Need WDTYPE attribute for wiring diagram style footprints

[dougmcalexander]

The WDTYPE attribute was introduced in release 2010 to support 1-line diagrams - allowing for the same tag to be assigned to two separate schematic symbols without receiving a tag duplication error popup.  The software sees the value of 1- (1line) in the WDTYPE attribute and understands that, even though the tag is shared by a "3-line" device elsewhere in the schematic, they are simply two iterations of the same device, viewed in two different engineering disciplines. 

So, we need a similar functionality for wiring-diagram-style footprints.  When inserting a footprint from the schematic list, there are two options for footprints - the default is a standard footprint with no wire annotation data.  There is a second option, via the drop-down arrow, that allows us to choose a an alternate footprint from the Wiring Diagram Tables of the Footprint_Lookup database.  We must create these special footprints.  This is one of the possible topics my clients can choose when they hire me to teach my advanced training class. These special wiring-diagram-style footprints are essentially a copy of the standard footprint, but with special attributes that can display wiring data (i.e. wire number, wire type, device at other end) in place of details such as the contour of the symbol.  In the image below you see wiring-diagram-style footprints on the left and standard footprints on the right.  The standard footprints show contours and a graphical representation of auxiliary contacts.  The wiring-diagram-style footprints replace the contour detail with special attributes to display the wire annotation data next to the wire connections.  The illustration below shows both styles of footprints for side-by-side comparison.  In actual practice, the wiring-diagram-style footprints would normally be located on a separate drawing or drawings.

It is customary in certain industries to create a panel layout that simply shows the location of the footprints in the panel and a separate "wiring diagram" drawing is created to show specific wiring details for each device.  This can be used in conjunction with, or instead of, a From/To List. 

AutoCAD Electrical allows us to create and use wiring-diagram-style footprints, but there is no real intelligence beyond filling in the wire annotation data.  We add a table to the FootPrint_Lookup database for each manufacturer but with the suffix _WD (i.e. EATON_WD).  We then edit this table and add the catalog number and the path to the alternate, wiring-diagram-style footprint block that we have prepared in advance.  This is the same method that we use to add the path to standard footprints, except that we select the EATON_WD table, as in my example, rather than the EATON table.  So when we are inserting footprints from the Schematic List we can click the drop-down arrow and change the option to Use Wiring Diagram Tables, as shown below:

Everything works as planned but...when the BOM is generated, the software counts both iterations of the footprint, the one shown in the panel layout, and the one shown in the wiring diagram.  I propose that the software be improved such that when it reads a value of WD in the WDTYPE attribute it knows not to count that footprint symbol when adding up the total quantity for the panel BOM.

There is a work-around that I have used over the years, but I believe the wiring-diagram-style footprints deserve to be treated as another iteration of the same device, viewed from a different perspective, similar to how the 1-line symbols relate to their 3-line equivalent.  So what is the work-around?  There are actually a couple of options.  Method 1) After you insert the wiring-diagram-style footprints into a separate drawing, and you annotate them, you use the Special Explode utility from the Conversion Tools menu tab to turn these symbols into "dumb" graphics.  The attribute values will become plain text, but the tag and wiring data will be displayed.  The drawback is that, if you make a subsequent change to the schematic that affects the wiring of this device, the wiring-diagram-style footprint is no loner "smart" and cannot be updated using the Wire Annotation utility.   Okay, so welcome Method 2)  After inserting the wiring-diagram-style footprints into a separate drawing, and using the Wire Annotation utility to add the wiring data, you open the Drawing Properties dialog for the wiring diagram drawing(s) and check the box labeled For Reference Only.  This will cause the software to ignore everything on this drawing when compiling a BOM.

But again, it would be better to be able to add a WDTYPE attribute to our wiring-diagram-style footprints, as we create them, and let the value of WD be interpreted by the software as a signal to ignore the device from a BOM count, but process other project-wide functions as it would for any other device.

[dougmcalexander]

One other thing will be needed to support this workflow.  The "x" in the first column of the  Insert from Schematic List dialog needs to clear when we switch over to inserting footprints from the Wiring Diagram Tables.  I fooled it by clicking Manual and Browsing to the wiring diagram footprint.  I have the wiring-diagram-style footprints in the same folder as the normal footprints.  I name them the same as the others but with a _WD appended to the name.  For example, if AN16DN0AB.dwg is a regular footprint, AN16DN0AB_WD.dwg is the wiring diagram version.

So I can fool the software into allowing me to insert an additional footprint for the same schematic component but I can only insert them one at a time.  If I select multiple, like to insert a bank of fuses, the software will not allow me to use the Manual option and browse to the block.  It just keeps me on the same dialog screen when I click Manual, after selecting multiple components from the schematic list.

But, even though I can fool the software and insert the wiring-diagram-style footprints from the schematic list one at a time, using the Manual>Browse workflow, there is still the pesky problem that the BOM will count both footprints and double the quantity.  Hence the purpose of this idea post in the first place.

I just think that a software program whose original name was "Wiring Diagram" should be more user-friendly to those who need to create an actual wiring diagram.  Yes, we can keep doing the manual work-around but it costs valuable time as we must work against the software instead of with it.

[Anonymous]

hahaha, love your comment Doug. The first paragraph is a great bug fix too. I agree that the program should clear that "X" as well.