Electrical (not electronic) CAD Software Suggestions? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: NiallDarwin
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 10, 2022, 11:37:21 pm
content: Hi all, I'm designing an electrical install for the first time. I'm looking for CAD suggestions as my research hasn't turned up a great deal. One of the difficulties is that most of my search results offerelectronicdesign notelectricaldesign.I've started with KiCAD's schematic editor & think I can make it work but its going to involve a lot of custom symbol creation. Before I get too into it I'd like to hear if there's a much more sensible option that I've missed. Open Source very much preferred. I'm not against paying for software but I balked at AutoCAD Electrical's $200/monthThanks

author: Gregg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2022, 03:12:39 am
content: 20 plus years ago I used AutoCAD i believe it was version 14 that was before Autodesk became greedy and it was a student version stand alone running on WinXP. I still have it on an old laptop and use it occasionally even though I'm long retired. I had to make my own library of symbols etc. but it was worth it. Since it is vector based, it is scalable to almost any standard print size. I made hundreds of schematics; I'm sure it helped me toward several promotions. Maybe you can find a copy of the earlier versions of AutoCAD that don't require stupid cloud connection; there is nothing really necessary to need the latest and most expensive version unless an employer decides it is necessary and is willing to pay for it.In my opinion, avoid raster based programs like MS Visio. The IT people used to send me stuff in Visio and it drove me nuts.

author: NiallDarwin
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 11, 2022, 03:19:08 am
content: Good tip, thank you. I think I've an old version kicking around. I started my Mechanical design career on it but once I hit parametric 3D CAD I never looked back. I really like the circuit checking capabilities, BOM generation etc in KiCAD. Old AutoCAD won't do this - its just a fancy drafting tool - but maybe I don't need it for what I'm doing

author: Black Phoenix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2022, 03:20:38 am
content: Well I've been using spontaneously the Solidworks Electrical. But my version is an older one I got from a company who gone belly up. Can't talk about the new version. Most of the library I had to make the symbols myself since it were missing a ton and the ones that existed were not 100% perfect for my uses, nominately font and size/connections.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2022, 06:53:24 am
content: Quote from: NiallDarwin on November 10, 2022, 11:37:21 pm2 that jump straight to mind:Microsoft VisioTinyCAD

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2022, 11:39:54 am
content: Some of the 2D CAD programs had symbol libraries of electrical components. I have one called FastCAD but I am sure there are others. Creating additional symbols or parts (two different things in FastCAD) is fairly easy in FastCAD. Parts are the easiest as you simply make a drawing and save it. That's it, any drawing can be used as a part in a new drawing. Symbols are a bit harder to create, but not very much. Mostly you need to put them in a symbol library and then you can use them. You can even add them to existing symbol libraries. Here is a composite of two screen shots showing the symbols in the two electrical symbol libraries that came with the program:You can even write macros to speed up many chores that can occur in the design process. For instance, I have macros that allow me to create text labels using a sequence of numbers with different prefixes or suffixes or both. This has been very helpful when I had to do things like numbering electrical terminal blocks or wires in a cable. After entering the prefix or suffix, the starting number, the increment, and the final number I can place the labels on the drawing as fast as I can click on the locations. Things like that can be great time savers when you have dozens or even hundreds of text labels to add. And then you have complete control over the menus and the icons in the icon bars on the screen. Change existing menus or icons, create new icons, create new menus or icon bars, and even execute macros from either or both. Very versatile.I don't know if electrical design has any facets that require computer design tools, like the integration of schematic and PCB layout or the many design tools that mechanical engineers use or even parametric design, but I doubt that any of the 2D CAD programs have enhancements like that for electrical work.The same company that makes FastCAD also makes a less expensive version called EasyCAD, which I used for many years. One thing I liked about it was it lived up to it's name: it was quite easy to learn and I made my first drawing an hour after I downloaded it. Another great feature was their BB where you could get help quickly. I don't know if he still does, but in the past their owner and chief programmer read the posts every day and often responded that quickly. You can't get that with any other CAD program I know.You can download either one for free and use it for two weeks before paying. If you want to look them up here is the link:https://www.fastcad.com/

