Autodesk 225A1-05A111-1001 - AutoCAD Electrical 2009, AutoCAD Electrical 2010 Getting Started

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AutoCAD Electrical 2010

Getting Started

January 2009Part No. 225B1-050000-PM01A

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Contents

AutoCAD Electrical Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

About Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Performing Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Command Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Chapter 2 Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Working with Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Working with Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Ladder Style Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Chapter 3 Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

About Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Inserting Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Trimming Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 4 Schematic Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

iii

About Schematic Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Inserting Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Relocating Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Aligning Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Inserting Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Editing Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Linking Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Editing Catalog Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Moving Between Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Swapping Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Creating Custom Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Adding Attribute Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Adding Wire Connection Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Saving Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Chapter 5 Circuitry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Moving an Existing Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Creating a New Motor Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Saving and Inserting Standard Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Inserting Saved Circuits Using WBlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Inserting a One-line Motor Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Inserting a Dual One-line Power Feed Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Referencing an Existing Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Chapter 6 PLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Inserting Ladders into Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Inserting PLC Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Using Multiple Insert Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Annotating PLC I/O Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Inserting I/O Based Wire Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Resequencing Ladders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Chapter 7 Wire Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

About Wire Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Attaching Source Signal Arrows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Attaching Destination Signal Arrows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Inserting Wire Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Working with Wire Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Chapter 8 Panel Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

About Panel Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Inserting Panel Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Modifying Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Adding Nameplate Footprints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

iv | Contents

Editing Terminal Strips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Point-to-Point Diagramming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Chapter 9 Connector Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

About Connector Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Inserting Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Wiring Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Grouping Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Modifying Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Adding Wire Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Adding Connector Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Chapter 10 Pneumatic, Hydraulic, and P&ID Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Setting Up Hydraulic Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Inserting Hydraulic Schematic Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Creating Pipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Completing the Hydraulic Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Setting Up P&ID Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Inserting P&ID Schematic Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Creating Pipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Generating Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Chapter 11 Report Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Generating Bill of Material Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Inserting BOM Tables into Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Editing BOM Tables on Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Changing Formats of BOMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Exporting BOMs to Spreadsheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Migrating AutoCAD Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Chapter 12 Migration of AutoCAD Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

About Tagging and Linking Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Exploding Block and Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Tagging Schematic Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Linking Schematic Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Adding Wire Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Adding Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Tagging and Linking Panel Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Updating Panel or Schematic Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Contents | v

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

vi | Contents

AutoCAD Electrical Environment

Part 1 of this manual provides information about access to AutoCAD® Electrical commands and how to set up a project.

Introduction

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.

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 Documents and Settings\{username}\My

Documents\Acade {version}\Aedata\Tutorial\Aegs or Users\{username}\Documents\Acade {version}\Aedata\Tutorial\Aegs on a Windows

Vista® installation. 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 Dynamic Input 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, follow these steps.

1 Open the Add or Remove Programs tool in your Control Panel.

2 Select AutoCAD Electrical

3 Click Change/Remove.

4 Click Add/Remove Features.

5 Click Next on the first screen.

6 Select AB and Siemens on the Manufacturer Contents Selection screen.

7 Click Next on the Symbol Libraries screen.

8 Click Next to continue.

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.

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 the Help icon in the upper right to display a menu of help options.

■ Select Help ➤ Electrical Help Topics from the menu.

4 | Chapter 1 Introduction

■ 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

atc.program@autodesk.com or visit the online ATC locator at www.autodesk.com/atc.

Command Summary

You can access commands in AutoCAD Electrical through the command line, the ribbon, and toolbars.

AutoCAD Electrical provides three predefined workspaces.

■ ACADE & 2D Drafting & Annotation - ribbons that provide the AutoCAD

Electrical tools, and the AutoCAD 2D Drafting and Annotation tools.

■ ACADE & 3D Modeling - ribbons that provide the AutoCAD Electrical

tools, and the AutoCAD 3D Modeling tools.

■ AutoCAD Electrical Classic - toolbars and pull down menus that provide

the AutoCAD Electrical tools and AutoCAD tools.

You can switch to another workspace whenever you need to by selecting the

Workspace icon on the status bar.

It is recommended to use the ACADE & 2D Drafting & Annotation workspace for these exercises.

Command Summary | 5

Projects

This chapter contains information about AutoCAD® Electrical projects and how to work with them.

