AutoCAD Electrical

[#1]

I have started building a terminal block closer to what we use in our schematic drawings.  I start with a tb from the cad library, but when I finish, it isn't a normal component.  If I use copy component from the ribbon, I can copy once.  But if I right click on the new tb, it has the old menu.  No component options.  Any ideas?

[#2]

April,

If you provide us with a copy of the footprint you designed, maybe we can better help you.

[#3]

Hello April_Heir

I am also new to ACE.  May be more learnered users will have a better explanation but here are my humble thoughts.

I have made many blocks using "Symbol builder".  I uses a dedicated Project for building symbols.   In that project I have 4 drawings.  All that is needed is more than two.

I always test my symbols on a different drawing to the drawing I develope the symbol on.

Yes, under edit componants there is an icon for "update symbol".

You may know this but when a symbole is inserted into a drawing it is that symbol block that us used for all future insertions of that symbole, (from the icon menue) despite the fact that you have updated the original block in the library.

The update sybole tool does not always work for me.  Even if I go into drawing utilities and use the selective purge.   What I mean is that you can list all the blocks and purge just one item.   Sometimes very useful.

Just this morning I had a componant I could not up date, it was necessary to Right click on the tag and delete and reinsert fromt the icon menue.

In the past 6 months with ACE2012 I have had 26 incidents where "things just did not work" and a restart of the software was necessay.

Win7 lets one look at the memery use and when it gets to where ACE has used most of it, it is time to restart ACE.

Cheers jq

[#4]

Here is my block.  Thanks guys

April

[#5]

April,

I was able to innsert the footprint without any problems. It acted the way I would expect and then I copied using "Copy Footprint" and was able to edit it, again no problems.

Are you using "Insert Terminal" from the Panel Tab on the ribbon? (It is part of the pulldown under "Terminal Footprints")

As an aside, I would recommend changing the basepoint so that it is on the footprint. Currently it is about 12" away from the footprint. I would move the footprint so that its basepoint is located at 0,0. I would also place the basepoint so that the terminal, when inserted, was on the centerline of the dinrail. I usually place the baseline so that it is centered on the dinrail and against the "left/top" side of the footprint.

Hope that helps,

[#6]

I tried the insert terminal footprint, but when I try to find my file, the dialog box is for .wd2 & .csv files only.  All of my files are .dwg.  What do I do about that?

I usually do set my center of the block at 0,0.  Apparently I had deleted and copied that one without moving it back.  Thank you though.  I did start doing that because of a conversation on here awhile ago- I think it was with you!

[#7]

Ok, I did figure it out- use the manual insert.  Now my blocks don't break the wire?  I tried several of them.  If I insert the other way, they do break the wire...

[#8]

Break the wire??

Are you showing wires on your panel layout? Not used to seeing that.

I do see that you have X?TERM01 attributes on the footprint so it should work.

Are your wires on the "WIRES" layer?

On second thought, I am not sure if this would work on a panel. The panels have different settings from the schematics. Maybe Doug could chime in...

[#9]

I should have explained myself a bit better.  I am doing a schematic drawing, trying to make the terminal blocks look similar to our old ones.  The little squares, etc. aren't going to work.  So the attachment from an earlier post is our schematic block.  I was wondering why I was to use the footprint side of things...  At least we are on the same page now!

[#10 · Accepted solution]

<facepalms self>

April,

The reason it is not working is because the filename is not in the right format. Terminals have to be named HT??? or VT??? for ACE to recognize them as terminals. After I renamed the file, it worked fine.

Check out this wiki on naming the symbols. Down near the bottom it talks about naming terminals

http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/AutoCAD_Electrical/enu/2011/Help/User's_Guide/104SymbolLibraries/1085Li...