electrical part design

hey all

i was wondering if there is any good software for electrical engineer that can design and edit electrical shemes and espcilally could design 3D control panel (including all electrical parts such as contactor. circuit breaker ...)

i tried autocad ...works good for electrical shemes but 3D part isn't his good point apparently, the project becomes too slow and difficult to control (for exemple can't easly rotate the model) because of the large amount of stuff i use (circuit breaker . contactor.etc...))

i'am also looking for some free electrical Distribution's 3D model

thanks in advance

Have you looked at AutoCAD Electrical?

Some manufacturer's make 2D and 3D blocks of their equipment/components available for download in DXF and/or DWG file types.

What are the specs on your computer?

thanks for the answer buddy !!

hmmm, i didn't know that electrical can design 3D control panel!!!

anyway i tried it some years ago, i found it complex a little, i think i prefer autocad pro +some lisp =, it's a quick way to design electrical shemes ...however it's not the best solution to design 3D model ...right?

what about autocad ecscad ? could it be a solution for my problem ...or should i use solidworks?

 

What are the specs on your computer?

i didn't understand what you mean

anyway, i work on somethings like that

thanks in advance

You design electrical panels but don't know what I mean regarding the specs of your computer? Interesting.

You mentioned some difficultly working with objects in 3D which I took to mean your system is slow. So, what do you have for a CPU? How much RAM is installed? What are you using for a graphics card and how much video RAM is onboard? Are you using a normal platter drive or a SSD? If you are using a normal platter drive what are its specs?

I'm familiar with the types of panels shown above. I'm also familiar with PLC design/layout.

AutoCAD Electrical is intended for panels like that. I haven't used the 3D side of it yet as we find 2D is good enough for our panels (very similar to yours) so I can't comment on its performance. One of the areas I like is the checking that all items are in both the circuit diagrams and the GA. Far better than realising you have no space to fit the final MCBs that crept on to the circuit without getting to the GA.

ReMark was asking for what spec machine you are running AutoCAD on to check it is good enough for ACADE. (He also replies quicker than me.)

You design electrical panels but don't know what I mean regarding the specs of your computer? Interesting.

 

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well well,budy if you didn't notice ... i'am not VERY familiar with amercain english

so specs mean specification...ahh good

i use a hp laptop dv5

CPU

Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU T5870 @ 2.00GHz

CPU Speed 2.0 GHz Performance Rated at: 3.20 GHz

RAM

You Have: 2.1 GB

OS

Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Edition Service Pack 1 (build 7601), 32-bit

Video Card

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3430

Pixel Shader version 4.1

Vertex Shader version 4.1

Dedicated Video RAM 256 MB

Sound Card

SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio

Disk 250gb sata

old enough but can run an autocad 2012 2D without problem

you have noticed that you worked on 3D control panel's mdels ...any advices are more than welcome

thanks for your time

Your computer specs are woefully inadequate, across the board, for doing any serious 3D work.

My advice: Upgrade to a better computer system then move on from there.

Autodesk Inventor (perhaps with Routed Systems).

If using AutoCAD you should be using xrefs.

http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Inventor/enu/2012/Help/2144-Tutorial2144/2914-Cable_an2914

of course the part shown in the routed systems tutorials were created in Inventor.

Here is an image of the interface.

Autodesk Inventor (perhaps with Routed Systems).

If using AutoCAD you should be using xrefs.

 

http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Inventor/enu/2012/Help/2144-Tutorial2144/2914-Cable_an2914

 

of course the part shown in the routed systems tutorials were created inInventor.

Thanks forthe reply JD, I appreciate it…however I must say using xref isn’t the bestsolution for me, I already tried it but unfortunately the laptop is slow enough … plus most of the bandwidth in the network goes to another applications(mostly for purchasing department ) so loading xref always take a hell of time L

Btw, whatabout solid works?

Your computer specs are woefully inadequate, across theboard, for doing any serious 3D work.

 

My advice: Upgrade to a better computer system then move on from there.

I will talkwith my boss

Until then,can you please explain your method todraw 3D model

I mean:

-software (

-tools

-lisp

Every thingsyou can

And ifpossible a little DWX’s example

Thanks again

What other programs have you looked at besides plain AutoCAD?

We use AutoCAD Electrical 2012 but we are in the process of upgrading 2013. Unfortunately the electrical engineer has hit a snag in the deployment and has had to turn to IT for some help.