Working with Projects

AutoCAD Electrical is a project-based system. An ASCII text with a .wdp extension defines each project. 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 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.

Create an AutoCAD Electrical project

1 Click Project tab ➤ Project Tools panel ➤ Manager.

2 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 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.

8 | Chapter 2 Projects

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 that Line Reference is

selected.

This selection 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, three push buttons 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 that Line Reference is selected.

This selection 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 reference line or in the same reference zone unique. Click Suffix Setup to change the suffix variable.

Working with Projects | 9

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 to add 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 drawing, using the New Drawing tool, 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 cannot be stored and read consistently.

10 | Chapter 2 Projects

Create a drawing

1 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 | 11

NOTE You could click OK-Properties to display the Drawing Properties dialog box. This dialog box has options like the options found in the Project Properties dialog box. It defines drawing-specific settings that are maintained inside the WD_M block of the drawing.

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 it 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.

12 | Chapter 2 Projects

5 In the Reorder Drawings dialog box, select AEGS10.dwg and AEGS11.dwg

and click Move Down until the drawings are 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. You can easily see which file you are working in.

You can add descriptions for each drawing to the project file. 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, select AEGS10.dwg.

Working with Drawings | 13

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 preview drawings easily. 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, select 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 list of the project, use the Previous Project Drawing and Next Project Drawing tools. When you 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.

14 | Chapter 2 Projects

2 To view the drawings, Click Project tab ➤ Other Tools panel ➤ Previous

DWG.

or Click Project tab ➤ Other Tools panel ➤ Next DWG.

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.

Working with Drawings | 15

Ladder Style Diagrams

Part 2 of this manual provides information about how to set up and work with ladder style diagrams.

Wires

This chapter contains information about wires and how they are used in AutoCAD® Electrical.

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. They are put on the current layer (if it is 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.

Insert wiring

1 In the Project Manager, Project Drawing List, double-click AEGS04.dwg.

2 Zoom in on the upper left corner of the drawing. Make sure the hot and

neutral vertical wires are displayed.

3 Click Schematic tab ➤ Edit Wires/Wire Numbers panel ➤ Modify Ladder

drop-down ➤ 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.

20 | Chapter 3 Wires

Create two vertical wires between two horizontal wires

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Wires/Wire Numbers panel ➤ Insert Wires

drop-down ➤ Wire.

2 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Specify wire start or [wireType/X=show connections]:

Select the top wire at line reference 403(1)

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.

Each component wire connection point is displayed as a green x at the wire connection when you enter X + ENTER during wire insertion. If you pan or zoom, repeat the command 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 can trim them. The Trim Wire tool removes wire segments. You can trim single or multiple wires.

Trimming Wires | 21

Trim a wire

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Edit Wires/Wire Numbers panel ➤ Trim Wire.

2 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Fence/Crossing/Zext/<Select wire to TRIM>:

Specify the wire segment at line reference 404 between the two vertical wires (1), right-click

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.

22 | Chapter 3 Wires

Schematic Components

This chapter contains information about schematic components in AutoCAD® Electrical and inserting them into drawings.

About Schematic Components

An AutoCAD Electrical schematic component is an AutoCAD® block with certain expected attributes. When inserting components, 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 some additional features.

■ Automatic wire breaks

■ Component tagging

■ Real-time cross-referencing

■ 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

1 Zoom in on the upper left corner of the drawing.

2 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Components panel ➤ Insert Components

drop-down ➤ Icon Menu.

3 In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Relays/

Contacts.

4 In the JIC: Relays and Contacts dialog box, click Relay Coil.

5 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Specify insertion point:

Position the component on the wire at line reference 403 near the neutral wire and click (1)

The coil symbol breaks the underlying ladder wire and reconnects if you select directly on the wire or near to it. You did not select close enough to the wire if the underlying wire did not break. To try again, click Cancel on the Insert/Edit Component dialog box. Right-click or press ENTER to repeat the command. Turning on Snap helps (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 three options: use AutoCAD Snap when inserting components; use the Scoot command to move components and connected wires in place; or use the Align Component tool.

6 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, verify that the Component

Tag is set to CR403.

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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.

7 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.

8 In the Parts catalog dialog box, select the following search criteria:

MANUFACTURER: AB

TYPE: TYPE P

9 Change the catalog assignment to 700-P200A1.

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10 Click Catalog Check.

