk Authorized Training Center (ATC) with hands-on, instructor-led classes to help you get the most from your Autodesk products. Enhance your productivity with proven training from over 1,400 ATC sites in more than 75 countries. For more information about Autodesk Authorized Training Centers, contact [email protected] or visit the online ATC locator at www.autodesk.com/atc.
Working with Projects

AutoCAD Electrical is a project-based system. Each project is defined by an ASCII text file with a .wdp extension. This project file contains a list of project information, default project settings, drawing properties, and drawing file names. You can have an unlimited number of projects; however, only one project can be active at a time. NOTE You must install the JIC symbol library for these exercises to function properly. Use the Project Manager to add new drawings, reorder drawing files, and change project settings. You cannot have two projects open in the Project Manager with the same project name. By default, the Project Manager is open and docked on the left-hand side of your screen. You can dock the Project Manager into a specific location on the screen or hide it until you want to use the project tools. Right-click the properties icon to display options to move, size, close, dock, hide, or set the transparency for the Project Manager.
Help | 55
Create an AutoCAD Electrical project
Click the Project Manager tool if the Project Manager is not already displayed on your screen. Projects Project Project Manager
In the Project Manager, click the New Project tool. NOTE You can also use the Project Manager to open an existing project. In the Project Manager, click the project selection arrow and select Open Project.
3 In the Create New Project dialog box, specify:

Name: AEGS
A name must be entered in order to define any of the project properties. The .wdp extension is not required in the edit box.
4 Make sure wddemo.wdp is specified in the Copy Settings from Project File edit box.
5 Click OK-Properties. Your new project is added to the current projects list and automatically becomes the active project. The Project Properties dialog box displays, where you can modify your project default settings. All information defined on these tabs are saved to the project definition file as project defaults and settings. Set project properties 1 In the Project Properties dialog box, click the Components tab. 2 In the Component Tag Format section, verify Line Reference is selected. This creates unique reference-based tags when multiple components of the same family are located at the same reference location. When reference-based tagging is used, a suffix variable is required to keep components of the same family type unique. For example, 3 pushbuttons on line reference 101 could be labeled PB101, PB101A, and PB101B. Click Suffix Setup to change the suffix variable. 3 Click the Wire Numbers tab. 4 In the Wire Number Format section, verify Line Reference is selected. This creates unique reference-based wire number tags for multiple wire networks beginning at the same reference location. When reference-based numbering is used, a suffix variable is required to keep wires on the same
Working with Projects | 57
reference line or in the same reference zone unique. Click Suffix Setup to change the suffix variable.
5 Review the various options on the different tabs of the Project Properties dialog box. NOTE In the Project Properties dialog box, icons indicate whether the settings apply to project settings or drawing defaults. Settings that apply to project settings have the project icon next to them and are saved inside the project definition file (*.wdp). Settings that are saved in the project file as drawing defaults have the drawing icon next to them. Drawing related data that should be added to the project when running the Add Drawing command is saved as Drawing Custom Properties. 6 Click OK.
Working with Drawings

A single project file can have drawings located in many different directories. There is no limit to the number of drawings in a project. You can add drawings to your project at any time. When you create a new drawing, it is automatically added to the active project. Many of the drawing settings used by AutoCAD Electrical are stored in a smart block on the drawing named WD_M.dwg. Each AutoCAD Electrical drawing
should contain only one copy of the WD_M block. If multiple WD_M blocks are present, the settings may not be stored and read consistently. Create a new drawing
In the Project Manager, click the New Drawing tool.
2 In the Create New Drawing dialog box, specify:

Name: AEGS11 Description 1: Bill of Materials Report
3 Click Browse next to the Template edit box. A set of templates (*.dwt files) installed with AutoCAD Electrical contain settings for various kinds of drawings, such as acad.dwt and ACAD_ELECTRICAL.dwt. You can create your own templates, or use any drawing as a template. You can save a drawing at any stage of completion as a template file. When you use a drawing as a template, the settings in that drawing are used in the new drawing. The changes you make to a drawing that is based on a template do not affect the template file. AutoCAD Electrical fully supports the use of AutoCAD template files. To make an AutoCAD drawing compatible with AutoCAD Electrical, select an AutoCAD Electrical command to modify the drawing. 4 In the Select template dialog box, select ACAD_ELECTRICAL.dwt, and click Open.
5 In the Create New Drawing dialog box, click OK.
Working with Drawings | 59
NOTE You could click OK-Properties to display the Drawing Properties dialog box. This dialog box has options similar to those found in the Project Properties dialog box, but defines drawing-specific settings that are maintained inside the drawing's WD_M block. 6 In the Project Manager, double-click the project name (AEGS) to display the drawing files. AEGS11 should be the only file in the list.
Add drawings to the project 1 In the Project Manager, right-click AEGS, and select Add Drawings. 2 In the Select Files to Add dialog box, select drawings AEGS01.dwg to AEGS10.dwg and click Add. 3 When asked whether to apply the project default values to the drawing settings, click Yes. The Project Manager lists the files under the AEGS folder. New drawings that you add from this point on are added at the end of the drawing order. You now have access to the files required for the exercises in this book. NOTE Two projects can reference the same drawing file; however this can lead to conflicts if both projects try to modify the same drawing with a project-wide tagging or cross-referencing function. The drawing order in the Project Manager determines how AutoCAD Electrical processes the drawings during project-wide operations such as resequencing and wire numbering. 4 In the Project Manager, right-click the project name, and select Reorder Drawings.
5 In the Reorder Drawings dialog box, select AEGS11.dwg and click Move Down until the drawing is at the bottom of the list. 6 Click OK. AEGS11.dwg is now at the bottom of the project drawing file list in the Project Manager. NOTE The active drawing displays in bold text in the project drawing list allowing you to easily see which file you are working in.
You can add descriptions for each drawing to the project file. Drawing descriptions are saved in the project file only and do not change the drawing itself. You can reuse drawing descriptions in title block attributes and associate them with AutoCAD Electrical reports. Add the description of a drawing you add 1 In the Project Manager, right-click AEGS10.dwg, and select Properties Drawing Properties. 2 In the Drawing Properties Drawing Settings dialog box, Drawing File section, specify:
Description 1: Connector Drawing
3 Click OK. 4 In the Project Manager, highlight AEGS10.dwg.
5 In the Project Manager, Details section, review the drawing descriptions. The drawing details update when you highlight a drawing file and remain visible until a new drawing file is selected. Displayed information includes the status, file name, file location, file size, last saved date, and the name of the last user who modified the file. Use the Project Manager to easily preview drawings. Moving among drawings using the up and down keys does not open the drawing. It changes the preview or details display in the Project Manager. View drawings in a project 1 In the Project Manager, highlight AEGS04.dwg. 2 In the Project Manager, Details section, click Preview.
3 Continue to click the drawing name you want to preview or use the up and down arrow keys to scroll through the drawing files. 4 When you finish viewing the drawings, click Details to return to the drawing details view. If a project drawing is currently open and you want to move to the previous or next drawing in the projects list, use the Previous Project Drawing and Next Project Drawing tools. When you use these tools to move among drawings, any unsaved changes to the current drawing are saved, the drawing is closed, and the requested drawing is opened. View project drawings when a drawing is open 1 In the Project Manager, double-click AEGS04.dwg.
To view the drawings, click Previous Project Drawing and Next Project Drawing. A new window opens and the original window closes when you click the navigation tools unless you hold the Shift key while clicking the tools.
64
Ladder Style Diagrams
Part 2 of this manual provides information on setting up and working with ladder style diagrams.
In this part

Wires Schematic Components Circuitry PLC Wire Numbers Panel Layouts
65
66
Wires
3
In this chapter

This chapter contains information about wires and how they are used in AutoCAD Electrical.
About Wires Inserting Wires Trimming Wires
67
About Wires
AutoCAD Electrical treats AutoCAD line entities as wires when the lines are placed on an AutoCAD Electrical defined wire layer. The number of wire layers available in AutoCAD Electrical is unlimited. These lines get tagged with wire numbers and show up in various wire connection reports. Two wire segments connect if the end of one wire segment touches or falls within a small trap distance of any part of the other wire segment. This connection can be at the end of the other wire or anywhere along the length of the other wire. AutoCAD Electrical considers a wire connected to a component if the wire end falls within a trap distance from the wire connection-point attribute of a component. The wire layer for a new wire segment is determined by:
Wires that begin or end in space or begin and end at a component connection point, are put on the current layer (if it's a wire layer), or on the first wire layer AutoCAD Electrical finds in a layer name search. Wires that begin at an existing wire are put on the same layer as the beginning wire. Wires that begin in space or at a component and end at an existing wire take on the layer of the ending wire.
Inserting Wires
You can start or end a wire segment in empty space, from an existing wire segment, or from an existing component. If you start from a component, the wire segment snaps to the wire connection terminal closest to your pick point on that symbol. If the wire segment ends at another wire segment, a DOT (block name wddot.dwg) is applied if appropriate. If it ends at another component, the segment connects to the wire connection terminal closest to your pick point on that symbol. NOTE When inserting wires, if a wire already occupies a wire connection point, the new wire is drawn as an angled wire connection.
68 | Chapter 3 Wires
Insert wiring 1 In the Project Manager, Project Drawing List, double-click AEGS04.dwg.
Zoom in on the upper left corner of the drawing. Make sure the hot and neutral vertical wires are displayed.
Click the Add Rung tool. Wires Add Rung
4 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Add rung passing through this location or [wiretype (T)]:
Select a location between the two vertical bus wires beside line reference 403 (1)
Add rung passing through this location or [wiretype (T)]:
Select a location between the two vertical bus wires beside line reference 404, underneath the newly created rung (2), press ENTER
Two horizontal wires are created automatically between the vertical bus wires at the closest line reference location. Create two vertical wires between two horizontal wires
Click the Insert Wire tool. Wires Insert Wire

Specify wire start or [wiretype (T)/show connections (X)]:
Select the top wire at line reference 403(1)
Inserting Wires | 69
Specify wire end or [V=start Vertical/H=start Horizontal/Continue]: Select the lower wire at line reference 404 (2)
The color of temporary graphics changes for a new wire when AutoCAD Electrical can connect the wire to an existing wire. Component wire connection points are displayed as green xs at the wire connections when you enter X + ENTER during wire insertion. If you pan or zoom, you have to repeat the command in order to view the wire connection points. 3 Insert another wire to the right of the new wire. 4 Press ENTER to exit the command. The inserted wires resemble the following image.
Trimming Wires
After you insert wires, you may need to trim them. The Trim Wire tool removes wire segments. You can trim single or multiple wires. Trim a wire
Click the Trim Wire tool. Wires Trim Wire

Fence/Crossing/Zext/<Select wire to TRIM>:
Specify the wire segment at line reference 404 between the two vertical wires (1), right-click
70 | Chapter 3 Wires
Wire segments are trimmed back to a connecting dot, a component, or completely if neither is encountered along the segment. Any connection dots that are no longer needed are removed. The trimmed wire resembles the following image.
Trimming Wires | 71
72
Schematic Components
4
In this chapter
This chapter contains information about schematic components in AutoCAD Electrical and inserting them into drawings.
About Schematic Components Inserting Components Editing Components Linking Components Editing Catalog Information Moving Between Symbols Swapping Components Creating Custom Symbols
73
About Schematic Components

An AutoCAD Electrical schematic component is an AutoCAD block with certain expected attributes. When inserting components, you can use AutoCAD Electrical tools to break wires, assign unique component tags, cross reference related components, and enter values for catalog information, component descriptions, and location codes. AutoCAD Electrical supplies a schematic symbol dialog box for finding and inserting schematic components. It also triggers a number of additional features, such as automatic wire breaks, component tagging, real-time cross-referencing, and component annotation.
Inserting Components
AutoCAD Electrical employs a parent/child relationship for schematic components. A relay coil with a certain number of contacts is represented by the parent coil symbol and the child contact symbols. When the parent coil symbol is inserted, it is assigned a unique component tag. When the child contact symbols are inserted, the child is related to the parent and the parent tag is assigned to the child symbol. In this exercise, you insert components on the wires previously defined in AEGS04.dwg. Insert a parent component
Click the Insert Component tool. Components Insert Component
In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Relays/ Contacts.
In the JIC: Relays and Contacts dialog box, click Relay Coil.

Specify insertion point:
74 | Chapter 4 Schematic Components
Position the component on the wire at line reference 403 near the neutral wire and click (1)
TIP If the component misses the wire and it fails to break, click Cancel in the Insert/Edit Component dialog box and press ENTER to repeat the command and try again. The coil symbol breaks the underlying ladder wire and reconnects if you select directly on the wire or very near to it. If the component didnt insert in-line with the wire, you didnt select close enough to the wire for the symbol to sense that there was a nearby wire. Click Cancel on the Insert/Edit Component dialog box. Right-click or press ENTER to repeat the command and try again. Turning on Snap will help (0.125 is a good setting to use). This tool inserts components into alignment with underlying wires, it does not align components side-to-side. If you want to insert components in neat columns, you have 3 options: use AutoCAD Snap when inserting components; use the Scoot command to stretch components and connected wires in place; or use the Align Component tool. 5 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, verify the Component Tag is set to CR403. AutoCAD Electrical automatically determines the unique tag name for the new relay based on the line reference location that you inserted the symbol on. CR indicates that it is a control relay and 403 indicates that the symbol is on line reference 403. If you inserted this symbol on line reference 404 then the tag name would be CR404. You can assign a catalog number to the component that can be extracted into reports. There are two pieces of BOM catalog information: manufacturer code and catalog number. These values are carried as invisible attributes on the symbol. You can type in values for each or select the BOM information from an on-line catalog database file. 6 In the Catalog Data section, click Lookup. There are three search criteria pull-down lists across the top of the Parts Catalog dialog box. You can easily change the search criteria to get a different set of valid catalog numbers. Each time you make a selection from one of these lists, the catalog selection is filtered.
Inserting Components | 75
7 In the Parts catalog dialog box, select the following search criteria:
MANUFACTURER: AB TYPE: TYPE P
8 Change the catalog assignment to 700-P200A1.
9 Click Catalog Check. 10 In the Bill Of Materials Check dialog box, review the BOM information associated with the selected part number. Click Close. 11 In the Parts catalog dialog box, click OK. The selected manufacturer code and catalog number display in the Insert/Edit Component dialog box. When you click OK on the dialog box, the values will transfer to the symbol.
NOTE Sample catalog information is provided with AutoCAD Electrical in Access Database format (.mdb). If your company uses its own internal coding system instead of manufacturer catalog numbers, just substitute those numbers into AutoCAD Electricals catalog database files. If you use your own system and reference a vendors number, extra user fields are available in all of the sample database files. 12 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, Description section, specify:
Line 1: MASTER CONTROL Line 2: RELAY
Up to 3 lines of description text can be entered as a description for components. If the third description line is unavailable, the symbol does not carry an attribute for a third line of description. NOTE You can specify a description by entering text or by clicking Defaults to select from a list of standard component descriptions. 13 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, Location code section, click Drawing. AutoCAD Electrical does a quick read of the drawing file and returns a list of all location codes used so far. 14 In the All Locations - Drawing dialog box, select MCAB5 and click OK. NOTE You can also include an external LOC location list in the project LOC list to help with consistency. To use this feature, create a file called default.loc and put it in an AutoCAD Electrical search directory. The format for this text file is each location on its own line in the file with no leading spaces. You can also create a project-specific file by naming it the same as your project but with a.loc extension. 15 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, the pin values are inserted based on the selected catalog number:
Pins: 1: K1 Pins: 2: K2
16 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK. Any values entered here are saved as attribute values on the symbol itself.
Relocating Components
You might need to scoot the component if it was not inserted in the correct location. Use the Scoot tool to select a component or wire number and slide it back and forth along the wire while keeping everything connected. You can select a wire or a whole rung of circuitry and scoot it to a new position. If there are any parent components among the scooted items, you will be asked if you want to retag the scooted components. The Scoot tool works on wire numbers, components, terminals, PLC I/O modules, jogs in dashed link lines, signal arrows, wires, and wires with wire-crossing loops.
Scoot a component
Click the Scoot tool. Components Scoot

Select component, wire, or wire number for SCOOT:
Select the component that was just inserted at line reference 403 The cursor changes to a box.
Select component, wire, or wire number for SCOOT: to:
Move the cursor to the right and click, right-click to exit the command The component moves to its new location.
You can use the Scoot tool to grab a component or a wire number and slide it back and forth along a wire. You can grab a wire or a whole rung of circuitry and scoot it to a new position, while keeping everything connected. The steps to insert a parent component and a child component are the same, except when you annotate the symbol. Insert a child component
Relocating Components | 79
In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Relays/ Contacts.
In the JIC: Relays and Contacts dialog box, click Relay NO Contact.

