Autodesk AUTOCAD ELECTRICAL - User manual

Get wired.
AutoCAD®
Electrical

2
To succeed in today’s global marketplace, electrical controls
designers can no longer aord to rely on generic software
applications to get the job done. AutoCAD Electrical oers
control engineers a competitive edge by helping save hours of
eort, so they can spend more time innovating.
The AutoCAD Electrical Advantage
AutoCAD®Electrical is AutoCAD®software for
controls designers, purpose-built to create and
modify electrical control systems. It contains all the
functionality of AutoCAD, the world’s leading CAD
software, plus a comprehensive set of electrical-
specific features and functions that oer significant
productivity gains.
Contents
Error Checking and Prevention..................3
Standards-Based Drafting
and Component Libraries...........................4
Design and Drafting
Productivity Tools .........................................5
Schematic Design Tools ............................. 8
Panel Layout Tools ..................................... 10
Programmable Logic Controller Tools.....11
Comprehensive Terminal
Management.................................................12
Collaboration and Interoperability ......... 13
Data Management
and Reporting Tools ...................................14
Data Migration Tools.................................. 15
Learn More or Purchase ............................16
Feature AutoCAD®AutoCAD®Electrical
Full AutoCAD Functionality • •
Familiar AutoCAD Interface • •
Powerful Drafting Tools • •
DWG™Compatibility • •
Comprehensive Symbol Libraries •
Electrical-Specific Drafting Features •
Real-time Error Checking •
Schematic Design Tools •
Panel Layout Tools •
Terminal Management Tools •
PLC I/O Tools •
Automatic BOM Generation •
Autodesk®Inventor®Associativity •
AutoCAD Electrical helps you stay ahead of the
competition by automating control engineering
tasks, such as building circuits, numbering wires,
and creating bills of material. AutoCAD Electrical
provides a library of more than 650,000 electrical
symbols and components, includes real-time error
checking, and enables electrical and mechanical
teams to collaborate on digital prototypes built
with Autodesk®Inventor®software. As part of the
Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping, AutoCAD
Electrical helps manufacturers get their products to
market faster with lower costs.

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Error Checking and Prevention
AutoCAD®Electrical software includes automatic error-
checking capabilities that help designers perform real-time
diagnostics to catch problems before the build phase of a
project.
Automatic Wire Numbering and
Component Tagging
Spending long hours manually assigning wire
numbers and component tags is a thing of the past,
as are the potential errors inherent in that process.
AutoCAD Electrical drafting software automatically
places sequential or reference-based numbers on
all wires and components, based on the configura-
tion you choose. Reference-based numbers and tags
automatically get a sux when necessary so that
names are unique and the software can renumber
the entities as the design requirements change. This
numbering convention is flexible enough to meet
nearly any design requirement.
In addition, if AutoCAD Electrical determines that
an inserted wire number will “bump into” some-
thing, it automatically searches laterally along the
wire for a clear spot to place the wire number. If
that fails, it searches for a clear spot away from the
wire. When it finds one, it places the number and
automatically draws a leader back to the wire.
Real-Time Error Checking
Avoid costly errors at build time
by catching and removing errors
during design. AutoCAD Electri-
cal drafting software constantly
compares the requested changes
with the current project and
alerts you to potential errors
such as duplicated wire numbers
or component tags as they occur.
Real-Time Coil and Contact Cross-Referencing
Significantly reduce the risk of costly mistakes as-
sociated with assigning too many contacts to a relay.
AutoCAD Electrical sets up a parent/child relation-
ship between the two and keeps track of how many
contacts are assigned to any given coil or multi-
contact device. When you exceed the limit, you get
an alert.
Another benefit of this feature is the ability to assign
the next available set of terminal pin numbers to each
inserted “child” contact, based on the pin list proper-
ties of the parent coil. Display cross-referencing
information in almost any format on the drawings,
and run cross-referencing reports at any time.
Electrical Audit Report
Missing or incorrect wire numbers can cause major
headaches. Use the audit report function to analyze
and report such design anomalies so you can correct
them before they reach manufacturing.