11 In the Bill Of Material Check dialog box, review the BOM information

associated with the selected part number.

Click Close.

12 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 transfers 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, substitute those numbers into catalog database files of AutoCAD Electrical. If you use your own system and reference a number of a vendor, extra user fields are available in all the sample database files.

13 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, Description section, specify:

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Line 1: MASTER CONTROL

Line 2: RELAY

Up to three 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.

14 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.

15 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.

16 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, the pin values are inserted

based on the selected catalog number:

Pins: 1: K1

Pins: 2: K2

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17 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 are 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.

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Scoot a component

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Edit Components panel ➤ Modify Components

drop-down ➤ Scoot.

2 Respond to the prompts as follows:

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

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Components panel ➤ Insert Components

drop-down ➤ Icon Menu.

Relocating Components | 29

2 In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Relays/

Contacts.

3 In the JIC: Relays and Contacts dialog box, click Relay NO Contact.

4 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Specify insertion point:

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. 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 tag name that is found on the parent relay coil.

Assign the tag name by clicking Parent/Sibling and picking the parent in the drawing. Or, click 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

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7 Click OK.

The values of the parent are immediately transferred to the contact.

8 In the Insert/Edit Child Component dialog box, verify that 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 | 31

9 In the Insert/Edit Child Component dialog box, click OK.

The child component is inserted. It is cross-referenced in real time. 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.

Aligning Components

Align the normally open relay contact with an existing component. After you insert a component, you can align or edit it as necessary.

Align a component

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Edit Components panel ➤ Modify Components

drop-down ➤ Align.

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2 Respond to the prompts as follows:

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 insert a system reset push button, pilot light, and an emergency stop push button to make up the circuit.

Insert a system reset button

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Components panel ➤ Insert Components

drop-down ➤ Icon Menu.

2 In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Push

Buttons.

3 In the JIC: Push Buttons dialog box, click Push Button NO.

4 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Specify insertion point:

Inserting Components | 33

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

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Components panel ➤ Insert Components

drop-down ➤ Icon Menu.

2 In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Pilot

Lights.

3 In the JIC: Pilot Lights dialog box, click Green Press to Test.

4 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Specify insertion point:

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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

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Components panel ➤ Insert Components

drop-down ➤ Icon Menu.

2 In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Push

Buttons.

3 In the JIC: Push Buttons dialog box, click Mushroom Head NC.

4 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Specify insertion point:

Inserting Components | 35

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 it 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 on SNAP .

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3 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Components panel ➤ Insert Components

drop-down ➤ Icon Menu.

4 In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Selector

Switches.

5 In the JIC: Selector Switches dialog box, click 2nd+ NC Contact.

6 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Specify insertion point:

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

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Components panel ➤ Insert Components

drop-down ➤ Icon Menu.

2 In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click Pilot

Lights.

3 In the JIC: Pilot Lights dialog box, click Blue Press to Test.

4 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Editing Components | 37

Specify insertion point:

Position the pilot light at line reference 410 near the neutral wire but exactly in line with the selector switch and click (2)

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 off SNAP .

2 Click Schematic tab ➤ Edit Components panel ➤ Edit Components

drop-down ➤ Edit.

NOTE You can also right-click on a component and select Edit Component from the context menu.

3 Respond to the prompts as follows:

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.

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5 Respond to the prompts as follows:

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 | 39

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 inserted to the existing RAM MODE selector switch residing on line reference 406 through 408 using dashed link lines.

Connect components using wires

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Wires/Wire Numbers panel ➤ Insert Wires

drop-down ➤ Wire.

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2 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Specify wire start or [wireType/X=show connections]:

Click the wire connection point on the right-hand side of the switch contact (4)

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 (5)

Specify wire start or [Scoot/wireType/X=show connections]:

Click the left-hand side of the switch contact

Specify wire end or [Continue]:

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

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Components panel ➤ Dashed Link Line

drop-down ➤ Link Components with Dashed Line.

2 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Component to link from:

Click the contact of the switch on line reference 408 (6)

Linking Components | 41

Component to link to:

Click anywhere on your new switch contact (7), right-click

The annotation of the contact 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 update automatically. 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 filter criteria in the catalog lookup to display catalog numbers selectively for a component type.