Position the cursor on the wire at line reference 404 near the hot wire and click (1)
The Insert/Edit Child Component dialog box displays. Notice that AutoCAD Electrical did not automatically assign a tag name for the relay contact; there is just a generic CR in the edit box. You must determine the relay contact tag name. A relay contact is a child component that must link to a parent relay coil on a drawing in the active project. The child gets the same name that is found on the parent relay coil. You can assign the tag name by clicking Parent/Sibling and picking the parent in the drawing or by clicking List: Drawing or Project to select from a list of components with the same family name. 5 In the Insert/Edit Child Component dialog box, Component Tag section, click Drawing. 6 In the Active Drawing list for FAMILY=CR dialog box, select: MCAB5 CR403 MASTER CONTROL RELAY
7 Click OK. The parents values are immediately transferred to the contact. It is cross-referenced in real-time. This means that the coil is annotated with the line reference number of the new child contact and the child contact gets annotated with the line reference location of the parent coil. 8 In the Insert/Edit Child Component dialog box, verify the following options are specified:
Component Tag: CR403 Description: Line 1: MASTER CONTROL Description: Line 2: RELAY Cross-reference: 403 Location code: MCAB5 Pins: Pin 1: A1X Pins: Pin 2: A1Y
Relocating Components | 81
9 In the Insert/Edit Child Component dialog box, click OK. The child component is inserted:
Aligning Components
Align the normally open relay with an existing component. After you insert a component, you can align or edit it as necessary. Align a component
Expand the Scoot tool, and then click the Align tool. Components Align

Pick component to align with (Horizontal/<Vertical>):
Select the normally open limit switch component near the hot wire at line reference 406 (1) A dashed line is displayed.
Select objects:
Select the previously inserted child contact component near the hot wire at line reference 404 (2), right-click
The aligned component is placed.
Inserting Components
Now you need to insert a system reset push button, pilot light, and an emergency stop push button to make up the circuit. Insert a system reset button
In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Push Buttons.
In the JIC: Push Buttons dialog box, click Push Button NO.

Position the push button on the wire at line reference 403 near the hot wire and click (1)
5 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, verify the following:

Component Tag: PB403
AutoCAD Electrical automatically assigned the tag name based on the line reference. 6 In the Descriptions section, specify:
Line 1: SYSTEM Line 2: RESET
7 In the Location code section, click Drawing. 8 In the All Locations - Drawing dialog box, select OPSTA3 and click OK. 9 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK. Insert a pilot light
In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Pilot Lights.
In the JIC: Pilot Lights dialog box, click Green Press to Test.

Position the pilot light on the wire at line reference 404 near the neutral wire and click (2)
TIP Having Snap turned on makes positioning the pilot light easier. 5 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, verify:
Component Tag: LT404
6 In the Descriptions section, specify:

Line 1: CONVEYOR Line 2: ON
7 In the Location code section, click Drawing. 8 In the All Locations - Drawing dialog box, select OPSTA3 and click OK. 9 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK. Insert a push button for emergency stop
In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Push Buttons.
In the JIC: Push Buttons dialog box, click Mushroom Head NC.

Position the push button on the middle of the wire at line reference 403 and click (3)
5 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, verify:

Component Tag: PB403A
AutoCAD Electrical automatically assigned the tag name based on the line reference. It added the A suffix since this is your second push button on this line reference. 6 In the Descriptions section, specify:
Line 1: EMERGENCY STOP
7 In the Location code section, click Drawing. 8 In the All Locations - Drawing dialog box, select OPSTA3 and click OK. 9 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK. Your finished schematic should resemble the following:
Editing Components
You can go back to a component at any time and make changes. You can change description, tag, catalog number, location code, terminal numbers, and rating values using the Edit Component tool. Insert a child contact 1 Zoom in on the blank ladder rung at line reference 410. 2 Press F9 to turn SNAP on.
Click the Insert Component tool.
Components Insert Component
In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Selector Switches.
In the JIC: Selector Switches dialog box, click 2nd+ NC Contact.

Position the selector switch at line reference 410 near the left side of the ladder and click (1)
7 In the Insert/Edit Child Component dialog box, click OK. Insert a pilot light
In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Pilot Lights.
In the JIC: Pilot Lights dialog box, click Blue Press to Test.

Position the pilot light at line reference 410 near the neutral wire but exactly in line with the selector switch and click (2)
Editing Components | 87
5 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, verify:

Component Tag: LT410
6 In the Descriptions section, specify:

Line 1: MAINT Line 2: MODE
7 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK. Edit a child contact 1 Press F9 to turn SNAP off.
Click the Edit Component tool. Components Edit Component NOTE You can also right-click on a component and select Edit Component from the context menu.

Select component/cable/location box to EDIT:
Select the selector switch on line reference 410 4 In the Insert/Edit Child Component dialog box, Component Tag section, click Parent/Sibling.

Select component:
Select the bottom sibling contact (3) of the existing switch on line reference 408
AutoCAD Electrical reads the sibling contact and transfers the appropriate annotation to your new switch contact.
Editing Components | 89
6 In the Insert/Edit Child Component dialog box, click OK. The sibling contact information is displayed on the drawing.
Linking Components
In this exercise, you link the selector switch you just inserted to the existing RAM MODE selector switch residing on line reference 406 through 408 using dashed link lines. Connect components using wires

Specify wire start or [wireType/X=show connections]:
Click the wire connection point on the right-hand side of the switch contact (1)
Specify wire end or [Continue]:
Drag the wire to the right and click the wire connection point on the left-hand side of the blue pilot light (2)
Specify wire start or [Scoot/wireType/X=show connections]:
Click the left-hand side of the switch contact

Drag the wire to the left and click the left-hand vertical bus wire The wire automatically ends on the bus and inserts a wire connection dot. 3 Repeat the process to connect the right-hand side of the blue pilot light to the vertical bus wire. 4 Right-click and select Enter to finish creating the wire connections.
If you lay a wire over the top of a series of components, AutoCAD Electrical automatically breaks and reconnects to the underlying wire connection points. Link components
Expand the Dashed Link Lines tool, and then click the Link Components with Dashed Line tool. Components Link Link Components with Dashed Line

Component to link from:
Click the contact of the switch on line reference 408 (6)
Linking Components | 91
Component to link to:
Click anywhere on your new switch contact (7), right-click
The contacts annotation is changed to invisible and a dashed link line is drawn from the bottom of the upper contact to the top of your new contact. Your finished schematic should resemble the following:
NOTE The Scoot command is fully compatible with dashed line links. Scooting one contact left or right causes both links to automatically update. You can even scoot the horizontal jog in the dashed link line up or down.
Editing Catalog Information

Sample catalog information is supplied with AutoCAD Electrical. The information is held in tables in an Access Database file (.mdb) that is populated with sample vendor data. You can use sort criteria in the catalog lookup to selectively display catalog numbers for a component type. Filter catalog data 1 Right-click on LT410 and select Edit Component. 2 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, Catalog Data section, click Lookup.
3 In the Parts Catalog dialog box, select:

Manufacturer: AB Type: 30.5mm Voltage: 120VAC XFMR
4 Change the catalog assignment to 800T-PT16E.
Add a catalog entry 1 In the Parts Catalog dialog box, click Add.
Editing Catalog Information | 93
The entries are prefilled with the information for the currently assigned catalog part number. This makes it easy to add a new entry with similar information. 2 In the Add Catalog Record dialog box, specify:
Catalog: BOG-123B Manufacturer: BOGUS
The catalog lookup works most efficiently when field values that are meant to be the same are exactly the same in both spelling and capitalization. The list box beside each field helps you maintain consistency as you add new catalog items. 3 Click List next to the Description field. AutoCAD Electrical does a quick scan of the existing catalog file. It collects and displays a list of all of the different description field values found in the catalog. 4 In the Field Description existing values dialog box, select BLUE PILOT LIGHT - PRESS TO TEST, NEMA 4/13 and click OK.
5 In the Add Catalog Record dialog box, click List next to the Type, Voltage and Miscellaneous fields and select the values shown below if not already selected.
AutoCAD Electrical provides 3 blank user fields for your own internal use. Each can be a maximum of 24 characters wide and are extracted into BOM reports along with all of the other fields. NOTE You can add catalog entries with a subassembly. To link a subassembly with the main, the catalog part numbers should share the same codes. In the Edit Catalog Record dialog box, select As main->sub, enter the ASSYCODE, and click OK. The ASSYCODE needs to be unique since it links the main catalog item with subassembly items. To add the subassembly item, in the Add Catalog Record dialog box, create a new catalog entry, select As sub, enter an ASSEMBLYLIST code, and click OK. 6 In the Add Catalog Record dialog box, click OK. As the new entry is being added to the file, the Part Catalog dialog box displays.
Editing Catalog Information | 95
7 In the Parts Catalog dialog box, select the BOG-123B catalog entry and click OK. 8 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK.
Moving Between Symbols

Use the AutoCAD Electrical Surf utility to quickly move from component reference to reference across the project drawing set. 1 Zoom on the upper left-hand portion of the first ladder column.
Click the Surfer tool. Projects Surfer
3 Click anywhere on relay coil CR407.
All instances of CR407 appear in the Surf dialog box.
4 Select the reference on sheet 6. 5 Click Go To.
The instance of CR407 on sheet 6 is surfed to and displayed in the drawing next to the Surf dialog box.
Moving Between Symbols | 97
6 Select the reference on sheet 9. 7 Click Go To. You can edit or delete the component using options in the Surf dialog box. 8 Double-click the first entry in the Surf dialog box to return to the original AEGS04.dwg drawing. 9 Click Close. NOTE Drawing files are saved while surfing if AutoCAD Electrical senses that a change has been made to the drawing.
Swapping Components
You can use the Swap Block tool to swap one component for another (such as swapping a proximity switch with a limit switch) in a single drawing or project-wide. Swap switches while keeping wire connections 1 Zoom in on the limit switch on line reference 406.
Expand the Insert Component tool, and then click the Swap/Update Block tool. Components Component Miscellaneous Swap/Update Block
3 In the Swap Block/ Update Block/ Library Swap dialog box, specify: Option A: Swap a Block - drawing wide Pick new block from icon menu Retain old block scale Auto retag if parent swap causes FAMILY change Attribute Mapping: Use Same Attribute Names (default) Click OK.
In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Miscellaneous Switches.
5 NO.
In the JIC: Other Switch Types dialog box, click Proximity Switch

Select component type to swap out: Select the limit switch, LS406
The limit switch symbol disappears and the proximity switch symbol inserts. All existing text annotation transfers to the new symbols and the wires reconnect.
Swapping Components | 99
Creating Custom Symbols

You can use the Symbol Builder to easily create an AutoCAD Electrical symbol. This utility builds a smart schematic symbol by either adding AutoCAD Electrical attributes to the symbol's geometry or by converting text entities to AutoCAD Electrical attributes. You can also use AutoCAD attribute definition and editing commands to do the same thing. This tool just makes the task easier by letting you quickly pick and place attributes. It tracks what attributes are present and checks your work to make sure that any required attributes are not omitted. NOTE If at any time you exit out of the Symbol Builder, restart it and select any graphics and attributes youve added so far. You can then start from where you left off. Create a parent schematic symbol 1 Open AEGS03.dwg.
2 tool.
Expand the Miscellaneous tool, and then click the Symbol Builder Components Symbol Library Symbol Builder
3 At the command prompt press ENTER. 4 In the Symbol Builder: Choose symbol category dialog box, Schematic Symbol section, click Parent. 5 In the Symbol Builder - Schematic Parent or Stand-alone symbol dialog box, click Rectangle.
6 Draw a rectangle anywhere on the drawing. TIP It may be easiest to draw it in the white space on the left-hand side of the drawing.
Creating Custom Symbols | 101
Adding Attribute Symbols

In this example, we add 5 attributes: TAG1, DESC1, LOC, INST and FAMILY. However you are not limited to these 5 attributes and you can include your own user-defined attributes on the AutoCAD Electrical block files. NOTE The TAG1 attribute is the only one required for a parent schematic symbol and indicates to AutoCAD Electrical that the symbol should be treated as a parent. Add attributes 1 In the Symbol Builder - Schematic Parent or Stand-alone symbol dialog box, click Standard. Use this option to assign attributes to the rectangle as well as set the height and justification for each attribute. The Component type: Schematic Parent or Stand-alone dialog box displays listing the AutoCAD Electrical attributes that you can insert and define as part of the symbol. Once an attribute is inserted on the symbol it is disabled in the Missing Attributes list. AutoCAD Electrical allows only one insertion of each attribute. NOTE You cannot create a symbol using the Symbol Builder until the minimum attribute requirements are met. In most cases this means the TAG1 or TAG2 attribute.
2 In the Component type: Schematic Parent or Stand-alone dialog box, specify:

TAG1 Height: 0.125 Justify: Center
Click Insert Attribute. 3 Insert the attribute above the rectangle. The TAG1 default code dialog box displays. The default code is the %F value of the tag format (such as CR, PB, or LT). 4 In the TAG1 default code dialog box, enter PS and click OK. Notice that the Component type: Schematic Parent or Stand-alone dialog box redisplays. The TAG1 option is now grayed out since that attribute has been placed for the parent symbol. Continue placing the rest of the attributes. 5 In the Component type: Schematic Parent or Stand-alone dialog box, specify:
DESC1 Height: 0.125
Adding Attribute Symbols | 103
Justify: Center
Click Insert Attribute. 6 Insert the attribute below TAG1.
NOTE You do not have to insert the MFG, CAT or ASSYCODE attributes at this time since they are automatically added through the Symbol Builders WBLOCK option and set to invisible by default. 7 Insert the LOC, INST, and FAMILY attributes (in order) as indicated below:
LOC Height: 0.0625 Justify: Center
Insert the attribute above TAG1.

INST Height: 0.0625 Justify: Center
Insert the attribute above LOC.

FAMILY
Insert the attribute anywhere.
Once you place the FAMILY attribute, the FAMILY code dialog box displays. The Family value generally matches the TAG1 %F value. This value is only used when naming the block. 8 In the FAMILY code dialog box, click OK. Notice that the FAMILY and TAG1%F default codes display in the Component type: Schematic Parent or Stand-alone dialog box above the Insert Attribute button. These values should both be PS. 9 Click Back to Main Menu.
Adding Wire Connection Points

If a components X?TERMxx (for example, "X2TERM01") wire connection-point attribute lies within the small trap distance of the end of a wire, then AutoCAD Electrical interprets the component connected to the wire. The only time the trap distance changes is when you change the Feature Scale Multiplier in the Drawing (or Project) Properties Drawing Format dialog box. NOTE Components with closely spaced wire connection points may not be processed properly if the connection points fall within the AutoCAD Electrical trap distance of one another. Insert connection points 1 In the Symbol Builder - Schematic Parent or Stand-alone symbol dialog box, click Wire Connection. You can define wire connection points and terminal text for the library symbol. The Terminal style/configuration dialog box displays.
Adding Wire Connection Points | 105
2 In the Terminal style/configuration dialog box, select Terminal Style 1 = Screw.
This terminal style inserts both the graphic to represent the screw and the wire connection points. You now have to determine which direction the wire attaches to the component.
Click the button with the wire coming in from both the top and the left.
4 Insert the terminal in the upper left-hand corner as shown. NOTE Always use AutoCAD Snap to insert the wire connection point.
5 In the TERM01 --> X?TERM01 wire connection point dialog box, click OK. NOTE If the TERM01 text is not where you want it, click Move and select the new location for the text before you click OK. 6 In the Pin number default value dialog box, enter L and click OK. 7 Insert the rest of the terminals as follows: TERM02
Wire connection configuration: Insertion Point: in the upper right-hand corner Pin Number Value: N
TERM03
Wire connection configuration: Insertion Point: below TERM02 Pin Number Value: GND
TERM04
Wire connection configuration: Insertion Point: in the lower right-hand corner Pin Number Value: -
Adding Wire Connection Points | 107
TERM05
Wire connection configuration: Insertion Point: to the left of TERM04 Pin Number Value: -
TERM06
Wire connection configuration: Insertion Point: to the left of TERM05 Pin Number Value: +
TERM07
Wire connection configuration: Insertion Point: to the left of TERM06 Pin Number Value: +
8 In the Terminal style/configuration dialog box, click Back to Main Menu. Your drawing should look like the following.
Saving Symbols
You have two options for saving the symbol: WBlock or Block. WBlock creates the symbol file to be inserted while Block creates the symbol for this drawing file only. NOTE If WBlock and Block are disabled you have not satisfied the requirement of the TAG1 attribute on the block. If this is the case, go back and make sure you inserted the TAG1 attribute. Save and insert the symbol onto a drawing 1 In the Symbol Builder - Schematic Parent or Stand-alone symbol dialog box, click WBlock. AutoCAD Electrical provides a default name for the new symbol. Avoid changing the first 4 characters of the file name and limit the total length to 32 characters. 2 Enter a file name or accept the default and click Save. 3 In the Block insertion base point dialog box, click OK. 4 Specify the insertion point. Pick the point in-line with the top terminals so that it is easy to later place on a wire. 5 When asked to insert an instance of this block now, click OK. 6 Place the symbol on the empty wire on the left-hand side of the drawing.
Saving Symbols | 109
The wire breaks, the component tag inserts, and the wires connect to the symbol. NOTE New symbols you create can also be inserted with the AutoCAD Electrical Insert Component command. You can add your new symbol to the icon menu or you can select it from the Type it or Browse dialog file selection options in the icon menu. 7 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK.
Circuitry
5
In this chapter

This chapter provides information about working with collections of interconnected components, or circuits. Circuits can be simple or complex, single or multiple, and with or without interconnecting wiring. Reusing circuits can both speed up drawing creation and reduce errors.
Moving an Existing Circuit Creating a New Motor Circuit Saving and Inserting Standard Circuits Inserting Saved Circuits Using WBlock
111
Moving an Existing Circuit

When you move a circuit, most of the parent components contained in the circuit automatically retag since the drawing is set up for reference-based component tagging and, in the process of moving the circuit, you are changing the reference locations of the moved components. Related child components update to match the new parent tags, including references on other drawings in the project. NOTE Tagging updates vary depending on your default tagging configurations. Move the location of a circuit 1 Open AEGS02.dwg.
Zoom in on the lower left corner of the drawing. Make sure the 3-phase motor circuit at line reference 215 is visible.
This circuit has component tags FU215 on the 3-pole fuse, 215CBL on the multi-conductor cable, DS215 on the disconnect switch, and MOT216 on the motor.
3 tool.
Expand the Insert Circuit tool, and then click the Move Circuit Components Move Circuit

Select Objects:
Window around the circuit on line reference 215 to capture the connection wire and dots that tie in to the vertical bus, right-click
112 | Chapter 5 Circuitry
Press F9 to turn SNAP on.

