I need to know how difficult was the change over?
As long as the drawings are native .dwg files they will be more at home with AutoCAD Electrical than they are in RS-Wire or Promise-e.
How easy or difficult it is to learn the software?
Not at all. I was trained on Promise-e in 1991. It took 5 days and was primitive by today's standards. The learning curve was so bad that out of 20 who attended the class from my company, only half were still there on the last day, and only 3 actually wound up using the software. We bought 20 seats and used 3. AE training is normally 3 days.
And how difficult is it to convert current RS-Wire/Promise-E
Projects, Symbol Libraries and Databases over to AutoCAD
Electrical?
AutoCAD Electrical can use any .dwg file as a symbol. In fact it can use your existing panel footprints as is. AE stores all drawing data inside the .dwg files so no database is needed to manage the project. It runs an Access database in the background for its own internal use. That database can be erased and it won't hurt anything. AE only uses it as a "cache" to speed up project wide functions. It will create the database "on the fly" when it needs it.
I have used Promis-e, RS-Wire, and AutoCAD Electrical, or AE, (formerly known as Toolbox/WD and later VIA/WD), and there is no comparison to AE. As an engineering consultant, I must use the drawing package that is mandated by my client. It is most often AE. When they have no preference, I use AE. Even if they have standard AutoCAD, or simply a DWG viewer, they can view, print, and even access part numbers, wire numbers, etc. when I use AE to create the drawings. All I need to send them are the .dwg files, just as I would have if I had drawn them with straight AutoCAD. I do not have to transfer device type libraries, macros, symbol databases, etc. in order for the delivered drawings to be viewable.
The problem with AE is this: It will challenge your honesty and integrity. You can get the job done faster and more accurately. Do you quote your normal rate?
I have a job I am working on for a client that they estimated at 8 weeks. It was already behind when they asked me if I could do in 4 weeks. I may actually come close to meeting that deadline, even though it is unrealistic. But the automated editing features built into AE are cutting tedious tasks that normally take hours down to minutes.
Hope this helps you out.
Doug McAlexander
Design Engineer/Consultant/Instructor/Mentor
Specializing in AutoCAD Electrical Implementation Support
Phone: (770) 841-8009
www.linkedin.com/in/doug-mcalexander-1a77623
Did you find this post helpful? Feel free to Like this post.
Did your question get successfully answered? Then click on the ACCEPT SOLUTION button.