Filter catalog data

1 Right-click LT410 and select Edit Component.

2 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, Catalog Data section, click

Lookup.

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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 | 43

The entries are prefilled with the information for the currently assigned catalog part number. It is 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 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 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.

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5 In the Add Catalog Record dialog box, click List next to the Type, Voltage

and Miscellaneous fields. Select the values shown in the following image if not already selected.

AutoCAD Electrical provides three 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 the other fields.

NOTE You can add catalog entries with a subassembly. To link a subassembly with the main, the catalog part numbers share the same codes. In the Edit Catalog Record dialog box, select As main->sub, enter the ASSYCODE, and click OK. The ASSYCODE must 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 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 | 45

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 move from component reference to reference across the project drawing set quickly.

1 Zoom on the upper left-hand portion of the first ladder column.

2 Click Projects tab ➤ Other Tools panel ➤ Surfer drop-down ➤ Surfer.

3 Click anywhere on relay coil CR407.

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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 | 47

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

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.

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2 Click Schematic tab ➤ Edit Components panel ➤ 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 re tag if parent swap causes FAMILY change

Attribute Mapping: Use Same Attribute Names (default)

Click OK.

4 In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, click

Miscellaneous Switches.

5 In the JIC: Other Switch Types dialog box, click Proximity Switch NO.

6 Respond to the prompts as follows:

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 | 49

Creating Custom Symbols

You can use the Symbol Builder to create an AutoCAD Electrical symbol easily. This utility builds a smart schematic symbol by either adding AutoCAD Electrical attributes to the geometry of the symbol, 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 makes the task easier because 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 you exit out of the Symbol Builder, restart it. On the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, click Select objects and select any graphics and attributes you added so far. You can then start from where you left off.

Create a parent schematic symbol

1 Open AEGS03.dwg.

2 Draw a rectangle anywhere on the drawing.

TIP It is easiest to draw it in the white space on the left-hand side of the

drawing.

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3 Click Schematic tab ➤ Other Tools panel ➤ Symbol Builder

drop-down ➤ Symbol Builder.

4 In the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, Attribute template section,

browse to the Library path C:\Documents and Settings\All

Users\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\jic125 (or C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\jic125 on a Windows

Vista installation).

5 In the Attribute template section, select Symbol: Horizontal Parent, Type:

Generic.

6 In the Select from drawing section, click Select objects, select the rectangle,

and press ENTER.

7 Select OK.

Adding Attribute Symbols

In this example, you add the attributes: TAG1, DESC1, LOC, INST, FAMILY, MFG, CAT, and ASSYCODE. You are not limited to these 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. The other attributes in the Required section are expected on a parent schematic symbol, however the symbol is recognized as a parent symbol without them.

Add attributes

1 If the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor is not visible,

Adding Attribute Symbols | 51

Click Symbol Builder tab ➤ Edit panel ➤ Palette Visibility Toggle.

Use this palette to assign attributes to the rectangle as well as set the height and justification for each attribute. The palette displays the AutoCAD Electrical attributes that you can insert and define as part of the symbol. Once an attribute is inserted on the symbol a check mark is displayed next to it and you cannot insert it again. AutoCAD Electrical allows only one insertion of each attribute.

2 In the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor, select TAG1 and click the

Properties tool.

Enter:

Value: PS

It is the default code used as the %F value of the tag format (such as “CR” , “PB”, “LT”)

Height: 0.125

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Justify: Center

Click OK.

3 Click the Insert Attribute tool.

Insert the attribute above the rectangle.

In the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor, notice the check mark next to the TAG1 attribute. Continue placing the rest of the attributes.

4 In the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor select DESC1.

Click the Insert Attribute tool.

5 Insert the attribute below TAG1.

6 Insert the LOC and INST attributes as indicated.

7 Insert the FAMILY attribute near the center of the rectangle.

8 With FAMILY still highlighted in the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor,

select the Properties tool.

Enter:

Value: PS

Click OK.

This assigns the %F value to the FAMILY attribute inserted.

Adding Attribute Symbols | 53

9 Select MFG and insert near the center of the rectangle. Repeat for CAT

and ASSYCODE.