Specify base point or displacement:
Select a base point and then select a point on line reference 214 The circuitry is moved, the affected components are retagged, and cross-references are updated based on the new line reference. Each of the listed parent component tags decrement by one. For example, fuse FU215 became FU 214.
5 In the Update Related Components dialog box, click Yes-Update.
Related child references on the active drawing update to match the newly retagged parent components. 6 In the Update other drawings dialog box, click OK. Related child components and panel layout references on other drawings that need to match the parent components on the moved circuit update. 7 If asked to save the drawing, click OK.
Moving an Existing Circuit | 113
Click the Surfer tool.
9 Select FU214 on the drawing. The Surf dialog box displays 3 references on sheet 2 and 1 reference on sheet 9. 10 Double-click the reference on Sheet 9. Surfer goes to the panel layout drawing and zooms on the physical representation of this 3-pole fuse. Notice that the physical representation of the fuse block tag updated because the circuit was moved. 11 Double-click the first entry in the dialog box to return to the original AEGS02.dwg drawing. 12 Click Close. Moving the motor circuit up one line reference spacing opened up a bit more room for a new circuit to be added below it. The next step is to extend the 3-phase bus down to line reference 218 and over to the right to begin building a new motor circuit. Extending the 3-phase bus

Left-click the bottom ends of the 3 dangling wires, right-click
You can insert vertical or horizontal 3-phase wiring. Three-phase wiring automatically breaks and reconnects to any underlying components that
it finds in its path. If it crosses any existing wiring, wire-crossing gaps are inserted.
3 tool.
Expand the Insert Wire tool, and then click the Multiple Wire Bus Wires Multiple Wire Bus
4 In the Multiple Wire Bus dialog box, select:

Horizontal Spacing: 0.5 Vertical Spacing: 0.5 Starting at: Another Bus (Multiple Wires) Number of Wires: 3
5 Click OK. 6 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Select existing wire to begin multi-phase bus connection:
Select the bottom corner of the left-most vertical bus on line reference 214 as shown
Select existing wire to begin multi-phase bus connection: to:
Pull your cursor down to line reference 218 and over to the right
Moving an Existing Circuit | 115
Temporary graphics show the proposed routing of the extended bus.
7 To maintain the same phase sequence on the new horizontal portion of the bus, enter F to flip the phase order of the 90-degree turn. Move your cursor slightly to force the display to update.
8 Click to create the wires. 9 Right-click to exit the command. The 3-phase bus and wire connection dot symbols are inserted on the drawing.
Creating a New Motor Circuit

You will now construct a new motor circuit on the extended 3-phase bus. It is similar to the previous one, except it wires directly from the overloads to the motor through a fusible disconnect switch. Copy the circuit
1 tool.
Expand the Insert Circuit tool, and then click the Copy Circuit Components Copy Circuit

Select objects:
Window around the 3-pole fuse on line reference 214 from left to right, right-click
<Base point or displacement>/Multiple: Select a base point Specify second point of displacement:
Select a point on line reference 217 directly below the selected 3-pole fuse The circuitry is copied and the components are retagged based upon their new line reference locations.
Creating a New Motor Circuit | 117
NOTE If the circuit you are copying contains any fixed wire numbers or component tags, you are prompted to specify how to handle them. 3 Repeat steps 1-2 for the 3-pole motor contactor on line reference 214.
The parent fuse and its two child fuses automatically retag based on the line reference insertion point, becoming FU217. The 3-pole motor contactor/ overload is blanked out to a generic M tag since all 3 poles are child references. The motor starter contacts retag when they are tied to a new parent motor starter coil symbol.
Insert multi-level terminals
In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Terminals/Connectors.
In the JIC: Terminals and Connectors dialog box, click Round with Terminal Number.

Position the terminal on the wire at line reference 217 in line with the terminals in the circuit at line reference 215 and click
The wire is broken and reconnected, and the terminal is inserted. The Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box displays, where you can annotate the terminal properties and associations. 5 In the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Project List section, select Tag Strip TB. Selecting from the Project List assigns the Location code (MCAB5), the Tag Strip value (TB) and the Number (10) to the terminal.
6 Click Details >>. 7 In the Catalog Data section, click Catalog Lookup. 8 On the Parts Catalog dialog box, select:
Manufacturer: SIEMENS Type: MULTI-LEVEL Rating: 20 AMPS
9 Select part 8WA1 011-3JF16 and click OK. The Manufacturer and Catalog information for the selected part displays in the Catalog Data section of the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box. 10 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, click OK-Repeat. 11 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Position the terminal on the wire below and in-line with the terminal on line reference 217 and click
Modify multi-level terminal associations 1 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Modify Properties/Associations section, click Add/Modify. 2 On the Add/Modify Association dialog box, Select Association section, expand the active project node. The active node is bold in the list and in this case is MCAB5-TB (11). The terminal block quantity displays at the end of the node string in parenthesis (). This terminal strip contains 11 terminal blocks.
3 Select the terminal block node you inserted on line reference 217 (10, , (3)).
The terminal numbers defined on the block are listed, separated by commas. The number of levels defined in the block properties displays at the end of the node string in parenthesis. For example, 1,21,GND (3). If a level is not represented on the schematic, it is represented by empty space: 1, , GND (3). If a terminal has been assigned to the level, but the terminal doesnt have a number assignment, they are represented by ???: 1,???,GND (3). NOTE The grid to the right populates with the definition for the selected terminal: Level 1 has Label = TOP, Number = 10, Reference = 2,217. 4 Select Level 2 in the grid and click Associate.
Once you click Associate, the middle level updates with the terminal number in the grid in the Active Association section of the dialog box.
5 Click OK. The level assignments display in the Properties/Associations section of the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box. Notice that the terminal is 3 levels and levels 1 and 2 have now been assigned.
6 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, click OK-Repeat. 7 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Position the terminal on the last wire below and in-line with the terminal on line reference 217 and click
8 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Modify Properties/Associations section, click Add/Modify. 9 On the Add/Modify Association dialog box, Select Association section, expand the active project node. 10 Select the terminal block node you inserted on line reference 217 (10,11, (3)). Notice that the node properties updated to reflect that levels 1 and 2 are assigned and that level 3 is still blank/available. 11 Select Level 3 in the grid and click Associate.
Once you click Associate, the bottom level updates with the terminal number in the grid in the Active Association section of the dialog box. You can rearrange the levels by selecting a level and clicking Move Up or Move Down.
12 Click OK. The level assignments display in the Properties/Associations section of the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box. Notice that levels 1, 2, and 3 have now been assigned.
13 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, click OK.
Insert 3-pole fusible disconnect switch
In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Fuses/Circuit Breakers/Transformers.
In the JIC: Fuses, Circuit Breakers and Transformers dialog box, click Circuit Breakers/Disconnects.
In the JIC: Disconnecting Means dialog box, click 3 Pole Fused Disconnect.

Position the fuse on the wire at line reference 217 near the end of the wire and click
6 When prompted to build up or down, click Down. The wire is broken and reconnected, and the other 2 fuses are inserted. Each fuse finds and connects to the underlying wire. The Insert/Edit dialog box is displayed, where you can annotate the first pole of the 3-pole fuse.
7 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK. Insert a 3-phase motor
In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Motor Control.
In the JIC: Motor Control dialog box, click 3 Phase Motor.

Position the motor at the end of the center phase of the 3-phase bus and click
5 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK. Notice that the top and bottom phase wires do not automatically connect.

Select the upper and lower wire segments extending off the disconnect, right-click

Specify wire start or [wireType/ X=show connections]:
Select a point on the motor symbol near its 11 oclock position

Move the cursor up and over to the left and select the wire connection point on the right-hand end of the upper disconnect switch A wire is drawn at an upward angle and connects to the disconnect switch.
10 Repeat this process starting at the 7 oclock position on the motor symbol and ending on the bottom disconnect switch. 11 Repeat this process starting at the 5 oclock position on the motor symbol and pull down past the bottom pole, left-click.
12 Pull the wire to the left and down, then left-click to insert the wire and press ESC to exit the command.
13
Click the Copy Component tool. Components Copy Component

Select component to copy:
Select the ground symbol from the circuit on line reference 214
Specify insertion point: Select the end of the motor ground wire
Saving and Inserting Standard Circuits

AutoCADElectrical makes saving and inserting pre-drawn circuits easy and convenient. You can save and insert from a user circuits page on the Insert Component icon menu or you can use the normal AutoCAD WBlock command to save selected circuitry to disk and an Insert Circuit command to insert WBlocked circuits into the active drawing. Save your circuit for use in the future 1 Zoom around the circuit so that it fills your screen.
Expand the Insert Circuit tool, and then click the Save Circuit to Icon Menu tool. Components Save Circuit to Icon Menu
3 On the Save Circuit to Icon Menu dialog box, click Add New circuit. 4 On the Create New Circuit dialog box, specify:
Name: Motor Circ - Fusible DS Image file: Active and Create PNG from current screen image File name: UserCirc1
Saving and Inserting Standard Circuits | 129

Base point:
Select the left-most wire connection point where the circuit ties into the left-hand vertical bus wire
Select objects:
Window around the circuit from left to right to capture all of the components and wiring, but exclude the vertical bus, press ENTER
7 On the Save Circuit to Icon Menu dialog box, click OK. The circuit is saved to your AutoCAD Electrical user folder and can be quickly accessed from the Insert Component icon menu or from the Insert Saved Circuit tool. The new motor has a 3-pole motor contactor child reference but there isnt a parent motor starter relay coil to operate it. The motor start coil circuit needs to be added on a control schematic in the project drawing set and linked back to the new motor circuit. Insert motor start coil circuit to control schematic 1 Open AEGS04.dwg. 2 Zoom on the upper-right hand ladder column so the full circuit on line reference 422-423 is displayed.
Expand the Insert Circuit tool, and then click the Save Circuit to Icon Menu tool. Components Save Circuit to Icon Menu
4 On the Save Circuit to Icon Menu dialog box, click Add New circuit. 5 On the Create New Circuit dialog box, specify:
Name: Motor starter circ Image file: Active and Create PNG from current screen image File name: UserCirc2
Click OK. 6 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Base point: Select the left-most wire connection point at line reference 422
Select objects:
Window around the circuit from left to right to capture all of the components and wiring, but exclude the vertical bus, press ENTER
7 On the Save Circuit to Icon Menu dialog box, click OK. Insert a circuit you saved for re-use 1 Pan to display the blank area between line references 426 - 432.
Expand the Insert Circuit tool, and then click the Insert Saved Circuit tool. Components Insert Saved Circuit
3 In the JIC: Saved User Circuits dialog box, select the Motor starter circ button. 4 In the Circuit Scale dialog box, click OK. 5 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Place the circuit insertion point on the vertical bus wire at line reference 427, and left-click to insert the circuit.
The circuit inserts and updates. Tags automatically update to reflect the new line reference number, and parent/child relationships defined inside of the circuit update accordingly. 6 Right-click the M427 coil symbol and select Edit Component.
7 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, specify:

Description Line 2: MOTOR NO. 2
Click OK. 8 In the Update Related Components dialog box, click Yes-Update. Linking the parent coil to the child contactor 1 Open AEGS02.dwg and zoom on the untagged 3-pole motor contact/overloads on line reference 217. 2 Right-click the M contact and select Edit Component. The Insert/Edit Child Component is displayed. You must enter the exact parent coil tag into the Component Tag box to establish the link between the parent and the child contacts. Currently the Component Tag is M. 3 In the Insert/Edit Child Component dialog box, Component Tag section, click Project. 4 In the Complete Project list for Family=M dialog box, select M427 HYDRAULIC MOTOR NO 2 and click OK.
The tag M427 is now displayed in the Component Tag edit box. Notice that the description, cross-reference, and location code boxes have also updated.
5 In the Insert/Edit Child Component dialog box, click OK. 6 In the Update linked components dialog box, click OK. The components are now linked. If you go back to drawing AEGS04.dwg and look at the motor starter coil, it shows references to these 3 child contacts (plus one seal contact around PB427).
Using the icon menu to add a motor 1 Reopen drawing AEGS04.dwg and zoom to the blank area at line references 430-431. 2 Repeat the steps for inserting the saved Motor starter circ circuit. 3 In the Circuit Scale dialog box, click OK. 4 Insert the circuit at line reference 430. 5 Right-click the M430 coil symbol, and select Edit Component. 6 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, specify:
Description Line 2: MOTOR NO. 3
Click OK. 7 In the Update related components dialog box, click Yes-Update. 8 Open drawing AEGS02.dwg and zoom to the blank area at line references 204-206. 9 Repeat the steps for inserting a saved circuit, but this time insert the Motor Circ - Fusible DS circuit. 10 In the Circuit Scale dialog box, click OK. 11 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Position the motor circuit so that the insertion point lands on the left-hand vertical bus at line reference 204, and left-click to insert the circuit.
Notice that the fuse, disconnect, and motor automatically retag based on their reference locations. 12 Right-click the M child motor contact symbol, and select Edit Component. 13 In the Insert/Edit Child Component dialog box, Component Tag section, click Project. 14 In the Complete Project list for Family=M dialog box, select M430 HYDRAULIC MOTOR NO. 3 and click OK. The tag M430 is now displayed in the Component Tag edit box. Notice that the description, cross-reference, and location code boxes have also updated. 15 In the Insert/Edit Child Component dialog box, click OK. 16 In the Update linked components dialog box, click OK.
You can now renumber your terminals manually or project-wide. Renumber terminals 1 Click Components Terminals Terminal Strip Utilities Terminal Renumber (Project-wide). 2 On the Project-wide Schematic Terminal Renumber dialog box, select: Include Installation/Location in terminal strip Tag-ID match
Starting Terminal Number = 1
3 In the Tag-ID section, click Drawing.
4 On the Terminal Tag-ID List dialog box, select Tag-ID = TB and click OK. 5 On the Project-wide Schematic Terminal Renumber dialog box, click OK. 6 On the Select Drawings to Process dialog box, click Do All and click OK. 7 If asked to save the drawing, click OK. You can modify an existing terminal to make it a multi-level terminal block and then associate terminals to the master terminal block. Modify terminal properties 1 Right-click terminal 4 on line reference 207 and select Edit Component. 2 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Catalog Data section, delete the Manufacturer and Catalog information. 3 In the Modify Properties/Associations section, click Block Properties. 4 On the Terminal Block Properties dialog box, specify:
Levels: 3
Level 1
Level Description: Top Wires Per Connection: 2 PinL: 1 PinR: 2
Level 2
Level Description: Middle Wires Per Connection: 2 PinL: 3 PinR: 4
Level 3
Level Description: Bottom Wires Per Connection: 2 PinL: 5 PinR: 6
Click OK. Notice on the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Properties/Associations section that the block now has 3 levels and terminal 4 is assigned to the top level of the block.
5 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, click OK.
6 On the Update other drawings dialog box, click OK. 7 If asked to save the drawing, click OK. 8 Click Components Terminals Associate Terminals. 9 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Select Master terminal: Select terminal 4 on line reference 207 Pick terminal: Select terminal 5 Pick terminal: Select terminal 6, right-click
NOTE The command prompt area indicates that the terminal was added as level 02 or level 03 once you pick the terminal. 10 Right-click terminal 6 and select Edit Component. On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Properties/Associations section, all three levels have been assigned. You can now move a terminal to another level using the Add/Modify Association dialog box.
11 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Modify Properties/Associations section, click Add/Modify.
12 On the Add/Modify Association dialog box, Active Association section, highlight level 3 in the grid and click Move Up.
The grid updates to reflect the move. Notice that terminal 6 is now assigned to level 2. 13 Click OK. 14 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, click OK. 15 If asked to update related components, click Yes-Update. Add wire tee markers to your circuits 1 Pan your view so the circuit on line reference 204 is visible.
Expand the Wire Tee Markers tool, and then click the Insert Dot Tee Markers tool.

