Basic Electrical Schematic Software!

Just a quick question about Electrical Drawing Software! Does anyone have any good advise on what is a good basic Electrical Drawing Software. I do not need to have all of the bells and whistles at the componet level. I am looking for the basics in an industrial plant that is simple to use that has Push Buttons Selector Switches Relays Transformers and fuses. Basically any
good software to design a typical Motor Starter Circuit. I don't need all that electronic component level stuff.

Thanks for your help
 
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Robert Philliips City of Wichita Falls C

For a cheap program, I use Flow3 which was primarily intended for making flow charts but for under $100, worked just find for my similar need.
Robert Phillips
Cypress Water Purification
City of Wichita Falls,Tx
 
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Stephen Wright

I've had good success with 2 different programs; Promis-e available from ECT International and also labeled as RSWires by Rockwell, and WDToolbox. Also seen electrical addins for Visio which are less functional.
 
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Hello

I have not been able to keep up with all the messages on this. Has anyone suggested CMH?
I have used it alot and it is very simple (works for me) plus it allows you to energize the circut to smoke test it. There are plenty of other features as well and it is not too pricey.

Cheers from
Mark Ray

Web site: http://www.libby.org/cmh/
 
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Robert Raesemann

Take a look at Visio, http://www.visio.com. It is really easy to use and you can produce some really nice looking drawings quickly. There are a few different versions available with different symbol libraries, Visio Technical would probably contain everything that you need. There are also
some 3rd party libraries. You should be able to find one that has everything that you need.

Rob Raesemann
Sea Coast Diversities, Inc.
[email protected]
http://www.scdiv.com
 
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krishnaiyengar sudershan

hello,

I had actually seen a software by name E-PLAN, which is very useful. I think it can even generate the required stuff such cable numbering, Bill of materials etc.,

Bye bye

Sudarshan.k
 
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David Stairs Omstead Foods Limited

I've used Visio Technical with great success. It is easy to use compared to AutoCAD or an equivalent Cad packages. It has templates full of electrical components.

Regards,

David Stairs
Omstead Foods Limited
Tel: (519) 322-5299
Fax: (519) 825-7680
Email: [email protected]
 
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I found a thing called TotalCAD by IMSI which cost around =A315 and is amazing for the money.

Its great for mechanical drawings (dimensioning, scaling, loads of snap options).

You get a lot of symbols with the basic package, including electrical/electronic symbols.

It exports/imports DXF format so you can get stuff into AutoCAD.

I use a couple of electronic draughting packages which cost thousands but I still choose to use TotalCAD when I'm doing quick mechanical drawings for documentation.


Geoff Moore
Straight Forward Solutions Ltd
Maynooth Road, Prosperous, Naas,
Co.Kildare, Ireland
+353 (0)45 892739
[email protected]
 
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Michael Griffin

I have heard this suggested for doing schematics before, but no one has been able to tell me how easy it is to do panel layouts with it. Is Visio good for 2-D work like panel layouts, or would you end up having to use a CAD program for this anyway? I have used Visio for flow charts, but I though it was rather cumbersome if I wanted to do anything different from the normal with it.

I currently use Autocad LT (I previously used several other similar CAD programs). I found that once I had created a good drawing method and
symbol library, then doing the PLC I/O was took a very small proportion of the total time. Most of the work is in the panel layout and power wiring,
and also the auxiliary drawings showing machine layout, sensor locations, etc.

**********************
Michael Griffin
London, Ont. Canada
[email protected]
**********************
 
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Leighton Toews

We tried Visio in our department in an attempt to get away from autocad, it was a dismal failure, much too cumbersome to produce drawings, both panel layout and connection. I strongly recommend against this software package,.

Leighton Toews
Process Control
Del-Tech Industries
 
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Ann Boudenne

You should check for SEE TECHNICAL Software for only $99 US it come with electrical and other librairies. There is an evaluation version to download on www.see-technical.com
It's easy to use and perfect to do Electrical Schematic !
 
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MICHAEL GERDES ELECTRICAL AUSTRALIA

I have just purchased See-Technical. Very easy to use with professional results. I don't think you can create your own symbols but it has a very extensive library with everything I have needed so far. Completed first drawing in about 15 mins.
 
I recently downloaded a trial version of SmartDraw. I'm not certain it will be the answer to my problems but it seems worth a try. There are a ton of libraries chose from.
 
That was before the availability of an intelligent Electrical CAD Software like Electra 2005 from Radica Software ( http://www.radicasoftware.com ). It includes automatic symbol and wire numbering, circuit re-use (draw once, use many times), auto generate terminal listing, auto generate panel layout, auto dimensioning, exporting reports and many more. You can even use photo images on your panel layout for a realistic view. Have a look.
 
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