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Standards-Based Drafting and Component Libraries
AutoCAD Electrical supports international standards and
provides comprehensive libraries of manufacturer content
and symbols, enabling users to easily create standards-based
designs that comply with industry requirements.
Extensive Manufacturers’
Catalog Content
Use real manufacturers’ catalog data to streamline
the design process. AutoCAD Electrical comes with a
manufacturers’ catalog database that contains more
than 650,000 components and symbols from the
industry’s most popular vendors. These components
provide a full spectrum of input and output (I/O)
devices, including switches, sensors, lights, and
numerous panel devices, such as wireway and panel
enclosures.
Electrical Component Libraries
Easily select commonly used devices to quickly
create electrical control systems designs. AutoCAD
Electrical provides a simple menu-driven system
for inserting electrical devices. Each menu provides
access to a comprehensive symbol library that in-
cludes push buttons, selector switches, pilot lights,
relays, contacts, fuses, terminals, and more.
Support for Multiple Design Standards
Meet your customers’ design requirements with
support for the JIC, IEC, JIS, and GB international
standards. Select symbol libraries, cross-reference
settings, wire and device tagging conventions, and
much more to meet geographic design require-
ments.
User-Defined Attributes
Add custom attributes to AutoCAD Electrical sym-
bols and have their contents available in any project
reports. Easily communicate company-specific design
data by using newly defined metadata to extract
information for standard reports.
Symbol Builder
Guide and manage the creation and conversion of
AutoCAD®blocks into intelligent AutoCAD Electri-
cal symbols. Built on top of the AutoCAD Block
Editor, the Symbol Builder helps create electrical
symbols and black boxes that conform to the Auto-
CAD Electrical architecture.
Multidiscipline Symbol Libraries
Quickly generate accurate pneumatic, hydraulic,
and piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID)
schematics. The comprehensive symbol libraries
include devices such as valves, operators, manifolds,
meters, regulators, filters, and more.

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Design and Drafting Productivity Tools
AutoCAD Electrical software oers controls designers
immediate productivity gains with a complete set of specialized
features and tools developed specifically for the creation of
accurate, industry-standard electrical control systems.
Streamlined Design Environment
AutoCAD Electrical features a streamlined user
interface. Find your favorite tools and commands
faster, locate lesser-used tools more eciently, and
discover relevant new features more easily. The result
is less time searching through menus and toolbars,
and more time getting your work done.
Circuit Builder
Reduce design time and increase drafting eciency
by automating the creation of controls circuits.
Dynamically generate rules-based controls circuits
based on defining functional requirements, such as
components, wiring, ratings, and catalog data.
The Circuit Builder tool gives you the necessary infor-
mation to help you make sound engineering decisions
that are also environmentally “green.” For example,
the conductor size that meets the minimum code
requirements may be the least expensive to purchase,
but it may not provide the best long-term energy and
cost savings.
Circuit Builder provides
dynamic display of worst-
case energy loss costs
for a range of conductor
sizes against various
installation and ambient
factors. Suggested wire
conductor sizing can be
automatically calculated
based upon an electrical
code requirement.
Make better design decisions based on de-rating fac-
tors such as wire material type, insulation tempera-
ture rating, ambient temperature, run length, power
conductor bundling and maximum allowable voltage
drop. Circuit Builder can also suggest fuse, breaker,
and disconnect ratings based upon motor or power
feed load.
Reuse Circuits
Slash design time by reusing common circuits.
AutoCAD Electrical gives users the ability to build
commonly used circuits once and then save them for
reuse in future designs. When you place a saved cir-
cuit into a new design, AutoCAD Electrical automati-
cally renumbers the wires and devices in the circuit
to match the configuration of the current drawing or
project.
One-Line Diagrams for Motor Control
Quickly create and edit one-line circuit representa-
tions that can then help drive accurate annotation of
three-line schematic circuit equivalents.
Building on the popular Circuit Builder tool for
three-phase motor control, AutoCAD Electrical now
enables you to interactively create one-line motor cir-
cuit and power feed representations. One-line circuit
representations can help drive three-line schematic
circuit generation and vice versa.