Select the connection points at the vertical 3-phase bus for each wire
4 Insert dot tee markers for the circuit on line reference 217. 5 Right-click to exit the command.
Inserting Saved Circuits Using WBlock

Another method for saving and inserting circuits is to use the AutoCAD WBlock command to save the circuit to disk. A separate Insert Circuit command is used to browse to a selected saved circuit and insert it into the active drawing. This method allows unlimited circuits to be constructed and saved to disk. They can be arranged into a set of shared subfolders for easy browsing and retrieval using the Insert Circuit command. Saving a circuit using WBlock 1 Pan to display the 3-phase motor circuit at line references 207 - 209. 2 Enter wblock at the command line and press ENTER. 3 In the Write Block dialog box, click Pick point. 4 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Specify insertion base point:
Select the intersection of the left vertical bus with the upper horizontal wire at line reference 207
5 In the Write Block dialog box, click Select objects. 6 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Select objects: Window from left to right around the full circuit, right-click
7 In the Write Block dialog box, enter a name for the saved circuit. Take note of the location where the drawing file is being saved. 8 Click OK. Inserting a WBlocked circuit
Expand the Insert Circuit tool, and then click the Insert WBlocked Circuit tool. Components Insert WBlocked Circuit
2 In the Insert Wblocked Circuit dialog box, browse to the folder containing the circuit you just saved. 3 Select the WBlocked motor circuit, and click Open. 4 In the Circuit Scale dialog box, select: Move all lines to wire layers Keep all source arrows Update circuits text layers as required Click OK. 5 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Specify insertion point: Select any blank spot on your drawing
The parent component tags that are not set to Fixed automatically retag based on the insertion point, similar to the behavior when inserting a circuit using the icon menu method. 6 Delete the circuit.
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142
PLC
6
In this chapter
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) modules are built dynamically when selected from the menu. From a small set of library symbols, hundreds of PLC modules can be built on request. This method allows the module to conform to the underlying ladder rung spacing, so you can add spacers and break the module at insertion time.
Inserting Ladders into Drawings Inserting PLC Modules Using Multiple Insert Component Annotating PLC I/O Descriptions Inserting Wire Numbers Based on PLC I/O Addresses Resequencing Ladders
143
Inserting Ladders into Drawings

You can insert a ladder into a drawing at any time. A drawing may have multiple ladders, as well as single-phase and three-phase ladders. The ladders can have different parameters, such as rung spacing, number of rungs, and ladder width. Insert a single-phase ladder 1 Open AEGS05.dwg. 2 Click the Insert Ladder tool. Wires Ladders Insert Ladder 3 In the Insert Ladder dialog box, specify:
Width: 9.000 Spacing: 1.0000 1st Reference: 519 Index: 1 Rungs: 18 Phase: 1 Phase Draw Rungs: Yes Skip: 0
You do not need to specify the Length since it is automatically calculated once the 1st Reference, Index and Rungs are specified. NOTE Reference 519 represents Page 5, Reference 19. 4 Click OK. 5 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Specify start position of first rung or [wiretype (T)]:
Enter 16, 21, press ENTER NOTE You can also specify the start position of the first rung by left-clicking a location on the drawing with your mouse. A single phase ladder is inserted in the drawing.
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Inserting PLC Modules

AutoCADElectrical generates any of hundreds of different PLC I/O modules on demand, in a variety of different graphical styles, all without a single, complete I/O module library symbol resident on the system. Modules adapt to the underlying ladder rung spacing, whatever that value might be. They can be stretched or broken into two or more pieces at insertion time. To insert a PLC module, you select the module and pick a location. AutoCAD Electrical builds and inserts the module, using a small set of library symbols. Insert a PLC module
Click the Insert PLC (Parametric) tool. Components Insert PLC Modules Insert PLC (Parametric)
2 In the PLC Parametric Selection dialog box, select:

Manufacturer: Allen-Bradley
Inserting PLC Modules | 145
Series: 1746 Type: Discrete Input Part Number: 1746-IA16 Graphics Style: 2, Vertical Module

Specify PLC module insert point or [Z=zoom, P=pan]:
Pick a point on wire line reference 520 closer to the right side, ensure the X is near the horizontal wire, click
146 | Chapter 6 PLC
5 In the Module Layout dialog box, verify the default settings:

Spacing: 1.0000 I/O Points: Insert all
Click OK. AutoCAD Electrical reads the vertical rung spacing of your ladder and calculates how long the module is going to be. It multiplies the rung spacing by the number of wire connections specified by the module you selected. Temporary graphics display a representation of the module (with the spacing defined) to help position the module on the ladder. 6 In the I/O Point dialog box, specify:
Rack Number: 1 Slot Number: 1
NOTE Specify the values by either entering text into the edit boxes or by clicking the arrows. 7 Click OK.
Inserting PLC Modules | 147
8 In the I/O Address dialog box, specify:

Beginning address: I:11/00
NOTE You can also select the beginning address from the Quick picks list. 9 Click OK. 10 In the I/O Addressing dialog box, click Decimal. The PLC module is inserted into your drawing with incremental address numbers already annotated as the module goes in, it breaks and reconnects to underlying wires.
You can break an I/O module into as many pieces as you want at insertion time. This is great for high-density modules that wont fit into a single ladder column. Use the Allow spacers/breakers option in the Module Layout dialog box at insertion time to do this. You can also add extra space between adjacent I/O points using the Stretch Block tool. This feature lets you leave extra room when you know ahead of time that certain I/O point will have additional components wired tied to a single I/O point after a PLC module is inserted. NOTE This can be used on any block, not just a PLC module.
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Remove ladder rungs

Select the ladder rung at line reference 519, right-click The ladder rung is removed from your drawing.
Using Multiple Insert Component

You can insert components into wires that are tied to the PLC module. Use the Multiple Insert Component tool to insert a string of normally open limit switches. Insert a limit switch
Click the Multiple Insert Component tool. Components Multiple Insert Multiple Insert (Icon Menu)
In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Limit Switches.
In the JIC: Limit Switches dialog box, select Limit Switch, NO.
Using Multiple Insert Component | 149

Component Fence, From Point:
Select above the wire at line reference 520 (1)

Component Fence, From Point: to:
Drag below the wire at line reference 522, click the point (2), right-click
5 In the Keep dialog box, select: Keep this one Show edit dialog after each Click OK 6 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, specify:
Component Tag: LS520 Description: Line 1: PALLET ENTERING Description: Line 2: STATION Location code: MACHINE
Click OK. NOTE In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, Component Tag section, you can use the Use PLC Address button to add the I/O Address as the component tag. 7 In the Keep dialog box, select: Keep this one Show edit dialog after each Click OK 8 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, specify:
Component Tag: LS521 Description: Line 1: PALLET INSIDE
150 | Chapter 6 PLC
Description: Line 2: STATION Location code: MACHINE
Click OK. 9 In the Keep dialog box, select: Keep this one Show edit dialog after each Click OK 10 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, specify:
Component Tag: LS522 Description: Line 1: PALLET LEAVING Description: Line 2: STATION Location code: MACHINE
Click OK. The normally open limit switches are inserted into the drawing.
Insert terminals
Click the Multiple Insert Component tool. Components Multiple Insert Multiple Insert (Icon Menu)
In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Terminals/Connectors.
In the JIC: Terminals and Connectors dialog box, click Round with Terminal Number.

Component Fence, From Point: Select above wire at line reference 520 (1) Component Fence, From Point: to:
Select below wire at line reference 535 (2), left click to end command, right-click to add terminal
5 In the Keep dialog box, select Keep this one. Click OK. 6 In the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Terminal section, specify:
Location: MCAB5 Tag Strip: TS1 Number: 1
152 | Chapter 6 PLC
7 Click OK. 8 In the Keep dialog box, select: Keep all, dont ask Clear Show edit dialog after each Click OK The terminals are automatically added to your drawing.
Annotating PLC I/O Descriptions

You can add description text to a PLC module using the Edit Component tool. You can make changes to the descriptions at any time. However, you must edit each split PLC piece separately. Add description text
Click the Edit Component tool. Components Edit Component

Select component/cable/location box to EDIT:
Select anywhere on the top portion of the PLC module
154 | Chapter 6 PLC
The Edit PLC Module dialog box displays.
This dialog box provides spaces for you to enter description text for each I/O point. Assume that the descriptions already assigned to the connected limit switches are similar to what you want to use for the PLC I/O point descriptions. 3 In the Edit PLC Module dialog box, click Wired Devices. AutoCAD Electrical immediately follows each I/O points connected wire backwards. If it finds a connected component, the component description text is retrieved. Each description is displayed in a dialog list. 4 For the first I/O address (I:11/00), select the first description (PALLET ENTERING STATION) in the extracted device list. The Confirmation dialog box displays.
Annotating PLC I/O Descriptions | 155
5 Make sure the correct description is specified and click OK. 6 Click Next to highlight I/O address 1:11/01 in the Addressing list. The corresponding device description highlights automatically.
7 Select the highlighted description, PALLET INSIDE STATION, and click OK. 8 Repeat this process for the remaining I/O point. NOTE Alternately you can use Pick to capture existing description text from a connected device. To do so, in the Edit PLC Module dialog box, click Pick and then select the component whose text you want to copy. AutoCAD Electrical reads the existing DESC text values on the component and transfers a copy to the DESC boxes in the Edit PLC Module dialog box. 9 In the Edit PLC Module dialog box, click OK. Your descriptions appear on the module.
NOTE If your PLC description is not where you want it, use the Scoot tool to scoot the description to a new location.
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Inserting Wire Numbers Based on PLC I/O Addresses

You can insert wire numbers based on the I/O address that each PLC connected wire touches. The wire numbers insert with your specified format as fixed wire numbers, so they will not change if a wire number re-tag is run later on. NOTE If you want PLC I/O based wire numbering to be the automatic default for a drawing, set this up in the Drawing Properties dialog box. Select the Use I/O Wire Numbers toggle. Insert PLC I/O wire numbers
Expand the Insert Wire Numbers tool, and then click the PLC I/O Wire Numbers tool. Wires Wire Numbers Miscellaneous PLC I/O Wire Numbers The PLC I/O Wire Numbers dialog box displays.
The default format is %N, the address number. The wire number will be the same as its connected I/O address number. 2 Click I:%n to change the wire number format. This adds an I prefix to each wire number that ties to the input module. 3 Click OK. 4 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Select I/O module to process: Select anywhere on the PLC module Select objects: Select all of the connected wires to process, right-click
Inserting Wire Numbers Based on PLC I/O Addresses | 157
The wire numbers are inserted with the specified format. If some of the I/O points short-circuit to other I/O points, the last point wire number prevails for that common wire network.
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Resequencing Ladders
AutoCAD Electrical drawings can be easily renumbered and retagged with a minimum of manual clean up. You can resequence line reference numbers, component tags, and wire numbers. This is useful when a drawing has been copied from a previous project and the line reference numbers and tagging format of the drawing do not conform to the project requirements. Resequence ladder line reference numbers
1 tool.
Expand the Insert Ladder tool, and then click the Revise Ladder Wires Ladders Revise Ladders The Modify Line Reference Numbers dialog box displays a list of ladders in the drawing.
2 Change the beginning line reference numbers for each ladder. Change the first ladder to 101 (column 1, line 01) and the second ladder to 201 (column 2, line 01). 3 Click OK. The reference numbers update along each ladder.
Resequencing Ladders | 159
160
Wire Numbers
7
In this chapter

This chapter provides information about working with wire numbers in drawings and across projects.
About Wire Numbers Attaching Source Signal Arrows Attaching Destination Signal Arrows Inserting Wire Numbers Working with Wire Layers
161
About Wire Numbers

Wire numbers can be assigned to any and all existing wires on an individual selection, an entire drawing, selected drawings in a project, or an entire project. AutoCAD Electrical assigns a unique wire number to each wire network. A wire network consists of one or more wires that are electrically connected.
Attaching Source Signal Arrows

AutoCAD Electrical uses a named source/destination concept. You identify a wire network to be the source, insert a source arrow on that network, and assigning a source code name to it. On the wire network that is to be a continuation of the same wire number (whether on the same drawing or a different drawing in the project) you insert a destination arrow and give it the same code name that you gave to its source. AutoCAD Electrical then reprocesses your drawing set for wire numbering update, it matches source code names with destination names and copies source wire numbers over to the destination wire networks. You can attach a source signal to a wire segment of a wire network. This enables the wire number assigned to the network to jump and continue to another network on the current drawing or on one or more drawings in the project. The source and destination are also helpful with the Wire From/To reports and connection information. Attach a source signal arrow 1 Open AEGS03.dwg.
Expand the Source Destination Signals tool, and then click the Source Signal Arrow tool. Wires Signal References Source Signal Arrow

Select wire end for Source:
Select the end of the hot wire on the schematic on the right side of the drawing at line reference 332 (1)
162 | Chapter 7 Wire Numbers
4 In the Signal - Source Code dialog box, specify:

Code: 24 VDC Signal Arrow Style: 1
AutoCAD Electrical allows one description line on a source arrow. This description can then be carried over to the associated destination arrow. You can define some default description lines to make them easier to enter without typing them in each time. AutoCAD Electrical looks for a file called WDSRCDST.WDD. This file is a simple text file with each line
Attaching Source Signal Arrows | 163
being read as a separate description. If this file exists, the Defaults button is available on the Signal - Source Code and Insert Destination Code dialog boxes. 5 Click OK. 6 In the Source/Destination Signal Arrows dialog box, click No. NOTE Click No to insert the signal arrows on the next drawing. Click OK to insert the signal arrows on the current drawing.
Click the Next Project Drawing tool to access AEGS04.dwg. Now you are ready to insert a destination signal arrow.
Attaching Destination Signal Arrows

After the source signal arrow is attached to a wire in the drawing, you can attach a destination signal to a wire segment of a wire network. This enables the wire number assigned to another source wire network to carry over to the current network automatically. Attach a destination signal
Expand the Source Destination Signals tool, and then click the Destination Signal Arrow tool. Wires Signal References Destination Signal Arrow

Select wire end for Destination:
Select the top of the hot wire on the schematic on the left side of the drawing at line reference 402 (2)
3 In the Insert Destination Code dialog box, click Project.
4 In the Signal codes -- Project-wide Source dialog box, select the following:
5 Click OK. 6 In the Insert Destination Code dialog box, verify:

Code: 24 VDC Signal Arrow Style: 1
Click OK + Update Source.
Attaching Destination Signal Arrows | 165
The cross-references for your signal insert into the drawing above the hot wire.
Attach source and destination signals to the neutral wires.
Click the Previous Project Drawing button to return to AEGS03.dwg.
Expand the Source Destination Signals tool, and then click the Source Signal Arrow tool. Wires Signal References Source Signal Arrow

Select wire end for Source:
Select the bottom of the neutral wire at line reference 332 (3)
4 In the Signal - Source Code dialog box, specify:

Code: 24 VDC NEUTRAL
Click OK. 5 In the Source/Destination Signal Arrows dialog box, click No. NOTE Click No to insert the signal arrows on the next drawing. Click OK to insert the signal arrows on the current drawing.
Click the Next Project Drawing tool to open AEGS04.dwg.
Expand the Source Destination Signals tool, and then click the Destination Signal Arrow tool. Wires Signal References Destination Signal Arrow

Select wire end for Destination:
Select the top of the neutral wire at line reference 402 (4)
9 In the Insert Destination Code dialog box, click Project.
10 In the Signal codes -- Project-wide Source dialog box, select the following:
Attaching Destination Signal Arrows | 167
11 Click OK. 12 In the Insert Destination Code dialog box, verify:

Code: 24 VDC NEUTRAL Signal Arrow Style: 1
Click OK + Update Source. NOTE If asked to change the destination wire layer, click Yes. The cross-references for your signal insert into the drawing above the neutral wire.
13
Expand the Source Destination Signals tool, and then click the Show Signal Paths tool. Wires Signal References Show Signal Paths
Temporary graphics illustrate the flow of the signals on your drawings.
NOTE There is no limit to the number of source and destination links you can set up. One source network can jump to multiple destinations on one or many drawings. A wire can carry both a destination signal and a source signal pointing to the next daisy-chained destination.
Inserting Wire Numbers

You can process and tag wires with sequential wire numbers or with wire numbers based upon the line reference location start of the wire network. When wire numbers are automatically inserted into a drawing, the numbers are not duplicated if they are defined on another network. AutoCAD Electrical works from left to right, top to bottom as it processes wire networks by default. You can change the direction of wire numbering using the Project Properties Wire Numbers dialog box (in the Project Manager, right-click the project name, and select Properties. In the Project Properties dialog box, click the Wire Numbers tab).
Inserting Wire Numbers | 169
Insert wire numbers automatically 1 With AEGS04.dwg open as the active drawing, zoom the top portion of the wire network on the left side of the drawing.
Click the Insert Wire Numbers tool. Wires Insert Wire Numbers
3 In the Sheet 4 - Wire Tagging dialog box, click Pick Individual Wires.

