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vanilla_gorilla

Electrical Package/schematic Generation

22 posts in this topic

Just making a general inquiry as to what "we" are using as electrical schematic/controls package ?? Which one includes "libraries" etc. Ease of use is also a factor as I am sure it is for most.....Cost is also a major consideration.... Is Autocad Electrical the "package" of choice ?? I know of others using PCAD (although I thought that was more for PCB layout) Cheers

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May be you should start by looking at CAD Packages and info, Help needed in the new Control Panel Building section of this forum

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I have had the chance to check out acad elec and its a very nice program.... autodesk though so pricy but descent schematic prog

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I have used Auto CAD, for electrical design work, as well as Promise E and several other platforms. One advantage to Promise E and other schematic generators, is that they can build your BOM's for you. However, if you are sending those files to a customer or third party that doesn't have the same platform, that information and the information referenced in the blocks is lost, and can cause some confustion. My recommendation would be to use something that is fairly transparent if the drawings are going to be used out side your facility.

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Autocad Elec does the same and more....

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True, AutoCAD can do the BOM listing, but also has the limitations that its not a transparent dwg format when opened by someone who only has access to a standard cad package. Thats the point I was attempting to make, should you be in a profession that requires you to send out electronic media packages as part of the document package. This has been an issue for several OEM's that I've worked for in the past.

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Hi gents, What about e plan? Have you tried that? It will give you all the standards. Just a bit pricy!!

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I use Caddsman - Ozzie package - and make my own libraries. It can also read and write .dwg and .dxf files (Auto Cad). The biggest problem I have is that Caddsman can do a lot of things Auto Cad cannot do with text. I have to use only text attributes that Auto Cad can read.

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I used AutoCAD electrical. I swear by it. I think it saves 50% of my time designing a job. However, before AE, I made my own library. You can download it free. http://forums.mrplc.com/index.php?autocom=downloads&showfile=146 It doesn't have a BOM or anything, just symbols that you can insert quickly. Set your snaps to .125 and you'll be all set.

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ePlan seems like the best solution out now. It is built around a database, not a drawing. It has some really neat features like automatically creating a panel layout and wire reports for debugging (ever wonder what the complete path of a connection is back to your PLC?). General Motors is currently converting all ACADE drawings to ePlan. However, the price is outrageous (2-3x ACADE), so I am stuck using ACADE... -Brian

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We use Eplan here as well, but have the add on package, using acad lite since we don't do a lot of rendering anyway. That cuts down the price to just an arm and a leg and leaves out the price of the first born.

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Hi: Does anyone know if the ACADE 2006 Upgrade package (instead of the full package) can be used to upgrade from ACAD Lite, or only from another full version of ACAD? I'd like to move to ACADE, and I'm just trying to determine the size of the bullet I'll have to bite... --Mike

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I use a system called WSCAD it is written around a access database with libaries of components it also draws the wires automatically when a componets is inserted but only draws vertical to the closest horizontal line or a component pin that is inline it also adds cable numbers automatically and manages PLC's, contactors, relays etc and panel layouts it also prodes a bom wire lists terminal schedules etc it is very good but takes a while to set up the libaries to suit your own tastes -Graham

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If you check with your reseller, they'll be able to tell you what kind of upgrade deals are available. j

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I do a lot of controls design and PLC programming for GM Powertrain for years now and this is the first I've heard of ePlan there. Can you expand on your statement?

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im interested in buying a cad package for my panel schematics and have looked at autocad electrical, a great package but the cost was very high about £4000 with training, can anybody post costs on other software and whether its easy to use without having to waste time and money on training courses. I cant justify high costs as only a small portion of my turnover is related to panelbuilding.thaks Dave

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If you're going to be performing work that isn't highly customized, and you don't mind doing a little reading and practicing tutorials on your own, you can learn a lot from the Autodesk training materials (AOTC books). They go for about $80 US. jarred

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Hi Chris I am fairly new to autocad, but I did get these symbols to work in Auticad 2007, they are exactly what I need. However I have issues with the colors they are showing up as. Could you help me get them to display in the color black?

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Hello, We use autocad lt with a third party electrical symbol set. Not as fully loaded as autocad electrical, but a lot better on the wallet. plcdp

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Is this beacuse your drawing sheet is white ? Change it to black, easier on the eyes. If you do not know how to do that then read up a little more about using autocad, have a play with the menus etc.

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Found that all I had to do was change the layer colors. Thanks for the response.

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Good, glad you got it fixed. Hope you enjoy the add on.

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