Maybe we should start at the beginning with the most important tool...your computer. If you have something that is less than adequate for the job all the software in the world will not make for a better, quicker design.

i think there is two powerfull laptop available here

dell inspiron i5-2310m cpu , 4 go ddr3 ram and a gt525 graphic card

or toshiba l755 : cpu: i72670 QM , 4go ddr3 ram and of course a gt525 graphic card

is that enough for a 3D drawing?

I would have to delve deeper into the specs to be able to answer that question. 4GB of RAM seems on the surface to be somewhat anemic in my opinion. Why laptops? The problem with laptops is to get a really good dedicated graphics card that one would want/need to do complex 3D work you're going to have to pay dearly as if laptops aren't expensive enough to begin with versus a desktop system. You really do not want to be creating complex 3D designs and dealing with large file sizes on a laptop that is utilizing an onboard graphics chip. There is too much of a performance hit when the going gets tough. Example: when using 3Dorbit on an enclosure populated with many devices and all the cabling. Your laptop will lag so badly you'll want to throw it out the window or go for a smoke....or both.

Your laptop will lag so badly you'll want to throw it out the window or go for a smoke....or both.

haha i must agree!!!

coz it's more efficient

can we pass this points plz ? i need to know which type of software/tools/lisp are recommended for such an operation...then i will try it on our laptop

if nothing work .... we will try an another solution

There is little point to downloading and installing software to test on your laptop. As for the other laptops well at the moment I can't say.

I don't use any "special" lisp routines that are specific to doing electrical layouts. I have a library of custom routines I've culled from various sources over the years much like you and everyone else collects as they strive to get things done better/quicker. What I use or don't use may or may not fit your needs. Do you have something specific in mind that you are searching for?

Tools? Where possible I search out sources of 2D and 3D blocks that may be of interest to me (usually at the websites of manufacturers as previously stated). The most important tool in the box is my involvement here at CADTutor which is THE best resource for help with AutoCAD and AutoCAD vertical products you could possibly find. Oh yes, there is one other source of electrical-specific information but I'll have to go dig up the website and post a link to it here assuming I haven't buried it under the mountain of other "Bookmarks" I tend to collect as I roam the Internet. LoL

I would suggest Inventor or Solidworks, either should be up to the task. You will still need to upgrade your computer to see an improvement.

Btw, whatabout solid works?

SolidWorks and Inventor are equivalent MCAD programs - just different companies.

If you go with SolidWorks be sure to get Subscription or otherwise you won't have access to Updates (service packs and hot fixes). And I think SWx is sticking with OpenGL while Inventor went to DirectX several releases ago (hardware choice here).

If you go with Inventor it is generally sold in suites that includes other Autodesk programs for "free".

Check with the VARS for these product demonstrations (but be aware that the canned demos always look good and always make the competition look bad). That is what a good demo jock does. Be sure to have then model something along the lines of what you actual do. They should request an example in advance of the demo. Also hit them with something cold - but be aware that this is probably more a demonstration of the sales jock's experience rather than a demo of the software capability. A lot of people get this confused and think when they are watching an inexperienced CAD jock that it is a problem with the software. Professionals use both of these softwares. Both softwares are professional and capable.

Be sure to budget in a training course in whatever software you choose.

Be sure to budget in a training course in whatever software you choose.

Ah yes, you can do the basic modeling in the basic levels and routing with some difficulty and cleverness. The step up to the full Routed Systems functionality is an advanced topic. I recommend budgeting an amount equal to the cost of the seat of software. I think we are talking in the area of $12-15k USD for the software and training and 6 months or more of experience to start to become comfortable.

Have a look at the AutoDesk Product Design Suite - Premium. In the US it sells for $6,500 but it includes;

Autodesk Inventor with Routed Systems

AutoCAD

AutoCAD Electrical

AutoCAD Mechanical

Autodesk Vault Basic

Autodesk Navisworks Simulate

Autodesk Showcase

Autodesk 3ds Max Design

Autodesk SketchBook Designer

Autodesk Mudbox

Seems to hit all your birds and more with one stone. Yes upgrade your PC.

You can find some 3D electrical component blocks at the CADforum.

http://www.cadforum.cz/catalog_en/?cat=113

You might also find this site quite interesting as well from the standpoint of using AutoCAD Electrical.

http://www.ecadconsultant.com/index.html

And finally, if you decide to go with AutoCAD Electrical this is the book you want to get.

http://www.ascented.com/courseware-solutions/autodesk/courseware/autocad-electrical/2012/AutoCAD-Electrical-2012-Fundamentals-%28IEC%29.aspx

Good luck.