Select objects:
Select the wire segment between the two push buttons on line reference 403 (1), right-click
The wire number is placed. Add wire numbers to the entire drawing
2 In the Sheet 4 - Wire Tagging dialog box, click Drawing-wide. Wire numbers are assigned to each segment in your drawing.
Add wire numbers project-wide
2 In the Sheet 4 - Wire Tagging dialog box, click Project-wide. 3 In the Wire Tagging (Project-wide) dialog box, verify:
Wire tag mode: Reference-based tags To do: Tag/retag all
Freshen database (for Signals)
4 Click OK. 5 In the Select Drawings to Process dialog box, Project Drawing List section, press SHIFT as you select AEGS03.dwg and AEGSO04.dwg. Click Process. 6 Verify AEGS03.dwg and AEGSO04.dwgare listed as the drawings to process and click OK. 7 If asked to save the drawing, click OK. Wire numbers are processed for the selected drawings. You can use the Delete Wire Numbers tool to select a wire number or to pick on any wire of the network.
Inserting Wire Numbers | 171
Delete a wire number
Click the Delete Wire Number tool. Wires Delete Wire Number
2 Respond the prompts as follows:

Select objects: Enter all, press ENTER
The wires in the network change to dashed lines, representing the wires from which the wire numbers will be erased. 3 Press ENTER again to erase the wire numbers.
Working with Wire Layers

When a wire is inserted, the wire ends up on the first valid wire layer as defined in the Drawing Properties dialog box. It may be more appropriate for some wires to be placed on different wire layers. You can use the AutoCAD PROPERTIES command to move a wire to the correct layer or you can use the Wire Layer utility. Change wire layer assignments
Expand the Insert Wires tool, and then click the Change/Convert Wire Type tool. Wires Change/Convert Wire Type The Change/Convert Wire Type dialog box lists all of the valid wire layers that are defined for the active drawing. The the wire layer name and the wire properties like color, size, and user defined properties are listed in the grid. A number in the Used column indicates the number of wires on the drawing. A 0 in the Used column indicates that the layer name exists in the drawing but it is not currently being used.
2 Select RED_18AWG. The wire type highlights in blue in the dialog box indicating that this is the wire type that will be changed.

Select Objects:
Window from left to right around the wires as shown and press ENTER
Before you press ENTER, the wires display as dashed lines to indicate that they have been selected; once you press ENTER the lines display in red indicating that they have been moved to the RED_18AWG wire layer.
5 Repeat to move any other wiring onto another wire layer.
Working with Wire Layers | 173
174
Panel Layouts
8
In this chapter

This chapter provides information about working with tools that insert footprint components into panel layouts in AutoCAD Electrical.
About Panel Layouts Inserting Panel Components Modifying Attributes Adding Nameplate Footprints Editing Terminal Strips
175
About Panel Layouts

AutoCAD Electrical provides tools to create intelligent panel layout drawings. You can drive layouts from information on the AutoCAD Electrical schematic drawings or you can construct them independently of the schematics. AutoCAD Electrical places no special naming or attribute requirements on mechanical footprint symbols. You can use footprint symbols supplied by vendors in AutoCAD format with AutoCAD Electrical.
Inserting Panel Components

Using the AutoCAD Electrical Panel Layout tools, you can select from a list of schematic components and then place the footprint component directly into a panel layout. The footprint remains linked to the original schematic components, so you can perform bidirectional updating between schematic components and the associated footprint blocks. For this chapter, use the Panel Layout tools:
Select schematic component footprints 1 Open AEGS08.dwg.
Expand the Insert Component Footprint tool, and then click the Insert Footprint (Schematic List) tool. Panel Layout Insert Footprint (Schematic List)
3 In the Schematic Component List -- Panel Layout Insert dialog box, verify:
Extract component list for: Project Location Codes to extract: All
176 | Chapter 8 Panel Layouts
4 Click OK. 5 In the Select Drawings to Process dialog box, select AEGS04.dwg and click Process. 6 Verify that AEGS04.dwg is listed in the Drawing to Process section and click OK. 7 In the Schematic Components (active project) dialog box, click Mark Existing. An x marks the footprints that are already placed in the project. You cannot insert the same component multiple times. If you select an item with an x, the Insert button is disabled. NOTE An o next to a component in the list indicates that a panel component with a matching component tag was found, but the catalog information does not match.
Inserting Panel Components | 177
8 In the Schematic Components (active project) dialog box, Display section, select Hide Existing. The schematic component footprints not yet inserted into the panel layout are displayed.
Now you can begin to manually insert schematic component footprints on the panel layout. Insert the system reset footprint manually 1 In the Schematics Components (active project) dialog box, select PB403 OPSTA3 SYSTEM RESET.
2 Click Manual. NOTE The Manual button is used when schematic component footprints do not have a manufacturer and catalog number defined The next step is to make a catalog assignment for the automatic footprint. 3 In the Footprint dialog box, Choice A section, click Catalog lookup. NOTE Use Choice B to enter a graphic without selecting a catalog number. 4 In the Parts Catalog dialog box, select:
MANUFACTURER: AB TYPE: 30.5mm FLUSH STYLE: *ALL*
5 Change the catalog assignment to 800T-A2A 1 NO 1 NC BLACK PUSH BUTTON - MOMENTARY, NEMA 4/13 and click OK.
6 In the Footprint dialog box, Choice A section, verify:

Manufacturer: AB Catalog: 800T-A2A

Select Location for PB403: Select to the left of PB414A (1) Select Location for PB403: <Ortho on> select ROTATION:
Right-click to place the push button
The component may already have an Item Number assigned. If AutoCAD Electrical finds a panel component with the same catalog information, it automatically assigns the same item number to this new component. If no item number is assigned and you think a matching component was already inserted, use one of the Find buttons to look through the drawing or project. If no matching component is found, click Next to assign an item number to this footprint. This button updates each time you insert a footprint and assign an item number. This item or detail number is used for BOM and component reporting and can be referenced by optional balloon labels tied to the footprint.
NOTE The Panel Layout - Component Insert/Edit dialog box displays each time you insert a panel footprint. Information from the schematic representation is automatically carried over to the panel footprint representation. 8 In the Panel Layout - Component Insert/Edit dialog box, click OK. The Schematics Component (active project) dialog box redisplays. You can continue inserting components from the projects schematic list. Insert the emergency stop footprint manually 1 In the Schematic Components (active project) dialog box, select: PB403A OPSTA3 EMERGENCY STOP.
2 Click Manual. 3 In the Footprint dialog box, Choice A section, click Catalog lookup. 4 In the Parts Catalog dialog box, select:
Manufacturer: AB Type: 30.5mm Style: Red
5 Change the catalog assignment to 800T-D6A 1NO-1NC PUSH BUTTON-MUSHROOM, NEMA 4/13 and click OK. 6 In the Footprint dialog box, Choice A section, verify:
Manufacturer: AB Catalog: 800T-D6A

Select Location for PB403A: Select to the left of Conveyor Motor Start (2) Select Location for PB403A: <Ortho on> select ROTATION:
Right-click to place the push button
8 In the Panel Layout - Component Insert/Edit dialog box, click OK. Insert the light footprint manually 1 In the Schematic Components (active project) dialog box, select LT404 OPTSTA3 CONVEYOR ON.
2 Click Manual. 3 In the Footprint dialog box, Choice A section, click Catalog lookup. 4 In the Parts Catalog dialog box, select:
MANUFACTURER: AB TYPE: 30.5mm VOLTAGE: *ALL*
5 Change the catalog assignment to 800H-QRT24G PLASTIC LENS 24VAC/VDC FULL VOLT GREEN PILOT and click OK. NOTE To easily sort the Catalog list, select Show list sorted by catalog part number in the Parts catalog dialog box.
6 In the Footprint dialog box, Choice A section, verify:

Manufacturer: AB Catalog: 800H-QRT24G
Click OK. 7 Respond to the prompts:

Select Location for LT404:
Select to the left of the Conveyor Running light (3)

Select Location for LT404: <Ortho on> select ROTATION:
Right-click to place the pilot light
8 In the Panel Layout - Component Insert/Edit dialog box, click OK. In the Schematics Components (active project) dialog box, notice the master control relay still needs to be placed. 9 In the Schematic Components (active project) dialog box, click Close. NOTE You can modify a footprint at any time using the Edit Footprint tool. Since there is bidirectional update capabilities between the schematics and the panel layout drawings, you may introduce some inconsistencies between the two during edit. If this happens, AutoCAD Electrical alerts you to first check other drawings and then update any affected drawings. 10 In the Update other drawings dialog box, click OK. 11 If asked to save the drawing, click OK.
Modifying Attributes
You can align the inserted schematic component footprints with existing footprints. Temporary lines indicate the direction in which the alignment is being defined as you select components for the alignment.
Align footprints vertically
Expand the Scoot tool, and then click the Align tool. Components Align

Select component to align with (Horizontal/<Vertical>):
Enter V, press ENTER

Select the power on button on the top, left of the layout (1)
Select objects:
Select the three components that were just inserted (2-4), right-click
The components are aligned vertically. Align footprints horizontally
Expand the Scoot tool, and then click the Align tool.
Components Align

Modifying Attributes | 189
Enter H, press ENTER

Select the conveyor running button (1)

Select objects: Select LT404 (2), right-click
3 Follow steps 1 and 2 to align the remaining footprints horizontally. Move an attribute
Expand the Edit Attributes tool, and then click the Move/Show Attributes tool. Components Attributes Move/Show Attributes

Select attribute to Move or pick on block graphics for list (W=Window move): Select tag LT404 (1) Select object: Right-click to select Base point: Select the base point (2), drag to the new location, right-click
The attribute is placed. 3 Repeat for PB403 and PB403A, then right-click to exit the command. Very little of the information held on panel footprints is visible since only specific attributes are used when assigning catalog information. If an attribute
is not found, the information is saved as standard AutoCAD extended entity data (Xdata). AutoCAD Electrical provides a way to change the extended entity data manually into visible attributes tied to an inserted footprint block. Change Xdata to attributes
Expand the Edit Footprint tool, and then click the Make Xdata Visible tool. Panel Layout Make Xdata Visible

Select footprint: Select LT404
The Select XData to Change to a Block Attribute dialog box displays. All Xdata related to LT 404 are shown. 3 Select DESC1 and click Insert. 4 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Specify location for attribute (DESC1):
Select the location for the attribute The attribute is displayed on the drawing and the dialog box reopens.
5 Select DESC2 and click Insert. 6 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Specify location for attribute (DESC2):
Select the location for the attribute
Modifying Attributes | 191
7 Click Done.
Adding Nameplate Footprints

At this point, you can add nameplates to the panel layout. Nameplates are associated with existing component footprints. Nameplates can be inserted from the main panel icon menu or from a vendor menu. Insert an automotive type nameplate
Expand the Insert Component Footprint tool, and then click the Insert Footprint (Icon Menu) tool. Panel Layout Insert Footprint (Icon Menu)
In the Insert Footprint: Panel Layout Symbols dialog box, click Nameplates.
In the Panel: Nameplates dialog box, click Nameplate, Catalog Lookup.
4 In the Nameplate dialog box, Choice A section, click Catalog Lookup. 5 In the Parts Catalog dialog box, select:
MANUFACTURER: AB TYPE: 800T Automotive COLOR_AND_: *ALL*
6 Change the catalog assignment to 800T-X701 Red Blank Name Plate and click OK. 7 In the Nameplate dialog box, Choice A section, verify:
Manufacturer: AB Catalog: 800T-X701

Select objects: Select PB403 (1), right-click to the place the nameplate
As you select each footprint to insert, the nameplate block inserts and the Panel Layout - Nameplate Insert/Edit dialog box displays where you can annotate the nameplate and assign a BOM item number if needed. 9 In the Panel Layout - Nameplate Insert/Edit dialog box, click OK. NOTE The data on the nameplate is linked by a tag name to the footprint and to the schematic component of the same name. Changing the tag name of any of these 3 representations triggers a prompt for permission to update the other related instances. Insert a half round nameplate
Expand the Insert Component Footprint tool, and then click the Insert Footprint (Icon Menu) tool. Panel Layout Insert Footprint (Icon Menu)
In the Insert Footprint: Panel Layout Symbols dialog box, click Nameplates.
In the Panel: Nameplates dialog box, click Nameplate, Catalog Lookup.
Adding Nameplate Footprints | 193
4 In the Nameplate dialog box, Choice A section, click Catalog Lookup. 5 In the Parts Catalog dialog box, select:
MANUFACTURER: AB TYPE: 800T Half Round COLOR_AND_: *ALL*
6 Change the catalog assignment to 800T-X59E Gray Custom Text Name Plate and click OK.
7 In the Nameplate dialog box, Choice A section, verify:

Manufacturer: AB Catalog: 800T-X59E

Select objects: Select PB403A (2), right-click to place the nameplate
9 In the Panel Layout - Nameplate Insert/Edit dialog box, click OK. The nameplate is inserted.
Editing Terminal Strips

Terminal blocks are used to connect devices that require quick disconnect or disassembly during product shipment, while at other times they can be used to distribute power to other devices. The Terminal Strip Editor easily and quickly defines the locations for these connected devices during the system design process. Terminal strip editing is primarily used towards the end of the control system design cycle to expedite the labeling, numbering, and rearranging of terminals on a terminal strip.
Editing Terminal Strips | 195
Copy and paste terminal properties 1 Open AEGS09.dwg. The terminal strip you will be editing, TB, is already placed on the drawing. Zoom in on terminal strip TB to see what the terminal strip currently looks like.
On the Panel layout toolbar, click the Terminal Strip Editor tool. Panel Layout Terminal Strip Editor
3 On the Terminal Strip Selection dialog box, select Terminal Strip TB and click Edit. 4 On the Terminal Strip Editor dialog box, Terminal Strip tab, select terminal 1 in the grid.
In the Terminal section, click the Move Terminal button.
6 In the Move Terminal dialog box, click Pick Above. In the Terminal Strip Editor grid, select terminal 4. NOTE You can also use the Move Up tool to move terminal 1 to the top of the grid. Click Done. 7 Select terminal 4 in the grid.
In the Properties section, click the Copy Terminal Block Properties button. Notice that when you click Copy Terminal Block Properties, terminals 5 and 6 also highlight. This is because terminals 4, 5, and 6 are associated together so if you copy the properties from one of these terminals, you will also copy the properties from the associated terminals. The Copy Terminal Block Properties tool then copies the properties from the terminals to one or many terminals within the same terminal strip.
9 Select terminal 7 and 10 in the grid by holding down the CTRL key while you select the terminals.
10
In the Properties section, click the Paste Terminal Block Properties button. The properties you copied from terminal 4 are pasted to terminals 7 and 10. Notice that both terminals are now 3-tiered terminals with level 1 assigned for both.
Associate terminals 1 Select terminals 8 and 9 in the grid.
In the Multi-Level section, click the Associate button.
3 On the Associate Terminals dialog box, select terminal 7, , (3) and click Associate.
Click OK. 4 On the Terminal Strip Editor dialog box, select terminals 11 and 12 in the grid.
In the Multi-Level section, click the Associate button.
6 On the Associate Terminals dialog box, select terminal 10, , (3) and click Associate.
Click OK. Insert spare terminals and accessories 1 Select terminal 7 in the grid.
In the Spare section, click the Insert Spare Terminal button.
3 On the Insert Spare Terminal dialog box, specify:

Number: SPARE Quantity: 1
NOTE You can also assign catalog information for the spare terminal from the Insert Spare Terminal dialog box by clicking Catalog Lookup. You can then select the part from the Parts Catalog dialog box if needed. Click Insert Above. Now you will insert accessories (end barriers) into the terminal strip - one at the top and one at the bottom of the terminal strip. 4 Select terminal 1 in the grid.
In the Spare section, click the Insert Accessory button.
6 On the Insert Accessory dialog box, specify:

Number: EB1 Quantity: 1
NOTE You can also assign catalog information for the accessory from the Insert Accessory dialog box by clicking Catalog Lookup. You can then select the part from the Parts Catalog dialog box if needed. Click Insert Above.
7 Select terminal 15 in the grid.
In the Spare section, click the Insert Accessory button.
9 On the Insert Accessory dialog box, specify:

Number: EB2 Quantity: 1
Click Insert Below. Insert the terminal strip into the drawing 1 On the Terminal Strip Editor dialog box, click the Layout Preview tab. 2 Select Graphical Terminal Strip as the terminal type to insert into the drawing. 3 Click Rebuild.
4 On the Terminal Strip Editor dialog box, click OK. 5 On the Terminal Strip Selection dialog box, click OK.
Point-to-Point Diagramming
Part 3 of this manual provides information on creating point-to-point diagrams using connector tools. You can also create drawings for hydraulic, pnuematic, and P&ID style diagrams.
In this part

Connector Diagramming Pneumatic, Hydraulic and P&ID Diagrams
203
204
Connector Diagramming
9
In this chapter
This chapter contains information about creating connectors and how to modify them to create connector diagrams.
About Connector Diagramming Inserting Connectors Wiring Connectors Modifying Connectors
205
About Connector Diagramming

The connector wiring tools help you more easily create and work with point-to-point style wiring schematics (as opposed to ladder-style schematics). Though you may find some of these tools useful for ladder-style schematics, they are tuned to work well with drawings that are heavy on point-to-point connector diagrams. Instead of creating and maintaining a large library of schematic connector symbols, each symbol is generated parametrically, on the fly, per user input and at user-defined orientation. A connector toolbar contains tools for creating and editing connectors.
Inserting Connectors
The Insert Connector tool generates a connector symbol from user-defined parameters. The symbol is created on the fly and inserted as a block insert into your active drawing file. Since these are created on an as needed basis, it eliminates the need for you to create and maintain a library of connector symbols. Change drawing properties 1 Open AEGS10.dwg.
Click the Drawing Properties tool. Projects Drawing Properties
3 In the Drawing Properties Components dialog box, select Sequential. 4 In the Drawing Properties Wire Numbers dialog box, New Wire Number Placement section, select In-Line. 5 Click OK. Add connectors to the drawing
Click the Insert Connector tool. Components Insert Connector Insert Connector
2 In the Insert Connector dialog box, specify:
206 | Chapter 9 Connector Diagramming
Pin Spacing: 1.0 Pin Count: 15
Fixed Spacing
Pin List: 1
Insert All
Click the Flip button to flip the connector about its long axis. The preview should look like the following.
4 Click Insert. A preview outline of the connector displays for placement on the drawing. It shows rounded corners for the plug side of the connector. An x indicates the insertion point of the connector. An arrow indicates the plug side wire connection direction for plug/receptacle or plug-only connector inserts or shows the wire connection direction for a receptacle-only connector insert. NOTE Prior to committing the connector outline to the drawing, you can press TAB on your keyboard to flip the connector through 4 different orientations or press the V key to toggle between vertical and horizontal orientations 5 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Inserting Connectors | 207
Specify insertion point or [Z=zoom, P=pan, X=wire crossing, V=horizontal/vertical, TAB=flip]:
Select to place the connector in the middle of the right-hand border of Black Box 1
The connector was automatically assigned a component tag of PJ1.