Adding Wire Connection Points

If a X?TERMxx of the component (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.

A wire connection attribute can have a related terminal text attribute, TERMxx, and terminal description attribute, TERMDESCxx. The "xx" is a two-digit number (starting at 01) that is used to match up with the corresponding X?TERMxx wire connection attribute.

Insert connection points

1 In the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor, expand the Wire Connection

section.

2 In the Direction / Style list, select Others.

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3 On the Insert Wire Connection dialog box select Terminal Style: Screw.

This terminal style inserts both the graphic to represent the screw and the wire connection points.

4 Check Use this configuration as default. It directs Symbol Builder to use

the current Terminal Style and Scale as the default in the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor.

5 Select Connection direction: Left & Top.

It determines the direction the wire attaches to the component.

6 Enter “L” as the value for TERM01 in Pin Information.

7 Select X2TERMDESC01 in Pin Information and click Delete.

8 Click Insert.

9 Select the Insert Wire Connection tool and insert the terminal in the

upper left-hand corner as shown.

NOTE Always use AutoCAD Snap to insert the wire connection point.

10 Back on the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor, expand the Wire Connection

Direction / Style list and select Right & Top / Screw.

Adding Wire Connection Points | 55

11 Select the Insert Wire Connection tool and insert the terminal in the

upper right-hand corner.

You can continue to insert wire connections until you press ENTER by entering the characters indicated in the command line prompt followed by a space. You can also select from the Direction / Style list.

12 Insert the rest of the terminals as follows:

TERM03: Right

Insertion Point: below TERM02

TERM04: Bottom

Insertion Point: in the lower right-hand corner

TERM05: Bottom

Insertion Point: to the left of TERM04

TERM06: Bottom

Insertion Point: to the left of TERM05

TERM07: Bottom

Insertion Point: to the left of TERM06

13 Press Enter if necessary to return to the command prompt.

14 On the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor, expand the Pins section. Enter

the Pin values as follows:

TERM02 : N

TERM03 : GND

TERM04 : -

TERM05 : -

TERM06 : +

TERM07 : +

56 | Chapter 4 Schematic Components

Your drawing should look like the following image:

Saving Symbols

You have two options for saving the symbol: WBlock or Block. WBlock creates the symbol .dwg file while Block creates the symbol for this drawing file only.

Save and insert the symbol onto a drawing

1 Click Symbol Builder tab ➤ Edit panel ➤ Done.

2 On the Close Block Editor: Save Symbol dialog box, in the Base point

section, click Pick point. Select a point in-line with the top terminals so that it is easy to place on a wire later.

3 Select WBlock.

4 Enter a file name or accept the default.

Saving Symbols | 57

5 Click OK.

6 When asked to insert the symbol, click Yes.

7 Place the symbol on the empty wire on the left-hand side of the drawing.

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 box file selection options in the icon menu.

8 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK.

58 | Chapter 4 Schematic Components

Circuitry

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

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. In the process of moving the circuit, you change 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 In the Project Manager, Project Drawing List, double-click AEGS02.dwg.

2 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

■ “MOT216” on the motor

3 Click Schematic tab ➤ Edit Components panel ➤ Circuit

drop-down ➤ Move Circuit.

4 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Select Objects:

Window select the circuit on line reference 215 to capture the connection wire and dots that tie in to the vertical bus, right-click

Press F9 to turn on SNAP .

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.

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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 update to match the parent components on the moved circuit.

7 If asked to save the drawing, click OK.

8 Click Project tab ➤ Other Tools panel ➤ Surfer drop-down ➤ Surfer.

9 Select FU214 on the drawing.

The Surf dialog box displays three references on sheet 2 and one reference on sheet 9.

10 Double-click the reference on Sheet 9.

Surfer goes to the panel layout drawing and zooms in 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 to add a new circuit 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.

Moving an Existing Circuit | 61

Extending the 3-phase bus

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Edit Wires/Wire Numbers panel ➤ Trim Wire.

2 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Fence/Crossing/Zext/<Select wire to TRIM>:

Click the bottom ends of the three 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 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Wires/Wire Numbers panel ➤ Multiple

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

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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 the cursor down to line reference 218.

Temporary graphics show the proposed routing of the extended bus.