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Multiple Drawing Interface Aware
Simultaneously view and edit multiple drawings at
once. AutoCAD Electrical fully supports the multiple
document interface (MDI) standard, allowing you to
have multiple drawings open at one time. Now you
can cut and paste design information between two
open drawings without having to close one of them.
Multiple Wire Insert
By enabling designers to insert multiple wires with a
single command, AutoCAD Electrical automates the
process of connecting devices with several connec-
tion points. And, faster design helps ensure that your
projects stay within budget—and on time.
New Drawing Command
With a single click of a button, you can begin a new
drawing and know that AutoCAD Electrical is fully
aware of the current project settings. After you
choose a template with the appropriate title block
and drawing border, the new drawing automatically
becomes part of the active project and you are ready
to start inserting devices.
Swap Block Utility
Save hours of rework by quickly replacing each
instance of a symbol throughout a project. Swap
instances of a block or an individual symbol wherever
it is used in a project. You can even swap symbols for
an entire project between two symbol libraries. For
example, if you need to change the standard used in a
project, just run this command to automatically swap
each JIC device out with its IEC equivalent.
Retagging Components
Reduce design time and help eliminate errors by
retagging all components in a project with a single
command. This single command enables users to
change the format of component tags during a proj-
ect to accommodate customer changes on the fly.
Design and Drafting Productivity Tools

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Design and Drafting Productivity Tools
Fixed Wire Numbers and Component Tags
AutoCAD Electrical enables you to easily accom-
modate design modifications late in the cycle
without aecting previous work. When you change
the status of wire numbers and component tags to
a “fixed” format, they remain unaected during a
project-wide renumbering of wires or retagging of
components. If changes are required after the shop
floor has the designs, you can easily add new wire
numbers and device components without aecting
the existing wire numbers.
Wire Label Export for Electrical Design
Slash the time it takes to create an accurate set of
wire labels for a project. With the Wire Label Export
command, you can rapidly extract wire numbers
from an entire project and print the required labels
for each wire.
Toggle Normally Open/Normally Closed
With a single mouse-click, switch the state of a device
from normally open to normally closed and vice ver-
sa. If that device is part of a parent/child relationship,
such as a relay coil and contact, AutoCAD Electrical
automatically updates the corresponding device.
Drawing Navigation Features for Control
Designers
Quickly navigate through drawings within a project.
Use the previous/next buttons to each drawing in the
project without having to open individual files.
Device Navigation
Don’t waste any more of your valuable time manag-
ing device relationships. With AutoCAD Electrical
you can easily view and navigate relationships
between devices using the Surfer command. Simply
click a component in the panel layout drawing
and quickly “surf” to the corresponding schematic
device. This command works across multiple draw-
ings in a project and also works on devices with a
parent/child relationship, auxiliary contacts, and
item numbers.
Open and Flexible API
Create simplified custom front-end interfaces or au-
tomated workflows using an open architecture that
integrates with existing business and engineer¬ing
systems. Use the flexible and open API (applica-tion
programming interface) in AutoCAD Electrical to
extend its power and functionality to meet specific
design and drafting needs. This built-in API consists
of nearly 200 programming entry points into the
software, so users can easily integrate AutoCAD
Electrical with their existing business and engineer-
ing systems.

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Schematic Design Tools
Create and modify electrical control schematics more accurately
and in fraction of the time it takes with AutoCAD®.
Electrical-Specific Drafting
Commands
Save hours of design time using spe-
cialized drafting features in AutoCAD
Electrical developed specifically for
designing control systems. Quickly
trim wires, copy and delete com-
ponents or circuits, and scoot and
align components for easier drawing
creation.
Ladders and Reference Line Numbers
Use the flexible ladder insertion functionality in
AutoCAD Electrical to quickly place ladders into
a drawing, minimizing the redundancy of creat-
ing control drawings. Place ladders horizontally or
vertically while maintaining complete control over
all ladder characteristics, including rung spacing,
number of rungs, and ladder width. Reduce tedious
manual processes with automatic placement of
reference line numbers based on a predefined
configuration.
Automatic Wire Gaps
Eortlessly create easy-to-read schematics. When-
ever two wires cross in an electrical design, AutoCAD
Electrical automatically indicates which wire passes
through. You can choose from wire gaps, loops, or
solid wires to show crossing wires.
Visual Wiring Sequence Indicators
Eciently communicate design intent to manufac-
turing and avoid wiring errors by graphically indicat-
ing the proper wiring sequence of a circuit directly
on the schematic. . When you make changes to a
wire sequence, the updated information is automati-
cally accurately reflected in the from/to wire list
report.
Revise Ladder
With AutoCAD Electrical you don’t have to start from
scratch when you need to modify a ladder in your
design. Use the Revise Ladder command to modify
ladders already inserted into drawings. Without
deleting and starting over again, you can modify
most aspects of the ladder, including rung spacing
and number of rungs, as well as starting and ending
reference numbers. This single command saves hours
of manual editing and helps ensure that your time is
spent on high-value work.