Fixed Spacing
Pin List: A
Insert All
Click the Flip button to flip the connector. The preview should look like the following.
9 Click Insert. 10 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Select to place the connector in the middle of the left-hand border of Black Box 2
The connector was automatically assigned a component tag of PJ2. 11 Repeat steps 6 - 10 to place connectors on Black Box 3 and Black Box 4. The connectors are assigned tags PJ3 and PJ4 respectively.
Inserting Connectors | 209
Wiring Connectors
Black Box 1 is associated to a larger component such as a power box. Black Box 2 - Black Box 4 are smaller components that are part of the power box. The components need to be wired together. The easiest way to do this is to use the Insert Wire and Multiple Wire Bus tools. Wire the connectors together

Click on PJ1 at pin 1 on Black Box 1

Specify wire end or [Continue]: Click on PJ2 at pin A on Black Box 2
3 Repeat to connect PJ1 (Pin 2) to PJ3 (Pin A) and PJ1 (Pin 3) to PJ4 (Pin A). Right-click to exit the command.
Notice that the Insert Wire tool drew the wire between the connectors while avoiding any existing geometry on the screen.
4 tool.
5 In the Multiple Wire Bus dialog box, specify:

Horizontal Spacing: 0.75 Vertical Spacing: 0.50 Starting at: Component (Multiple Wires)
Wiring Connectors | 211

Window select starting wire connection points:
Select pins 5-7 on Black Box 1 (1) and right-click

to (T= wiretype) (Continue/Flip):
Drag the wires to the right past the 3 wires you just inserted, enter C and press ENTER (to continue and lock the drag)
to Point (Continue/Flip):
Drag the wires up towards PJ2 on Black Box 2, enter C and press ENTER (to continue and lock the drag)
to (Continue/Flip):
Drag the wires to the right and connect to pins B-D on PJ2 (2)
8 tool.
9 In the Multiple Wire Bus dialog box, click OK to use the previous settings. 10 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Select pins 9-11 on Black Box 1 and right-click

Drag the wires to the right, enter C, and press ENTER (to continue and lock the drag)
Drag the wires up towards PJ3 on Black Box 3, enter C, and press ENTER (to continue and lock the drag)
to (Continue/Flip):
Drag the wires to the right and connect to pins B-D on PJ3
Wiring Connectors | 213
11 tool.
12 In the Multiple Wire Bus dialog box, click OK to use the previous settings. 13 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Select pins 13-15 on Black Box 1 and press ENTER

Drag the wires to the right, enter C, and press ENTER (to continue and lock the drag) before you cross the wire connection to pin A
Drag the wires down towards PJ4 on Black Box 4, press C, and press ENTER (to continue and lock the drag)
to (Continue/Flip):
Drag the wires to the right and connect to pins B-D on PJ4
Grouping Wires
Now that youve wired the connectors together, you need to insert in-line connectors to group the wires. Insert in-line connectors

At Wire Crossing
Pin List: 1
Insert All 3 Click Details. 4 In the Type section, clear the Add Divider Line box. 5 In the Display section, set Plug to Right and Pins to Both Sides. 6 In the Size section, set the Plug to 0.325.
Grouping Wires | 215
7 Click Insert. 8 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Select to place the connector on the wires connected to PJ1, Pins 1-3

At Wire Crossing
Pin List: 1
Allow Spacers/Breaks 11 Click Insert. 12 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Select to place the connector starting on the line at PJ1, Pin 5 Notice how the connector expands when you cross the wires. 13 In the Custom Pin Spaces/Breaks dialog box, click Insert Next Connection. The dialog box displays which connector pin has been inserted so far. Keep clicking Insert Next Connection until you place 6 of the 9 connections. 14 When the Custom Pin Spaces/Breaks dialog box says Inserted So Far: 6 of 9, click Break Symbol Now.

Select to place the connector starting on the line at PJ1, Pin 13 16 In the Connector Layout dialog box, select Insert All.
17 Click OK.
Grouping Wires | 217
NOTE Another method is to insert the entire connector and then use the Split Connector tool to break the existing connector.
18
Expand the Dashed Link Lines tool, and then click the Link Components with Dashed Line tool. Components Link Link Components with Dashed Line

Component to link from: Select the bottom portion of PJ6 (1) component to link to: Select the top portion of PJ6 (2), right-click
Modifying Connectors
The Insert Connector toolbar has tools for modifying connectors and connector pins. You can reverse a connector about its horizontal or vertical axis, rotate a connector about its insertion point at increments of 90 degrees, increase or decrease the connector's overall length or width, and split the connector into two separate block definitions. You can also add, remove, or move the pins found inside of the connector. Stretch existing connectors
Expand the Insert Connector tool, and then click the Stretch Connector tool. Components Insert Connector Stretch Connector

Specify which end of connector to stretch: Select the bottom of PJ1 Specify second point of displacement:
Pull the connector down towards the bottom of Black Box 1
Modifying Connectors | 219
3 Repeat for PJ6, pulling the bottom of the connector down so that it is even with PJ1.
Add connector pins
Expand the Insert Connector tool, and then click the Add Connector Pins tool. Components Insert Connector Add Connector Pins

Select connector: Select PJ1 Specify where to insert new pin or [Reset]<16>:
Select 4 spaces down from pin 15 on PJ1, right-click and select Enter The next available pin number (16) inserts at the selected point.
Expand the Insert Connector tool, and then click the Add Connector Pins tool. Components Insert Connector Add Connector Pins

Select connector: Select PJ6 Specify where to insert new pin or [Reset]<10>:
Select the new pin 16 on PJ1 to insert pin 10 in-line with it, right-click and select Enter
NOTE You can delete pins using the Delete Connector Pins tool. Select the pin you want to delete and it is automatically removed from the connector.
Modify connector pins
Expand the Insert Connector tool, and then click the Move Connector Pins tool. Components Insert Connector Move Connector Pins
Select connector pin to move: Select pin 16 on PJ1 Specify new location for pin 16: Select 2 spaces up on PJ1 Select connector pin to move: Select pin 10 on PJ6 Specify new location for pin 10:
Select pin 16 on PJ1 to move pin 10 in-line with it, right-click
Expand the Insert Connector tool, and then click the Swap Connector Pins tool. Components Insert Connector Swap Connector Pins

Select connector pin: Select pin 16 on PJ1 Select connector pin: swap with: Select pin 12 on PJ1, right-click
Expand the Insert Connector tool, and then click the Reverse Connector tool. Components Insert Connector Reverse Connector

Select connector to reverse: Select the top in-line connector, right-click

Fixed Spacing
Pin List: 1
Insert All 9 Click Details. 10 In the Type section, select Add Divider Line. 11 In the Display section, set Pins to Plug Side. 12 Click Insert. 13 Respond to the prompts as follows:
Select to place the connector on the top of Black Box 1
14
Expand the Insert Connector tool, and then click the Rotate Connector tool. Components Insert Connector Rotate Connector

Select connector to Rotate or [Hold]:
Select the new connector, right-click and select Enter
Adding Wire Numbers

Wire numbers are blocks or attributes inserted on a line wire entity. AutoCAD Electrical assigns each wire number type to its own layer. You can assign a different color to each of these layers so you can easily tell them apart. The wire number placement is set to in-line as defined in the Drawing Properties Wire Numbers dialog box. Insert wire numbers
2 In the Wire Tagging dialog box, specify:

Wire Tag Mode: Sequential Start: 100
3 Click Drawing-Wide. The wire numbers are automatically inserted into the drawing starting with number 100.
Click the Move Wire Number tool. Wires Move Wire Number

Specify new Wire Number location (select on wire):
Select each wire closest to Black Box 1, right-click NOTE You can align the wire numbers using the Align tool.
Adding Connector Descriptions

AutoCAD Electrical supports 2 lines of description text on each connector: one for the plug and one for the receptacle side of the connector. Add descriptions 1 Right-click connector PJ1 and select Edit Component. 2 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, Pins section, click List. 3 In the Connector Pin Numbers In Use dialog box, connector pin grid, click in the Description column for Pin 1. 4 In the Pin Descriptions section, enter POWER B2 for the Receptacle. Click in the Description column again for Pin 1 to assign the description. 5 In the connector pin grid, click in the Description column for Pin 2. 6 In the Pin Descriptions section, enter POWER B3 for the Receptacle. Click in the Description column again for Pin 2 to assign the description.
Adding Connector Descriptions | 225
7 In the connector pin grid, click in the Description column for Pin 3. 8 In the Pin Descriptions section, enter POWER B4 for the Receptacle. Click in the Description column again for Pin 3 to assign the description.
9 Click OK. 10 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK. 11 Repeat to add the description POWER IN for Pins A on Black Box 2, Black Box 3 and Black Box 4. Your finished point-to-point diagram should look similar to the following.
Pneumatic, Hydraulic and P&ID Diagrams
10
In this chapter
This chapter goes through the steps for creating Piping & Instrumentation (P&ID) and Hydraulic drawings but the same workflow can be applied for Pnuematics. Once your drawing is created, you can use the regular tools in the AutoCAD Electrical software to modify your drawing.
Setting Up Hydraulic Drawings Inserting Hydraulic Schematic Symbols Creating Pipes Completing the Hydraulic Drawing Setting Up Your P&ID Drawing Inserting P&ID Schematic Symbols Creating Pipes
227
Setting Up Hydraulic Drawings

Use the Project Manager to manage your hydraulic drawings. From here you can create a new drawing and modify any drawing properties. Create a new drawing 1 In the Project Manager, right-click the project name, and select Properties. 2 In the Project Properties Project Settings dialog box, click Default to switch on all paths for pneumatic, hydraulic and P&ID schematic libraries.
3 Click OK.
In the Project Manager, click the Create New Drawing tool.

Name: AEGS12 Template: Mouse over the edit box to verify AutoCAD_Electrical.dwt is specified Description 1: Hydraulic Example
Click OK. NOTE You can also Click OK-Properties to proceed to Drawing Properties dialog box if you want to set the component, wire number, cross-reference, style and drawing format settings. 6 Select Tools Drafting Settings.
228 | Chapter 10 Pneumatic, Hydraulic and P&ID Diagrams
7 In the Drafting Settings Snap and Grid dialog box, turn on Snap and Grid and set the size of both to 0.125. 8 Click OK.
10 In the Drawing Properties Drawing Format dialog box, Scale section, make sure that the feature scale multiplier is set to 1.0 inch. 11 Click OK. NOTE For metric unit, the following settings are recommended so that the wire connection points will be placed on the grids for easier drafting. Grid and Snap Size = 2.5mm; Feature scale multiplier =20 (scale factor = 20) 12 Select Projects Toolbars Extra Libraries. NOTE You can also turn on the toolbar by right-clicking on any toolbar and selecting ACE: Extra Libraries. This toolbar has tools for inserting Pneumatic, Hydraulic and P&ID components.
Inserting Hydraulic Schematic Symbols

The hydraulic symbol library in AutoCAD Electrical includes filters, valves, cylinders, pressure switches, motors, pumps, meters, restrictors, quick disconnects, flow arrows and more. The hydraulic symbol library consists of all the hydraulic symbols and is found at \Program Files [(x86)]\Autodesk\Acade {version}\Libs\hyd_iso125. Insert hydraulic symbols
Click the Insert Hydraulic Component tool.
Inserting Hydraulic Schematic Symbols | 229
2 In the Insert Component: Hydraulic Symbol dialog box, select the check box for Vertical.
In the Insert Component: Hydraulic Symbol dialog box, click the General Valves icon.
4 Open.
In the Hydraulic: General Valves dialog box, click Shut Off Valve

Select to place the valve in the upper left corner of your drawing 6 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, specify:
Component Tag: VAL2
Click OK. 7 Repeat steps 1 - 3.
8 Left.
In the Hydraulic: General Valves dialog box, click Checkvalve Flow

Select to place the check valve below the shut off valve 10 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK.
11
12
In the Insert Component: Hydraulic Symbol dialog box, click Motors & Pumps.
13
In the Hydraulic: Motors and Pumps dialog box, click Fixed Displacement.
14
In the Hydraulic: Fixed Displacement dialog box, click Uni-Directional Pump.

Specify insertion point: Select to place the pump below the check valve

Component Tag: Hydraulic Oil Pump
Click OK. 17 Insert another Shut Off Valve Open below the Hydraulic Oil Pump.
18
19
In the Insert Component: Hydraulic Symbol dialog box, click Filters.
20
In the Hydraulic: Filters dialog box, click Filter.

Specify insertion point: Select to place the filter below the shut off valve

Component Tag: FI2
Inserting Hydraulic Schematic Symbols | 231
Description: Line 1: Filter
Click OK.
23
24
In the Insert Component: Hydraulic Symbol dialog box, click Miscellaneous.
25
In the Hydraulic: Miscellaneous dialog box, click Reservoir.

Specify insertion point: Select to place the reservoir below the filter
27 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK.
Creating Pipes
In the AutoCAD Electrical application, we use different types of wires to represent the type of running pipes that allows water or oil flows from one instrument to another. Let's start by setting up the type of wires for pipe runs. Insert wires as pipes
Expand the Insert Wire tool, and then click the Create/Edit Wire Type tool. Wires Create/Edit Wire Type
2 In the Create/Edit Wire Type dialog box, specify:

Wire Color: RED Size: 20
The Layer Name is automatically created. The name RED_20 is assigned to the wire layer you are creating. 3 Click Color. 4 In the Select Color dialog box, select red and click OK. 5 Click Linetype. 6 In the Select Linetype dialog box, select Continuous and click OK. 7 In the Create/Edit Wire Type dialog box, specify:
Wire Color: GREEN Size: 10 Color: Green Linetype: Hidden2
8 Select RED_20 in the grid and click Mark Selected as Default.
Creating Pipes | 233
9 Click OK.
10

Enter X and press ENTER
Select the bottom of the shut off valve

Specify wire end or [Scoot/T=wiretype, X=show connections]:
Select the top of the check valve 12 Continue inserting wires connecting the components together. Right-click to exit the command. Your drawing should look like the following.
NOTE You can also insert the vertical or horizontal pipes first and then insert the components onto the pipe, one at a time.
13
14 In the Insert Component: Hydraulic Symbol dialog box, select the check box for Vertical.
15
In the Insert Component: Hydraulic Symbol dialog box, click Pressure Relief Valves.
16
In the Hydraulic: Pressure Relief Valves dialog box, click N.C. Pressure Relief Valve with Preset -1.

Specify insertion point: Select to place the valve to the right of the pump

Component Tag: VAL4 Description: Line 1: Pressure Relief
Click OK.
19

Enter X, press ENTER

Press SHIFT + right-click and select Midpoint from the menu, then select the midpoint on the pipe between the pump and the shut off valve above it
Specify wire end or [V=start Vertical/H =start Horizontal/Continue):
Drag the pipe to the right so that it is directly above the pressure relief valve, drag the pipe down and click the top connection point on the pressure relief valve You now need to insert a pipe that connects the end of the valve back to the pump.
TIP Make sure that Snap is turned off and that the Wire Layer is set to GREEN_10.
Select the bottom connection point on the pressure relief valve

Specify wire end or [V=start Vertical/H =start Horizontal/Continue):
Drag the pipe down and to the left, click the connection point at the bottom of the pump, right-click
Completing the Hydraulic Drawing

The rest of the hydraulic drawing consists of inserting a Pressure Gauge and Check Valve at the left side of the pump and then inserting devices (Cylinder; Restrictors; Filter; Check valve and 2-ways valve) along the top of the drawing. NOTE During insertion, clear the Vertical option in the Insert Component: Hydraulic Symbols dialog box. Insert components
In the Insert Component: Hydraulic Symbol dialog box, click Meters.
In the Hydraulic: Meters dialog box, click Pressure Gauge.