Moving an Existing Circuit | 63

7 Click to create the wires.

8 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 now construct a new motor circuit on the extended 3-phase bus.

Insert and configure the circuit

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Components panel ➤ Circuit Builder

drop-down ➤ Circuit Builder.

2 The Circuit Selection dialog box displays.

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3 Expand 3ph Motor Circuit.

4 Select Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing.

5 Change the Rung Spacing: Horizontal to 0.5.

6 Select Configure.

7 Specify insertion point at rung 217.

Creating a New Motor Circuit | 65

Circuit Configuration

A circuit is made up of individual circuit elements and the wiring that connects them. Circuit Builder inserts a template drawing. This template contains the base wiring for the circuit and strategically positioned “marker blocks”.

The “marker blocks” control what circuit elements are presented in the Circuit Configuration dialog box. For example, a “marker block” indicates the need for a Disconnecting Means in the circuit. Various options for the Disconnecting Means are presented in the dialog box. The option selected for this circuit element is inserted at the location of the “marker block”. Circuit Builder dynamically builds the complete circuit based on the selections you make on this dialog box.

1 In the Circuit Elements section, select Motor symbol.

In the Select section, select Motor: 3ph motor,

Ground/PE wire connection: No.

2 In the Circuit Elements section, select Disconnecting Means.

In the Select section, select Main Disconnect: Fuses,

Include N.O. auxiliary contact: No.

66 | Chapter 5 Circuitry

Setup & Annotation section: The options within this section change according to your selections in the Circuit Elements and Select sections.

Type in values or select the Browse button to access a lookup table.

Select an entry from the lookup table to obtain values for the individual settings. The catalog lookup is opened if the circuit option is a component.

3 In the Circuit Elements section, select Control transformer and circuit -

non-reversing.

In the Select section, select Include control circuit: None.

Creating a New Motor Circuit | 67

4 In the Circuit Elements section, select Power Factor correction.

In the Select section, select Include power factor correction capacitor: None.

68 | Chapter 5 Circuitry

5 In the Circuit Elements section, select Overloads.

In the Select section, select Overload elements: Thermal,

Include N.O. auxiliary contact: No.

Creating a New Motor Circuit | 69

6 In the Circuit Elements section, select Motor terminal connections.

In the Select section, select Motor connection terminals: Round.

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7 In the Circuit Elements section, select Cable marker.

In the Select section, select Cable: None.

Creating a New Motor Circuit | 71

8 In the Circuit Elements section, select Safety disconnect at the load.

In the Select section, select Safety disconnect: Disconnect switch,

Include N.O. auxiliary contact: No.

72 | Chapter 5 Circuitry

9 Select the Insert all circuit elements tool. Circuit Builder inserts each of

the selected circuit elements.

10 Select Done.

NOTE See the Circuit Builder topics later in this section for more examples.

Multi-level terminals

1 In the Project Manager, Project Drawing List, double-click AEGS02.dwg.

Creating a New Motor Circuit | 73

2 Click Schematic tab ➤ Edit Components panel ➤ Edit Components

drop-down ➤ Edit.

3 Select the round terminal on rung 217. The Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol

dialog box displays, where you can annotate the terminal properties and associations.

4 In the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Project List section, select

Tag Strip TB.

5 Enter Location: MCAB5 and Number: 10.

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.

74 | Chapter 5 Circuitry

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.

11 Click Schematic tab ➤ Edit Components panel ➤ Edit Components

drop-down ➤ Edit.

12 Select the middle terminal between rungs 217 and 218. The Insert/Edit

Terminal Symbol dialog box displays.

13 In the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Project List section, select

Tag Strip TB.

14 Enter Location: MCAB5 and Number: 11.

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.

Creating a New Motor Circuit | 75

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 does not have a number assignment, it is 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.

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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 three levels and levels 1 and 2 are now assigned.

6 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, click OK.

Creating a New Motor Circuit | 77

7 Click Schematic tab ➤ Edit Components panel ➤ Edit Components

drop-down ➤ Edit.

8 Select the bottom terminal on rung 218. The Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol

dialog box displays.

9 In the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Project List section, select

Tag Strip TB.

10 Enter Location: MCAB5 and Number: 12.

11 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Modify

Properties/Associations section, click Add/Modify.