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Insert Rungs
Being able to quickly insert rungs into an existing lad-
der greatly speeds up the drafting of electrical con-
trol schematics. Simply click anywhere inside a ladder
to insert a new rung complete with wire connection
dots and automatically align it with the correspond-
ing wire numbers.
Three-Phase Motor Control
Save time and increase productivity when creating
three-phase motor circuits. Quickly design motor
circuits using intelligent, built-in symbol libraries that
include three-pole breakers, switches, motor contac-
tors, and more. When you insert them, these symbols
adapt to the underlying three-phase rung spacing
automatically.
Connector Generator
Quickly generate connectors by providing minimal
information, such as the number of pins and orienta-
tion. The resulting connector is ready to be wired into
a design. With AutoCAD Electrical, you’ll be able to
generate accurate point-to-point style designs in a
fraction of the time it takes with traditional AutoCAD
software.
Source and Destination Markers
Quickly track wires from page to page within a proj-
ect. When a wire starts on one drawing and continues
onto another, you can connect them electronically
using the source and destination signals.
Cable and Conductor Tracking
Easily manage cable and conductor usage in Au-
toCAD Electrical projects with automatic tracking
capabilities. Designate individual wires as belonging
to a cable, and then generate reports based on cable
usage for fabrication purposes. Similar to inserting
components, when you assign manufacturer part
number information to cables, AutoCAD Electrical
automatically tracks and reports conductor usage
based on that part number.
Project Interface
Easily manage and navigate the many individual
DWG™ files that make up an electrical control sys-
tems project with the AutoCAD Electrical project
interface. The intuitive file management features
in AutoCAD Electrical let you spend more time
designing and less time organizing files.
Schematic Design Tools

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Panel Layout Tools
Quickly and easily create panel layout drawings with
intelligent updating to reduce errors.
Create Smart Panel Layout Drawings
from Electrical Schematics
Using AutoCAD®Electrical to create panel layout
drawings gives you a systematic means of checking
that no devices are missed and makes an electronic
link between the representation of the device in the
schematic and panel drawings.
Here’s how it works: Once you have created an elec-
trical schematic, the software extracts a list of sche-
matic components for placement in the panel layout
drawings. You simply choose a device from the list
and drag it into place. The physical “footprint” rep-
resentation of each schematic device is inserted into
the layout at the point you select. Then the software
creates an electronic link between the schematic and
panel device representations. So when you change
key data on one drawing, you get a prompt for
permission to update the other. Even non-schematic
items like wire duct and mounting hardware can be
added to the layout and automatically combined to
create a “smart” panel bill of materials (BOM) report.
Starting Designs with a Panel Layout Drawing
AutoCAD Electrical provides a flexible design envi-
ronment that works the way you want to work. You
can start designs by creating a panel layout drawing
and using it to drive the creation of the correspond-
ing logical control schematics. This feature gives you
the boost you need for tight turnaround times and
supports the needs of individual designers.
Location Boxes and Markers
Quickly and easily associate groups of devices with
a specific panel location using the Location Box
command. Apply location markers on the schematic
that represent the corresponding panel location. This
capability makes it easy to identify locations for a
device or group of devices, resulting in more accurate
panel layouts.
Insert Balloons on Panel Devices
Save time by automatically annotating control panel
drawings with intelligent item balloons that coincide
with the panel BOM.