Select to place the pressure gauge to the far left (and slightly above) of the pump 5 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, specify:
Component Tag: MTR1 Description: Line 1: Pressure Gauge
Click OK.
In the Insert Component: Hydraulic Symbol dialog box, click General Valves.
8 Open.
In the Hydraulic: General Valves dialog box, click Shut Off Valve

Select to place the valve to the right of the pressure gauge
Completing the Hydraulic Drawing | 239
10 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK. 11 Set the wire layer to RED_20.
12

Select the right connection point on the pressure gauge

Drag the pipe to the right and click the left connection point on the valve
Specify wire start or [Scoot/wireType/X=show connections]:
Select the right connection point on the valve

Drag the pipe to the right and click the vertical pipe, right-click
14
15 Insert and place the devices listed below as shown in the following illustration. In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK after each insertion. NOTE You can also insert the vertical or horizontal pipes first and then insert the components onto the pipe, one by one. Icon Symbol to Insert
2 Way Valves Solenoid Spring Return -1 (insert as Vertical symbol)
General Valves Checkvalve Flow Left (insert as a Vertical symbol)
Icon
Symbol to Insert
Filters Filter (insert as a Vertical symbol)
Restrictors Restrictor with Variable Output Flow
Restrictors By-Pass Flow Regulator with Variable Output Flow
Cylinders Single Acting Single Ended Piston Rod
TIP Align the components horizontally and vertically using the Align tool to make inserting the pipes easier.
16
17 Connect the pipes from one control device to another as illustrated.
18
19
In the Insert Component: Hydraulic Symbol dialog box, click General Valves.
20 Left.
In the Hydraulic: General Valves dialog box, click Checkvalve Flow

Specify insertion point: Select to place the valve below the restrictor
22 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK.
23
24 Connect the pipes as shown.
The hydraulic schematic diagram is complete. If you want to create a pneumatic drawing, use the Insert Pneumatic Components tool on the Extra Libraries toolbar. Refer to the pneumatic demo drawing file (Demo03.dwg) in the "Extra Library Demo" project.
Setting Up Your P&ID Drawing

Use the Project Manager to manage your P&ID drawings. From here you can create a new drawing and modify any drawing properties. Create a new drawing
In the Project Manager, click the Create New Drawing tool.

Name: AEGS13
Setting Up Your P&ID Drawing | 245
Template: Mouse over the edit box to verify AutoCAD_Electrical.dwt is
specified
Description 1: P&ID Example
Click OK. NOTE You can also Click OK-Properties to proceed to Drawing Properties dialog box if you want to set the component, wire number, cross-reference, style and drawing format settings. 3 Select Tools Drafting Settings. 4 In the Drafting Settings Snap and Grid dialog box, turn on Snap and Grid and set the size of both to 0.125. 5 Click OK.
7 In the Drawing Properties Drawing Format dialog box, Scale section, make sure that the feature scale multiplier is set to 1.0 inch. 8 Click OK. NOTE For metric unit, the following settings are recommended so that the wire connection points will be placed on the grids for easier drafting. Grid and Snap Size = 2.5mm; Feature scale multiplier =20 (scale factor = 20)
Set up wire layers
2 In the Create/Edit Wire Type dialog box, click in the Wire Type #2 row and specify:
Wire Color: RED Size: 25
The Layer Name is automatically created. The name RED_25 is assigned to the wire layer you are creating. 3 Click Color. 4 In the Select Color dialog box, select red and click OK. 5 Click Linetype. 6 In the Select Linetype dialog box, select Continuous and click OK. 7 Click Lineweight. 8 In the Select Lineweight dialog box, select 0.30 and click OK. For this example, you need to create three more wire types (two yellow wire layers and one green wire layer) using the Create/Edit Wire Type dialog box. 9 In the Create/Edit Wire Type dialog box, specify: Wire Type #3
Wire Color: YELLOW Size: 15 Color: Yellow Linetype: Continuous Lineweight: default
Wire Type #4
Wire Color: YELLOW Size: 10 Color: Yellow
Wire Type #5
Wire Color: GREEN Size: 10 Color: Green
Setting Up Your P&ID Drawing | 247
NOTE For pipe runs in P&ID drawings, you must include the different linetypes from the acade.lin file. You can set up the wire types for pipes at the beginning of the drawing or before creating the pipes. 10 To set the Linetype for the GREEN_10 wire layer, click Linetype. 11 In the Select Linetype dialog box, click Load. 12 In the Load or Reload Linetypes dialog box, click File. 13 In the Select Linetype File dialog box, select acade.lin and click Open. NOTE The default location for the acade.lin file is \Documents and Settings\{username}\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical {version}\{release number}\{country code}\Support.
14 In the Load or Reload Linetypes dialog box, select Pneumatic Signal and click OK.
15 In the Select Linetype dialog box, select Pneumatic Signal and click OK. 16 In the Create/Edit Wire Type dialog box, click OK.
Inserting P&ID Schematic Symbols

The P&ID symbol library in AutoCAD electrical includes equipment, tanks, nozzles, pumps, fittings, valves, actuators, logic functions, instrumentation, flow, and flow arrows. The P&ID symbol library consists of all the piping and instrumentation symbols and is found at \Program Files [(x86)]\Autodesk\Acade {version}\Libs\Pid. Insert P&ID Symbols
Click the Insert P&ID Component tool.
In the Insert Component: Piping and Instrumentation Symbols dialog box, click Equipment.
In the PID: Equipment dialog box, click Ball Mill.

Select to place the ball mill in the upper left corner of your drawing
Inserting P&ID Schematic Symbols | 249

Component Tag: C-100 Description: Line 1: BALL MILL
Click OK. 6 Follow steps 1-2 above.
In the PID: Equipment dialog box, click Conveyors.
In the PID: Conveyors dialog box, click Conveyor 1.

Select to place the conveyor to the right and diagonally below the ball mill 10 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, specify:
Component Tag: N-100 Description: Line 1: CONVEYOR
Click OK.
11 Follow steps 1-2 above.
12
In the PID: Equipment dialog box, click Mixer 2.

Select to place the mixer to the right and diagonally below the conveyor

Component Tag: A-100 Description: Line 1: MIXER
Click OK.
15
16 Insert and place the devices listed below as shown in the following illustration. In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK after each insertion. Icon Symbol to Insert
Valves Gate Valve In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, clear the Component Tag Equipment Dryer Component Tag = C-200; Description Line 1 = DRYER
Instrumentation Discrete Instruments Field Mounted Component Tag = TE 201
Inserting P&ID Schematic Symbols | 251
TIP Align the components horizontally and vertically using the Align tool to make inserting the pipes easier.
Creating Pipes
In AutoCAD Electrical, we use different types of wires to represent the type of running pipes that allow water or oil flows from one instrument to another. Insert wires as pipes 1 In the AutoCAD Layers toolbar, change the wire layer to RED_25.
3 Connect the pipes as shown. Right-click to exit the command.
4 In the AutoCAD Layers toolbar, change the wire layer to POS and the linetype to HIDDEN2.

Select the bottom of the discrete instrument

Drag the wire down a few spaces, press ENTER
In the Insert Component: Piping and Instrumentation Symbols dialog box, click Flow Arrows.
In the PID: Equipment dialog box, click Flow Arrow Down.

Select to place the flow arrow at the bottom of the new wire
The P&ID diagram is complete. If you want to see how to expand the P&ID drawing, refer to the P&ID demo drawing file (Demo01.dwg) in the "Extra Library Demo" project.
Reports and Migrating AutoCAD Data
Part 4 of this manual includes information on generating reports and migrating AutoCAD data to make it AutoCAD Electrical-smart.
In this part

Generating Reports Migrating AutoCAD Data
255
256
Generating Reports
11
In this chapter
AutoCADElectrical provides a number of reports as well as great flexibility in each report format. This chapter provides information about generating a report and then using various methods to manipulate the report format in AutoCAD
Generating Bill of Material Reports Inserting BOM Tables into Drawings Editing BOM Tables on Drawings Changing Formats of BOMs Exporting BOMs to Spreadsheets
Electrical.

257
Generating Bill of Material Reports

Using AutoCAD Electrical, you can perform a project-wide extract of all BOM data found on your project drawing set. The data is extracted from the project database, matched with standard entries in the catalog database, and then additional fields are pulled from the catalog files. You can format this data into various report configurations and output to report files, export to a spreadsheet or database program, or place in an AutoCAD Electrical drawing. Generate a bill of material (BOM) report 1 Open AEGS11.dwg.
Click the Schematic Reports tool. Projects Reports Schematic Reports
3 In the Schematic Reports dialog box, select:

Report Name: Bill of Material Bill of Material: Project
Verify that the following options are specified:

Include options: All the above Display option: Normal Tallied Format Installation Codes to extract: All Location Codes to extract: All
Click OK. 4 In the Select Drawings to Process dialog box, select AEGS03.DWG, and click Process. 5 Verify that AEGS03.DWG is displayed in the Drawings to Process section of the dialog box and click OK. The generated report is displayed in the Report Generator dialog box.
258 | Chapter 11 Generating Reports
6 In the Report Generator dialog box, select:

Header: Time/Date Header: Column Labels Add blanks between entries
Inserting BOM Tables into Drawings

Insert a BOM into the drawing in tabular format 1 With the BOM report displayed in the dialog box, click Put on Drawing. 2 In the Table Generation Setup dialog box, select:
Column Labels: Include column labels Title: Include time/date Column Width: Calculate automatically Borders: All Borders
Click OK. NOTE The extents of the BOM table are displayed in temporary graphics. Press Z to zoom down, or R to flip into real-time pan and zoom mode, if necessary. 3 The table outline moves with your cursor. Position the table, and then click to place the table. The BOM table is built where you placed it.
Inserting BOM Tables into Drawings | 259
4 In the Report Generator, click Close.
Editing BOM Tables on Drawings

You can use the Edit Component tool together with the Report Generators Edit Mode to modify a report that has already been placed on a drawing. Edit the BOM report
Click the Edit Component tool. Components Edit Component
2 Select the report on the drawing.
The report is displayed using the current report settings. 3 In the Report Generator dialog box, click Edit Mode. 4 In the Edit Report dialog box, select FU307.
5 Click Move Up. The lines that make up a single BOM entry are kept together and moved up one space in the report dialog box.
Editing BOM Tables on Drawings | 261
NOTE You can also edit report data, delete BOM entries and add new catalog items to the report. 6 Click OK - Return to Report. 7 In the Report Generator dialog box, click Put on Drawing. The report on the drawing updates to reflect the changes you made.
8 In the Table Generation Setup dialog box, click OK. 9 In the Report Generator dialog box, click Close.
Changing Formats of BOMs

Each AutoCAD Electrical report is customizable, from which data fields are reported and the order in which they appear to the justification of any column and the column labels. Remove the TAGS columns from the BOM 1 Erase the table, or UNDO, and rerun the BOM extract for AEGS03.DWG. 2 In the Report Generator dialog box, click Change Report Format. In the Bill of Materials Data Fields to Report dialog box, Fields to report section, the fields that format the BOM are displayed. 3 Select TAGS in the Fields to report list. 4 Click <<Remove.
The TAGS field is moved out of Fields to report and into Available fields. NOTE You can also select a field in the Available fields list to add it to the report or rearrange columns using the Move Up and Move Down buttons. Clicking Ok-Save As saves these settings to a file for later use. 5 Click OK.
Changing Formats of BOMs | 263
NOTE This new format becomes the default the next time you extract a BOM report. The BOM data in the Report Generator dialog box is reformatted and displayed. 6 Scroll down the report to verify that the component tags column is removed. 7 Insert the new version of the BOM table into the drawing.
Exporting BOMs to Spreadsheets

You can move your BOM to a spreadsheet, database, or any other application that can read data in a comma-delimited or MicrosoftAccess format. Export the BOM to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet 1 In the Report Generator dialog box, click Save to File. 2 In the Save Report to File dialog box, select Excel spreadsheet format (.xls) and click OK. 3 In the Select file for report dialog box, enter an output file name or click OK to accept the default name BOM.xls. Click Save. 4 In the Optional Script File dialog box, click Close - No Script. 5 In Microsoft Excel, click File Open. 6 Browse to the location where you saved the spreadsheet (the default is C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\My Documents) and select the spreadsheet. 7 Click Open.
Your BOM data is displayed in spreadsheet format. You can slide the column borders to expose the full column of text for each field. The first six columns of the spreadsheet are shown above. The first column is the tallied quantity, followed by subassembly quantity, catalog number, and manufacturer code. The remaining fields are those extracted from the mfg/cat combo query on the external catalog look-up file.
Exporting BOMs to Spreadsheets | 265
266
Migrating AutoCAD Data
12
In this chapter
This chapter describes using the tagging and linking tools in AutoCAD Electrical to convert non blocked geometry and text to a fully functional AutoCAD Electrical-aware block insert.
About Tagging and Linking Tools Exploding Block and Attributes Tagging Schematic Components Linking Schematic Attributes Adding Wire Connections Adding Geometry Tagging and Linking Panel Components Updating Panel or Schematic Components
267
About Tagging and Linking Tools

AutoCAD Electrical has tagging and linking tools that enable non blocked geometry to be made aware of AutoCAD Electrical. The existing geometry stays in place and is unblocked, but key text entities are converted to attributes with user picks and are linked into a generic, non graphical block insert. Wire connection attributes can also be merged into this generic block insert. The process to convert it from dumb text, circle, and line entities takes only moments to complete and the result appears as a fully functional AutoCAD Electrical-aware block insert.
Exploding Block and Attributes

The Special Explode tool in AutoCAD Electrical explodes attributes and blocks to geometry and text entities while maintaining the value previously defined in the attributes. You can take advantage of the tagging tools to modify the text entities to attributes and the linking tools to make various blocks. Explode AutoCAD blocks 1 In the Project Manager, right-click the project name (AEGS), and select Add Drawings. 2 In the Select Files to Add dialog box, double-click the CONVERT subfolder. 3 Select files Convert-01.dwg through Convert-04.dwg and click Add. 4 When asked to apply the project defaults to the drawing settings, click Yes. 5 Open Convert-03.dwg.
Zoom in on the components in the upper left-hand corner of the drawing.
268 | Chapter 12 Migrating AutoCAD Data
7 Select Projects Toolbars Conversion Tools from the menu. NOTE Only a portion of the conversion tools are shown here. The others are not used in this manual; refer to the Help for information on how to use them.
Use the Special Explode tool to explode attributes and blocks to geometry and text entities while maintaining the value previously defined in the attributes. You can take advantage of the tagging tools to modify the text entities to attributes and the linking tools to make various blocks.
Click the Special Explode tool. Projects Conversion Tools Special Explode

Select objects:
Select push button lights A - D (including all graphics and text) on lines 401 407 (use either single picks or window-select), right-click
Exploding Block and Attributes | 269
The blocks explode into separate text entities and geometry.
Tagging Schematic Components

Use the AutoCAD Electrical Tagging tools to convert text entities into an attributed block. Through the insertion of a template block, you have control over which attributes are inserted and visible. All necessary attribute definitions are automatically placed. During the tagging process, the text entity is removed and replaced with a template block file that contains multiple attributes used in AutoCAD Electrical. Tagging Results:

The selected text entities are replaced with a template block file. The TAG attribute takes on the value of the converted text. The TAG attribute is set to fixed. The TAG attribute takes on the same ACAD properties as the tagged text.
Tag schematic components
Click the Tag Schematic Component tool. Projects Conversion Tool Tag Schematic Tag Schematic Component

Select objects: Select 9PB, 10PB, 11PB, and 12 PB, right-click
NOTE You may have to right-click several times to exit the command. The text changes color to indicate that it has been tagged. The color of the TAG attribute is by layer. The attribute is the same layer as defined on the WD_M block. You can now link the descriptions and wire numbers.
Click the Schematic Report tool. Projects Reports Schematic Reports
4 In the Schematic Report dialog box, specify:

Report Name: Component
Active Drawing Click OK. 5 If asked to save the drawing, click Yes. In the Report Generator dialog box, notice that 9PB-12PB are listed in the TAGNAME column of the report 6 In the Report Generator dialog box, click Close.
Linking Schematic Attributes

Use the AutoCAD Electrical Linking tools to associate non blocked text to previously placed template blocks. Through the modification of a template block, you have control over which attributes are inserted and visible. All necessary attribute definitions are placed using the properties of the existing text entities, such as justification, height, and location. If multiple template block files are selected, the value of the text is added to the previously defined template block attributes as hidden attributes and the text is not removed.
Linking Schematic Attributes | 271
Linking Results:

The selected text entities are replaced with an AutoCAD Electrical attribute. Colors change to visually distinguish what has been already converted as defined in the WD_M block. Temporary lines display the link. The Link Descriptions tool links simple text as Description 1-3 attributes on an AutoCAD Electrical block file. You can link them as description attributes to one or more existing template block definitions. During the conversion process, the text entity is removed and replaced with the next available description attribute, up to 3.
Link descriptions
Expand the Link Schematic tool, and then click the Link Descriptions tool. Projects Conversion Tools Link Schematic Link Description

Select objects: Select 9PB, right-click Select text to fill in next available DESC attribute:
Select LIGHT A, right-click

Select LIGHT B, right-click

Select LIGHT C, right-click

Select LIGHT D, right-click NOTE You may have to right-click several times to exit the command.
Colors change to visually distinguish what has been converted and temporary lines display the link.
Click the Schematic Report tool. Projects Reports Schematic Reports
4 In the Schematic Report dialog box, specify:

Report Name: Component
Active Drawing Click OK. 5 If asked to QSave the drawing, click Yes. In the Report Generator dialog box, notice that 9PB-12PB are still listed in the TAGNAME column of the report. 6 In the Report Generator dialog box, click Change Report Format. 7 In the Component Data Fields to Report dialog box, select Desc1 from the Available Fields list. Desc1 moves into the Fields to report list. These are the fields that will display in the Component report.
Linking Schematic Attributes | 273
8 Click OK. The Report Generator dialog box now lists the TAGNAME and DESC1 values from the active drawing. 9 In the Report Generator dialog box, click Close.
Adding Wire Connections

