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Calling all AutoCAD Electrical users. Can I pick your brain?


ReMark

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I've just been told our company is buying AutoCAD Electrical 2011. I know next to nothing about electrical schematics:? and can only imagine what trouble I might get into with the new software. If need be, would anyone who uses this software on a day-to-day basis be willing to let me pick their brain from time to time (via email maybe)? I'm supposed to teach the electrical engineer how to create an electrical schematic using the program.

 

Anyone crazy enough to volunteer?:shock:

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hello Remark! I use this software every day and it can be a challege to learn it, but it is worth it. I will willing to help you in your task. the only thing is that I am using ECAD 2009.

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I recently did a 4 day training course on (2008 ) electrical. Trouble is it took so long to find a gap in our work I've forgotten most of what I learnt.

 

But I have found that by selecting different menu files you can also draw P&IDs so maybe you can start there!

 

from this you can tell I won't be the first choice of adviser but you know you can call on me. :)

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Well it's a start. Thanks guys.

 

I plan on downloading the trial version Monday when I get back in the office. I really want to get a leg up on the engineer. I'll be back!

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Update 1.

 

Well it took almost 8 hours to download the 30-day trial (this past Thursday). And it took a full 45 minutes to load the program this morning (4/19). I'll be reviewing the topic Moving from AutoCAD to AutoCAD Electrical first after which I'll see what AutoDesk has for tutorials.

 

Still taking apllications :lol: for volunteers to guide me if anyone else is crazy enough to do it. :shock:

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Mark, can you do me a favour please. Can you tell me which folder the ACE_????_MENU.DAT files have been installed in?

 

I have moved mine to a network drive but now I find that it is recommended that the menus are held on local drives but the catalogues & symbols can reside on a network. The rest of the office will be upgraded soon and I want to get mine back to match theirs before I go much further.

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Sure thing Dave.

 

Let's see. I just loaded the program, haven't used it yet and YOU are asking ME for information about where a certain file can be found? That is very funny!

 

I loaded the program on my hard drive therefore no files have been placed on the network server. Remember, to get a jump on things I downloaded the 30-day trial version. Things may change (like file locations) once we get our network licensed copy of the program.

 

This is what I found. I hope it helps.

 

C:\AutoDesk\AutoCAD_Electrical_2011_English_Win_32bit\x86\en-US\Acade\Program Files\AutoDesk\Root\UserDataCache\Electrical\UserSupport

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guessed as much - totally different locations :D

 

I'll wait until one of the other machines in this office gets updated and then look at that :)

 

Being an old time keyboard entry person one thing I don't like is having to do everything from menus. Hope you're ready for that.

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Haven't even gotten through the first tutorial yet. Had to go back and install another manufacturer's products, along with Express Tools (not sure how I missed that) and one other component. Then I was told to copy some tutorial files from one folder to another only to find out the files had already been placed there! Why do they do that? Somebody just having some fun with us newbies? Argh!

 

What? No keyboard entry? Do you mean like command aliases?

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Frustrating.

 

I'm trying to run through the tutorials and I'm in the first one about setting up a project. I don't see an option for docking the tutorial so I can reference it and then execute the instructions without it minimizing. Can the instructions be docked somehow?

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What? No keyboard entry? Do you mean like command aliases?

Sort of.

 

You add wires using the "Wire" button. This will add a LINE on the designated wire layer. If you now add another wire at the mid point it will do whatever fancy join type you have specified. You don't get that if you add a line. Likewise inserting a component doesn't do all the triming ect. that inserting a component from the menu will do. Also, you MUST remove component from the menu. Just deleting a component doesn't remove it from the scratch database.

 

And finally for now, I know I'm the only person on here (OK, one of thhe few) who uses grid & snap and I have a habit of click my start point then clicking NEAR my end point and rely on ORTHO to position the end correctly. If you do that in electrical it will draw a line to where I expected and then anotehr little bit to where I clicked. Took me a little time to work out what was happening there.

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Thanks for explaining the differences. Guess I'll have to revise my standard method of operation.

 

I do not use Snap and Grid unless I'm working for one particular engineer. It drives me crazy. LOL

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I've having a crummy day.

 

What's with this WD_TB attribute method? I'm having a problem understanding the Drawing Values it talks about. What's the purpose?

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?

 

you have to add a block to each drawing (if its not in your template). If that is the block you are talking about just accept it and continue working.

 

I'll have a look at work tomorrow (if I remember).

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That's OK day never mind.

 

The tutorial, as far as I have gotten, is poorly written and some things they tell you to do have already been done (copy files to new folder) or can't be done (open Create New Drawing from Project Manager) unless an existing drawing is already open. It's enough to drive one crazy.

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yes - I wasn't too impressed with my training either. One of the lessons gets you to add a PLC to an almost finished drawing. Under what circumstances do you forget to add the PLC until the drawing is almost finished?

 

I may go back through the lessons to remind me what I learned. :D

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hello Remark! I use this software every day and it can be a challege to learn it, but it is worth it. I will willing to help you in your task. the only thing is that I am using ECAD 2009.

 

Sorry there firstrate. Seems you snuck that one in there without my realizing it. Thank you for your offer.

 

I'm trying to wade through the tutorials that I assumed would get me off to a good and proper start but find them frustrating as you can tell. I'm in the section regarding title blocks and templates at the moment and they have me creating a drawing which already exists! Each tutorial must be written by a different person for that to happen.

 

Maybe I should skip over to the part where I get to actually create an electrical schematic? Probably not.

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What's with this WD_TB attribute method?
I've just looked and I don't (think I) have one of those. If I try to insert a component into a blank drawing I get a message saying it wants to add the invisible block WD_M and if I try to insert a mechanical part I get the same message but for WD_PNLM. It could be that these two blocks have been combined into yours.

 

What are they? Haven't a clue but electrical doesn't work without them. I think they could be place holders for invisible information.

 

One thing I am going to have to get used to is working in MDI mode. I prefer to have only one drawing open at a time (a power failure yesterday was a reminder why) but to get the cross drawing links etc working you need access to all the drawings in a set. I'm sure I'll get used to it soon.

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ReMark and dbroada, the WD_TB is used for one of the 2 ways of doing your titleblock. You have several drawings in a project and if you add a drawing or delete a drawing the titleblock will automatically update.

 

If I remember right if you don't use the WD_TB then you need to keep up with external files with information to fill the titleblock. Personally I never got it to work right and most of our drawings don't have schematics so I've been working with vanilla AutoCAD. I will go back to tackling ACADE at a later date.

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Thanks for that explanation ziemerd. That clears it up a bit. I'll have to pass that along to the engineer. He probably hasn't even taken it into consideration.

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