author: krokodyl1220
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2022, 12:57:30 pm
content: For electrical things you may try QElectroTech - it's free and open source.It comes with a quite a big library of elements and it's easy to use. Drawing your own elements is quick and painless and the software itself runs quite quickly.Some things were not instantly obvious how to do (such as cross-referencing the nets between sheets), but it was just a matter of watching the projects tutorial on YouTube.Some of the aspects of the program seem a hit basic, such as automatic naming of nets and components (you can define specific naming sections but cannot really automatically annotate after placement), but for general use with quite simple designs it is good.

author: NiallDarwin
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 13, 2022, 08:46:56 pm
content: Thanks for the tipsSolidworks Electrical sounds like something to get when this idea turns into a company. I'm very familiar with Solidworks-I used to make my living driving it - but I've never used the electrical side & its too expensive for now.Fast, Easy, Tiny CAD all seem like variations on the AutoCAD idea - a big virtual piece of paper.QElectro tech looks promising but rough around the edges and things like the IEC 60617 library being in French isn't so helpful. I reckon its the foundation of a great tool but isn't ready (for me) yet.I think I'm sticking with KiCAD for now and will try Solidworks when I have a budget.Thanks again for your feedback

author: WattsThat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 14, 2022, 12:56:51 am
content: The target of the electrical tools (dare I call it CAD?) is the creation of an electrical control enclosure (aka panel). The market and demand for these products has changed dramatically over the last ten years.The biggest player current in this space is Eplan, owned by the same parent company as Rittal. Based on the way Eplan is marketed, sold and maintained, the typical company that uses Eplan also uses SAP. So, it’s not for a small shop or someone starting out. Big commitment, very long startup time to get it configured to the business workflow.The AutoCad electrical tool is pretty much dead, AutoDesk hasn’t touched the code base for years. It grew out of a Unix based program from Germany originally named Promis-E which was renamed to Adept-E. The company had an office in the US and that group saw the writing on the wall with AutoCad reaching critical mass in the US in the mid-nineties. They brokered a deal between the parent company in Germany and AutoCad electrical was born. It was a buggy, expensive piece of ugliness, IMO. While I had the opportunity to jump to the AutoCad version, I stuck with the native Windows version of the product and while it had some worts, it worked for my company and our workflow.Solidworks Electrical is a modernized knock-off of the AutoDesk product as is their Draftsight product upon which the electrical tool is built. Don’t expect anything different between the two contenders, they both do pretty much the same thing in the same way.The biggest features of these tools is:Real time cross references of parent/child relationships. Example: contacts of a relay tied to the coil.Point to point connection list (similar to a pcb net list)Cable plans connecting terminals to terminalsTie part physical properties to schematic representation (part database with link to 2d/3d drawing)Semi-automated panel layoutSome of these functions are somewhat similar to what you can do with KiCad and similar programs but ultimately if your project is anything but trivial, you’ll be spending a lot of time driving square pegs into round holes.I’ve been working in this world for thirty years. Full disclosure, I was the original author of the shortest wire connection panel layout algorithm for the AutoCad product. I’d be happy to share what I find works and what doesn’t. Tell us what your goals are for the automation of the project and I’d be happy to share my experiences. PM is fine as well if you don’t want aspects of your effort public.

author: Microcheap
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 14, 2022, 04:55:42 am
content: RS has the DesingSpark Electrical that also free to use:https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electrical-software

author: krish2487
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 14, 2022, 06:03:41 am
content: I ll also like to pitch in with CorelCAD / Ares commander..both are essentially the same - replacements / alternatives to autocad.However, both the above are available with a perpetual license.You do need to create your own symbols.. but it is going to be a one time thing..