Wire connection attributes can also be merged into the new generic block insert. AutoCAD Electricals Add Wire Connections tool adds wire connection attributes to the existing tagged block file. Select line endpoints or geometry to add the appropriate wire connection attributes to. A new block definition is created with the newly added wire connections. You can subsequently create a new block file if the block is exploded. Wire Connection Results:
Visual indicators (x) appear where the wire connection attributes have already been applied. Wire connection attributes, terminal attributes, and terminal description attributes are added. The block definition is automatically modified during the attribute addition process.
Terminal attribute colors change to visually distinguish what has been already converted as defined in the WD_M block.
Convert device pins to wire connection attributes
Expand the Link Schematic tool, and then click the Add Wire Connections tool. Projects Conversion Tools Link Schematic Add Wire Connections

Select block TAG or PLC Address: Select 9PB Select end of wire (P=Pick Location): Enter P and press ENTER Select location (W=Wire):
Press SHIFT + right-click to select Endpoint from the Snap options, select the end point of the first wire on line 401 In the Wire Direction dialog box, select from left.
Select TERM01 text object: Select 22 (underneath 9PB TAG)
NOTE Visual indicators (x) appear where the wire connection attributes have been applied.
Select location (W=Wire):
Press SHIFT + right-click to select Endpoint from the Snap options, select the end point of the second wire on line 401 In the Wire Direction dialog box, select from right.
Select TERM02 text object: Select 55 (underneath line 401), right-click
You should be back at the prompt to Select block TAG or PLC Address. 3 Repeat for 10PB - 12PB. NOTE You may have to right-click several times to exit the command.
Adding Wire Connections | 275
Pause the mouse over 9PB - 12 PB. The text, wire connection attributes, and description text should all highlight. We still must convert the wire number text and add the geometry to our block.
5 In the Create/Edit Wire Type dialog box, select Make all Lines Valid Wires and click OK.
Click the Convert Text to Wire Numbers tool. Projects Conversion Tools Convert Drawing Convert Text to Wire Numbers

Select LINE near wire number text:
Select the left endpoint of the wire with the text 13 above it (line 401)
Select existing wire number text to convert: Select text 13
8 While you are still in the command, repeat for text 14 - 16 on lines 403 - 407.
9 Right-click to exit the command.
Adding Geometry
The Add Geometry tool in AutoCAD Electrical adds AutoCAD geometry to a template block file to be created as part of a unique block instance. It creates a new block definition with the newly added geometry. You can subsequently create a new block file if the block is exploded. Add Geometry Results:
TAG1, TAG2, PLC TAG, and TAGSTRIP attributes are defined and selected first. The block definition is automatically modified. The geometry's color changes by layer to visually distinguish what has been already converted as defined in the WD_M block.
Add geometry to the block
1 tool.
Expand the Link Schematic tool, and then click the Add Geometry Projects conversion Tools Link Schematic Add Geometry

Select block for additional geometry: Select 9PB Select objects: Select the graphics for the push button, right-click
Specify insertion point: Select the middle of the push button
The geometry is associated to the template block files. Check that everything has been tied to the block by mousing-over 9PB. The text, wire connection attributes, description text and geometry highlights.
Adding Geometry | 277
3 Repeat steps 1 -2 for 10PB, 11PB, and 12 PB. Your blocks are now AutoCAD Electrical-smart.
Tagging and Linking Panel Components

The AutoCAD Electrical Tagging and Linking tools work on panel components the same way they work on schematic components. Tag and link panel components 1 Open Convert-04.dwg.
Zoom in on the components in the middle of the drawing.
Click the Special Explode tool. Projects Conversion Tools Special Explode

Select objects:
Select push button lights A - D (including all graphics and text) (use either single picks or window-select), right-click
The blocks explode into separate text entities and geometry. The Tag Panel Component tool makes selected text entities an attributed block file with the P_TAG1 attribute visible. The template block file (ACE_P_TAG1_CONVERT.DWG) contains attributes for a panel component.
Click the Tag Panel Component tool. Projects Conversion Tools Tag Panel Tag Panel Component

Select objects: Select 9PB, 10PB, 11PB, and 12 PB, right-click
NOTE You may have to right-click several times to exit the command. The text changes color to indicate that it has been tagged. The color of the PTAG attribute is by layer. The attribute is the same layer as defined on the WD_M block.
7 tool.
Expand the Link Panel tool, and then click the Link Descriptions Projects Conversion Tools Link Panel Link Description

Select LIGHT A, right-click NOTE You may have to right-click several times to exit the command.
Tagging and Linking Panel Components | 279
Updating Panel or Schematic Components

Once a panel component has a component tag assigned, it is automatically linked to the related schematic component. Updates to either the schematic or panel component prompt an update to the related component. Surf to the related schematic component

Select tag for Surfer trace (or <Enter> to type it): Select 9PB
3 In the Surf dialog box, double-click the component marked with type p.
Surfer goes to the schematic drawing and zooms on the schematic component.
4 If asked to save the drawing, click Yes. 5 In the Surf dialog box, click Edit. 6 In the Component Insert/Edit dialog box, change the description to LIGHT 1 and click OK. The Update Other Drawings dialog box displays. This dialog alerts that other drawings in the project set may include child components or related panel components.
7 If asked to save the drawing, click Yes. 8 In the Update Other Drawings dialog box, click OK.

Select tag for Surfer trace (or <Enter> to type it): Select 9PB
11 In the Surf dialog box, double-click the component marked with type #.
Updating Panel or Schematic Components | 281
Surfer goes to the panel layout drawing and zooms on the physical representation of the push button. Notice that the description for 9PB updated to reflect the change you made to the schematic component.
12 In the Surf dialog box, click Close.
Index
A
add connector pins 220 add geometry 277 Add Rung tool 69 align components 82 All Locations-Drawing dialog box 77, 84 attributes 102105, 190, 272, 274, 279 add 102 DESC1 103 FAMILY 105 INST 104 link panel descriptions 279 link schematics 272 LOC 104 move 190 TAG1 102 wire connections 274 AutoCAD Electrical Help 55 command summary 4 Component Data Fields to Report dialog box 273 component fence 150 component tag 75 components 74, 79, 82, 98, 128, 271 aligning 82 child 79 copy 128 parent 74 scooting 79 swap 98 tag 271 conduit marker toolbar 47 Connector Layout dialog box 217 connector pin descriptions 225 connector pins 220222 add 220 move 221 swap 222 connectors 206207, 218219, 222223, 225 insertion 206 pin descriptions 225 placement 207 reverse 222 rotate 223 split 218 stretch 219 conversion toolbar 36, 269 convert text to wire numbers 276 Create New Drawing dialog box 59, 228, 245 Create New Project dialog box 56 Create/Edit Wire Type dialog box 233, 246, 276 Custom Pin Spaces/Breaks dialog box 216
B
bill of material reports 258 Bill of Materials Data Fields to Report dialog box 263
C
catalog assignments 93, 180 add 93 catalog lookup 94 catalog numbers 75 Change/Convert Wire Type dialog box 172 circuits 112, 117, 129, 131132, 141 copy 117 insert saved circuits 132 insert WBlocked circuits 141 move 112 save 129 save to icon menu 131
283 | Index
D
dashed link lines 9091, 218 destination signals 164 dialog boxes 59, 7677, 81, 8486, 88, 100, 106, 115, 144145, 147148, 150153, 155, 157, 159, 163165, 167, 170172, 176177, 183, 185, 206, 208, 211, 213217, 228, 233, 245, 258259, 261, 263264, 273, 280 All Locations-Drawing 77, 8486 Bill of Materials Data Fields to Report 263 Change/Convert Wire Type 172 Component Data Fields to Report 273 Connector Layout 217 Create New Drawing 228, 245 Create/Edit Wire Type 233 Custom Pin Spaces/Breaks 216 Edit PLC Module 155 Edit Report 261 I/O Address 148 I/O Point 147 Insert Connector 206, 208, 215216 Insert New Ladder 144 Insert/Edit Child Component 88 Insert/Edit Component 77 Insert/Edit Contact 81 Keep 150153 Modify Line Reference Numbers 159 Module Layout 147 Multiple Wire Bus 115, 211, 213 214 Panel Layout-Component Insert/Edit 183, 185 Parts Catalog 76 PLC I/O Module Selection/Insert 145 PLC I/O Wire Numbers 157 Report Generator 258 Save Report to File 264 Schematic Component List - Panel Layout Insert 176 Schematic Components 177
Schematic Reports 258 Select Template 59 Sheet 4-Insert Destination Code 165, 167 Signal Codes-Proj-wide Source 165 Signal-Source Code 163 Source/Destination Signal Arrows 164, 167 Surf 280 Symbol Builder 100 Table Generation Setup 259 Terminal style/configuration 106 Terminals 152 Wire Tagging 170 Wire Tagging (Project-wide) 171 dot tee markers 139 drafting settings 229, 246 drawing details 62 drawing properties 61 drawings 6062 add 60 descriptions 61 in projects 60 next 62 previous 62 reorder 60 viewing within projects 62
E
edit components 88 Edit PLC Module dialog box 155 Edit Report dialog box 261 exercises 54 explode blocks 268 extra libraries toolbar 51, 229
F
Footprint dialog box 180 footprints 183, 189 aligning 189 manual insertion 183
284 | Index
H
Help systems, AutoCAD Electrical 55 hydraulic symbols 229232, 236, 239, 241243 by-pass flow regulator 242 checkvalve flow left 230, 241, 243 filters 231, 242 fixed displacement pump 230 general valves 230, 239, 243 insertion 229 meters 239 motors and pumps 230 pressure gauge 239 pressure relief valves 236 reservoir 232 restrictor with variable output flow 242 shut off valve open 230, 239 single ended piston rod 242 solenoid spring return 241 uni-directional pump 231
ladders, single-phase 144 linking tools 268 Load or Reload Linetypes dialog box 248
M
main electrical 2 toolbar 19 main electrical toolbar 4 minals 121, 135 multi-level 121 renumber 135 Modify Line Reference Numbers dialog box 159 Module Layout dialog box 147 move connector pins 221 multi-level terminals 119120 multiple wire bus 115 Multiple Wire Bus dialog box 115, 211, 213214
N
name plates 189, 192193 insertion 192193 New Drawing tool 59 New Project tool 56
I
I/O Address dialog box 148 I/O Point dialog box 147 Insert Connector dialog box 206, 208, 215216, 223 Insert New Ladder dialog box 144 Insert Pneumatic Component tool 245 Insert Wire tool 69 Insert/Edit Child Component dialog box 88 Insert/Edit Component dialog box 77 Insert/Edit Contact dialog box 81 item numbers 182
P
P&ID drawing 245 p&id symbols 249251, 254 ball mill 249 conveyor 250 dryer 251 equipment 249 field mounted instruments 251 flow arrow down 254 flow arrows 254 gate valve 251 mixer2 250 panel layout toolbar 31, 176 Panel Layout-Component Insert/Edit dialog box 183, 185 panel level/sequencing toolbar 49 parent/child relationships 74, 80, 133
K
Keep dialog box 150153
L
ladder rungs, removing 149
285 | Index
Parts Catalog dialog box 76, 93 pin descriptions 225 pipes 233, 252 piping & instrumentation 245 PLC I/O Module Selection/Insert dialog box 145 PLC I/O point descriptions 155 PLC I/O Wire Numbers dialog box 157 PLC modules 145 point-to-point tools 206 power check toolbar 48 prerequisites for exercises 54 Project Manager 5556 project properties 57 Project Properties dialog box 58 projects 56
R
reference-based tags 57 renumber terminals 135 reorder drawings 60 Report Generator dialog box 258 reports 258, 260, 263264 change format 263 edit 260 export to spreadsheet 264 reverse connectors 222 rotate connectors 223
S
Save Report to File dialog box 264 schematic bill of material reports 258 schematic component 74 Schematic Component List - Panel Layout Insert dialog box 176 Schematic Components dialog box 177 Schematic Report dialog box 271, 273 Schematic Reports dialog box 258 schematic symbols 74, 80, 8385, 87, 99, 119, 125127, 149, 151 3 phase motors 127 3 pole fused disconnects 126 blue press to test pilot lights 87 fuse/circuit breakers 119, 125
green press to test pilot lights 84 limit switch buttons 149 miscellaneous switches 99 motor controls 127 normally open limit switches 149 normally open push buttons 83 normally open relays 80 pilot lights 84, 87 proximity switches 99 push buttons 83, 85 relays buttons 74, 80 selector switches 87 standard coils 74 terms and connectors 151 scooting components 79 Select Color dialog box 233, 247 Select Linetype dialog box 233, 247 Select Linetypes File dialog box 248 Select Lineweight dialog box 247 Select Template dialog boxes 59 Sheet 4-Insert Destination Code dialog box 165, 167 Signal Codes-Proj-wide Source dialog box 165 Signal-Source Code dialog box 163 signals 162, 164, 168 destination 164 show 168 source 162 Source/Destination Signal Arrows dialog box 164, 167 stretch connectors 219 surf components 280 Surf dialog box 280 surf symbols 96 swap components 98 swap connector pins 222 symbol builder 100
T
Table Generation Setup dialog box tag panel components 278 tag schematic components 271 tagging tools 268 templates 59 259
286 | Index
terminal strips 195 Terminal style/configuration dialog box 106 terminal styles 106 terminals 121, 135136 associations 121, 136 multi-level 136 properties 136 renumber 135 Terminals dialog box 152 terms and connectors 151 toolbar 4, 19, 31, 36, 4749, 51 conduit marker 47 conversion 36 extra libraries 51 main electrical 4 main electrical 2 19 panel layout 31 panel level/sequencing 49 power check 48 Trim Wire tool 70
W
WBlock 109, 129, 140 WD_M block 59 wire connection points 70, 105 wire connections 275 add 275 wire layers 68, 172 wire numbers 170171, 224, 276 automatic 170 convert text 276 move 224 projects 171 Wire Tagging (Project-wide) dialog box 171 Wire Tagging dialog box 170, 224 wires 6870, 114115 multiple wire bus 115 single-phase 69 trimming 70, 114
X
xdata 191
287 | Index

Acad Elec 2008 Getstart

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AutoCAD Electrical 2008

Part No. 22505-050000-5000A

January 30, 2007

2007 Autodesk, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Third Party Software Credits and Attributions

AutoCAD Electrical Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter 1 Toolbar Commands in AutoCAD Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Ladder Style Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Wire Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Point-to-Point Chapter 9 Connector

Pneumatic, Hydraulic and P&ID Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Migrating AutoCAD Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

AutoCAD Electrical Environment

Toolbar Commands in AutoCAD Electrical Projects

Toolbar Commands in AutoCAD Electrical

Main Electrical toolbar

Insert Component (Catalog List) wd_inscat_s

Insert Component (Equipment List) ace_bom2sch

4 | Chapter 1 Toolbar Commands in AutoCAD Electrical

Insert Terminal (Panel List) ace_pnl2sch_trm

Swap/Update Block wd_bswap_main

Copy Component wd_insym_same

Insert Reference Arrow To wd_reflink

Main Electrical toolbar | 5

Draws a dashed line from a component to a From arrow symbol.

Insert PLC (Full Units) wd_insym_gomenu 33

Unity Pro Export to Spreadsheet aceUnityProImportPLC

6 | Chapter 1 Toolbar Commands in AutoCAD Electrical

Insert Connector wd_p2p_connector_dlg

Insert Connector from List ace_connector_import

Reverse Connector wd_react_do_flip_connector

Main Electrical toolbar | 7

Stretch Connector wd_react_do_stretch_connector

Split Connector wd_react_do_split_connector Add Connector Pins add_connector_pins

Delete Connector Pins wd_react_do_delpin_connector

Move Connector Pin wd_react_do_movepin_connector Swap Connector Pins wd_react_do_swappin_connector

8 | Chapter 1 Toolbar Commands in AutoCAD Electrical

Insert Splice wd_menu_load_schem; wd_insym_gomenu 48 Insert WBlocked Circuit wd_ins_circ

Inserts a splice symbol selected from the onscreen icon menu.

Insert Saved Circuit wd_insym_gomenu 19

Inserts a user circuit selected from on-screen icon menu.

Copy Circuit wd_copy_circ

Move Circuit wd_move_circ

Save Circuit to Icon Menu wd_sav_usercirc Edit Component wd_sym_edit

Add/Edit Internal Jumper wd_jumper

Main Electrical toolbar | 9

Retag Components wd_circa_retag

Find/Edit/Replace Component Text wd_fr

Find/Replace Terminal Text wd_term_fr

10 | Chapter 1 Toolbar Commands in AutoCAD Electrical

Move Component wd_movesym

Reverse/Flip Component wd_react_do_reverse_component

Stretch PLC Module wd_strblk

Split PLC Module wd_splitblk

Main Electrical toolbar | 11

Edit Selected Attribute wd_edattr

Hide Attribute (Single Picks) wd_attr_h

Add Attribute wd_addattr

Squeeze Attribute/Text wd_tx_sqz

Stretch Attribute/Text wd_tx_stretch

Change Attribute Size wd_attrsize