DPST breaker

[rlush4F88G]

Hello,

Very new to ACE. I probably have less than 8 hours total working with the software and still at the bottom of the learning curve.

I am struggling to create a DPST breaker

This symbol looks like it wants to be a multi pole breaker but it explicitly says 1 pole.

I'm assuming it's just poorly named and I can use it to create a DPST breaker. I found a few forum posts and articles about how to use the "2nd+" symbols but I'm not able to duplicate the results. I just end up with 2 independent components that don't appear linked in any way.

Could someone point me in the right direction? 

[arshdeepsingh404 · Accepted solution]

Hi @rlush4F88G 

Welcome to the AutoCAD Electrical forum. Here is what you need to do to insert a DPST Circuit Breaker

1. Insert Circuit Breaker 1 Pole from icon Menu. This will be the Parent Component that will generate a Tag.

 

2. Insert 2nd+ Circuit Breaker 1 Pole from icon Menu. This will be the Child Component that will not generate a Tag, It will need to be linked to the Parent component.

3. Link the two symbols together using AELINK command.

You also have the option of connecting a child symbol to parent using Drawing / Project / Parent/Sibling Option but that won't draw a dashed line between them like the AELINK command.

Since you are just getting started with AutoCAD Electrical, You should lookup Parent and Child Symbols. This will help you for many components.

Parent Component
A Parent Component is the main part of a device in AutoCAD Electrical, inserted first in the drawing. It generates a unique Tag that identifies the component throughout the project, These symbols are named with fourth character of 1 like HCB1.dwg, here H = Horizontal, CB = Circuit Breaker, and 1 = Parent Component.

Child Component
A Child Component is linked to a parent component, representing related parts of the same device. It inherits the parent's tag and can be placed on same or different drawing. These symbols are named with fourth character of 2 like HCB2.dwg, here H = Horizontal, CB = Circuit Breaker, and 2 = Child Component.

https://help.autodesk.com/view/ACAD_E/2025/ENU/?guid=GUID-426D2FCD-D82A-4FB7-A657-28D8B2EC336D

[rlush4F88G]

Thank you so much. This did exactly what I needed it to and gave me a bit more confidence. I can't wait to implement your reply to my issue with the title block and I am going to post another question about grid snap. I hope you have some time to take a look.

[rlush4F88G]

I was going to create another thread for this question but I think I can relate it to the first question.

Once I have done the AELINK, how should I move the pair? I had hoped they would act as one component but they still move independently. So I selected them both before typing move but the first thing that happens is they step off my snap grid. This is something that happens with a copy/copybase & paste as well. I see the question has popped up many times over the years but I haven't found a solution that works. How can I copy & paste or move to the same snap grid?

I have made the mistake with other programs of reducing my grid size to get parts to line up and I always regret it. The default setting was .25" in all the examples I found and I went as small as .00325 in an effort to get things to line up before I stopped myself. .125" should be sufficient if I can just get things to stay put.

[arshdeepsingh404]

Hi @rlush4F88G 

You're welcome! I glad the first part is working for you.

The AELINK command connects a parent and child symbol together but they stay as two different entities and are not merged into one block. All AELINK does is associates the child symbol with the parent symbol, Hides the TAG from the child symbol, and draws a dashed polyline between the parent and child symbol. There are special attributes inside the parent and child symbols that dictates from where the dashed line should start and where it should end.

Now to move a parent and child component as a pair, different people prefer different things, One of the option below should work for your.

Option 1: Use AESCOOT command if you need to shift the components on the same wire.

1. Select/Type the Scoot command.

2. Click on the parent component and select the location on the same wire where you would like to move the pair.

3. Click OK to Scoot Linked Components when it prompts.

     

4. AutoCAD will move the child component and fix the dashed line.

Now this is a nice tool to shift components vertically/horizontally on the same wires but it doesn't allow you move the pair from one wire to a different wire or jump over in-line components.

Option 2: Use AECIRCCOPYCLIP and AECIRCPASTE commands.

1. Select/Type the Copy Clip command.

2. Specify the Base Point and select the circuit you would like to copy. For our example: Select Parent symbol, child symbol, and the dashed line.

Now all symbols are just like regular blocks and they get a basepoint at (0,0) which is what I would suggest to use as basepoint while moving/copying to avoid off-grid issues.

3. Select/Type the Paste Circuit command and select the point on a wire where you like to paste the circuit.

4. AutoCAD Electrical will paste the circuit, Trim the wires, and retag the new copy of the circuit.

This way is more versatile and you can copy all sorts of different circuits from one place to another or even between different drawings. AutoCAD Electrical doesn't really suggest to use the regular AutoCAD tools like Move, Copy, and CopyBase as these won't automatically trim/repair wires, automatically retag components or renumber wires.
Not saying that I have never use these, as long as you remember to fix wires and renumber wires and retag components, you should fine. But I would try to stick to using AESCOOT, AECIRCCOPYCLIP,  AECIRCPASTE, and AEMOVE wherever possible.


Option 3: Create you custom symbol for 2-Pole circuit breaker instead of inserting a parent and child symbol and using AELINK.

At some point, you will have to start playing around with the AE Symbol Builder to create custom symbols and footprints but that's a whole another learning project when you get to it. You can also add custom symbols to icon menu.

For now, I have created one and attached to this thread. I am not sure what library your project using but the attached one is an NFPA symbol. I am mentioning this because sometime the scales are different.

Happy Drafting!