New Designer Using ACAD Electrical
This will all depend on what, exactly, your company does. ACADE lends itself well to schematic drawings and panel layouts, such as for industrial machinery, conveyor systems, etc. It is not meant for doing residential lighting layouts, PCB design, or testing/calculating/simulating circuits. ACADE keeps track of linked components, sharing catalog and other information across a project. It updates changes automatically, automatically generates terminal strips, offers reports on just about any scrap of data that it monitors, and like most ACAD-based products, also offers about a kizillion ways to customize, program, etc.
Also: If you're civil, and you're working with an electrical drafter, I can only assume you're either dealing in water/wastewater treatment, or some aspect of mining. If so, it could very well be that ACADE isn't a good fit for what you do. ( I did similar stuff in the civil field many moons ago)
As for your particular issue:
AutoCAD Electrical comes with several standard sets, each with its own symbol library. I would first insure that your designer is using the correct symbol set.
That being said, there is no actual 'official' standard in North America to which we must adhere. In Europe, things are usually governed by IEC standards. To that end, ACADE allows you to choose from the European standards, the antiquated, now-defunct JIC standard, and the NFPA-79 standard (which absorbed JIC decades ago, and which most people in the States use).
So when your designer says that the symbols aren't standard, I wonder what exactly he or she means. This is why I recommend checking the symbol set being used. (Changing it isn't hard, do a search on this forum to see how)
If this person is of the opinion that using a block library would be better, my assumption is that he/she resists change. Because while there IS a learning curve, ACADE is very competent and generally easy to use, for most things pertaining to electrical design for industrial applications. The tools and capabilities that it brings to the table make it better than using a basic cad program with some block libraries by far. It's just, drafting in ACADE isn't really like drafting in Vanilla ACAD -- you really can't use the commands you know, you have to learn the ones offered by Electrical. But IMHO, if you're anything like a decent ACAD drafter, the transition to ACADE isn't difficult at all, especially for someone who already has a background in electrical drafting.
Hope this helps,
Jim
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
Also: If you're civil, and you're working with an electrical drafter, I can only assume you're either dealing in water/wastewater treatment, or some aspect of mining. If so, it could very well be that ACADE isn't a good fit for what you do. ( I did similar stuff in the civil field many moons ago)
As for your particular issue:
AutoCAD Electrical comes with several standard sets, each with its own symbol library. I would first insure that your designer is using the correct symbol set.
That being said, there is no actual 'official' standard in North America to which we must adhere. In Europe, things are usually governed by IEC standards. To that end, ACADE allows you to choose from the European standards, the antiquated, now-defunct JIC standard, and the NFPA-79 standard (which absorbed JIC decades ago, and which most people in the States use).
So when your designer says that the symbols aren't standard, I wonder what exactly he or she means. This is why I recommend checking the symbol set being used. (Changing it isn't hard, do a search on this forum to see how)
If this person is of the opinion that using a block library would be better, my assumption is that he/she resists change. Because while there IS a learning curve, ACADE is very competent and generally easy to use, for most things pertaining to electrical design for industrial applications. The tools and capabilities that it brings to the table make it better than using a basic cad program with some block libraries by far. It's just, drafting in ACADE isn't really like drafting in Vanilla ACAD -- you really can't use the commands you know, you have to learn the ones offered by Electrical. But IMHO, if you're anything like a decent ACAD drafter, the transition to ACADE isn't difficult at all, especially for someone who already has a background in electrical drafting.
Hope this helps,
Jim
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
The symbols are from ANSI Y32.2 and IEC60617. These symbols have been used to create tens of thousands of projects, if not more, with AutoCAD Electrical since the mid 1990s, when the program was marketed as Toolbox/WD, "Wiring Diagram".
I have been using and teaching the software since 1997 and I personally have thousands of projects designed using it. I cannot imagine using it only as a symbol library. I take advantage of he automation, such as auto-tagging of components and wires, automatic bill of materials and wire from/to list, automatic error checking, and more. There are also automated functions to alleviate many of the mundane tasks you must perform with plain CAD, such as typing text for such things as rung numbers and function text, trimming lines/wires, just to name a couple. The panel layout utilities provide a list of components from the schematic, cross-references the component part numbers in this list against a lookup database of footprints and allows you to insert panel footprints that are linked to the schematic equivalent symbols for perpetual bi-directional updates.
I am only scratching the surface. But I must advise that proper training is paramount to getting the most from the software. You can use the provided Helps to get started but learning the software piece by piece can waste valuable time. It is best to attend instructor-led training somewhere, or bring the instructor to you. With just a 5-day training course you can be well on your way to becoming productive and efficient with the software. If you are in Europe I suggest that you contact Trond "Rhesusminus" for comprehensive training. If you are in the U.S. I offer a comprehensive course that focus on the administrative side of the software as well as daily use. I also offer phone and e-mail support.
Doug McAlexander
Design Engineer/Consultant/Instructor/Mentor
Specializing in AutoCAD Electrical Implementation Support
Phone: (770) 841-8009
www.linkedin.com/in/doug-mcalexander-1a77623
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Gotta +1 Doug, training is super-important. I work in a small company that can't afford to send one lonely Electrical Drafter (me) to training. As a result, I spend a lot of time on these forums just trying to stay up-to-speed and to learn how to make my work easier. Even though I've been on this software for a year and a half now, I'd still jump at the chance at training just to fill in all of the holes that you get when you have to educate yourself. if your company makes the move to ACADE, and y'all can afford it, get some training in there somewhere.
I also have to +1 Trond, who encouraged you to post if you have questions. This is the best one of all of Autodesk's forums I've ever used, bar none, it's the best, most helpful community.
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
It sounds like ACADE would be a good fit for you, then. My company (also small) mainly designs equipment to support the bourbon industry. And while the benefits of training trump all, don't feel like it's a necessity for this software. My company hired me knowing I had no experience with ACADE, and they gave me three weeks to get myself up to speed. (Basically, they paid me to train myself.) I consider myself a fairly competent CAD operator, and this was really a challenge. So, it's possible to operate ACADE without formal training. I do OK without it, though every few months I found out something I'm doing could be done better. However, you've got to be A) willing to learn new things, and B) able to figure things out on your own. IOW, ACADE may fit your company, more than it suits your personnel. Good luck.
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