12 On the Add/Modify Association dialog box, Select Association section,

expand the active project node.

13 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.

14 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.

78 | Chapter 5 Circuitry

15 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 are now assigned.

16 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, click OK.

Creating a New Motor Circuit | 79

Insert a ground

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Wires/Wire Numbers panel ➤ Wire.

2 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Specify wire start or [wireType/ X=show connections]:

Select a point on the motor symbol near its 5 o’clock position

Specify wire end or [Continue]:

Move the cursor down past the bottom pole, left-click, pull the wire to the left and down, then left-click to insert the wire, press ESC to exit the command

3 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Components panel ➤ Copy Component.

4 Respond to the prompts as follows:

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

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Saving and Inserting Standard Circuits

AutoCAD®Electrical 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.

2 Click Schematic tab ➤ Edit Components panel ➤ Circuit

drop-down ➤ 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

5 Click OK.

6 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Saving and Inserting Standard Circuits | 81

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 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 is not a parent motor starter relay coil to operate it. The motor start coil circuit must 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.

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3 Click Schematic tab ➤ Edit Components panel ➤ Circuit

drop-down ➤ 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 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.

Saving and Inserting Standard Circuits | 83

2 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Components panel ➤ Circuit

drop-down ➤ 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:

Specify insertion point:

Place the circuit insertion point on the vertical bus wire at line reference 427, 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. 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.

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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 three child contacts (plus one seal contact around PB427).

Saving and Inserting Standard Circuits | 85

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:

Specify insertion point:

Position the motor circuit so that the insertion point lands on the left-hand vertical bus at line reference 204, 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.

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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 Enter AETERMRENUM at the command prompt.

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 211 and select Edit Component.

2 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Catalog Data section,

delete the Manufacturer and Catalog information.

Saving and Inserting Standard Circuits | 87

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.

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Notice on the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Properties/Associations section that the block now has three levels. 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.

Associate terminals

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Edit Components panel ➤ ➤ Associate

Terminals.

2 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Select “Master” terminal: Select terminal 4 on line reference 211

Pick terminal: Select terminal 5

Pick terminal: Select terminal 6, right-click

Saving and Inserting Standard Circuits | 89

NOTE The command prompt area indicates that the terminal was added as level 02 or level 03 once you pick the terminal.

3 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.

4 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, Modify

Properties/Associations section, click Add/Modify.

5 On the Add/Modify Association dialog box, Active Association section,

highlight level 3 in the grid and click Move Up.

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The grid updates to reflect the move. Notice that terminal 6 is now assigned to level 2.

6 Click OK.

7 On the Insert/Edit Terminal Symbol dialog box, click OK.

8 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.

2 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Wires/Wire Numbers panel ➤ Insert Dot,

Tee Markers drop-down ➤ Insert Dot Tee Markers.

3 Respond to the prompts as follows:

Specify insertion point:

Select the connection points at the vertical 3-phase bus for each wire

4 Insert dot tee markers for the circuit on line reference 204.

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.

Inserting Saved Circuits Using WBlock | 91

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

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Components panel ➤ Circuit

drop-down ➤ Insert WBlocked Circuit.

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2 In the Insert Wblocked Circuit dialog box, browse to the folder containing

the circuit you 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 circuit’s 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. It is like the behavior when inserting a circuit using the icon menu method.

6 Delete the circuit.

Inserting a One-line Motor Circuit

In this exercise, you insert and configure a one-line motor control circuit using Circuit Builder.

1 Start a new blank drawing and save it as One-Line.dwg.

2 In Project Manager, right-click on the project name and select Add Active

Drawing.

3 Using the Insert Wire tool, add a horizontal one-line bus.

Insert the one-line circuit

1 Click Schematic tab ➤ Insert Components panel ➤ Circuit Builder

drop-down ➤ Circuit Builder.

The Circuit Selection dialog box displays.

2 Expand One-line Motor Circuit.

3 Select Vertical - FVNR - non reversing.

Inserting a One-line Motor Circuit | 93

4 Click Configure.

5 Specify an insertion point on the one-line bus.

The Circuit Configuration dialog box displays.

6 In the Circuit Elements section, select Motor Setup.

94 | Chapter 5 Circuitry

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