[EE] Cable Assembly and Field Wiring CAD software
Forrest W Christian
In my design work, I often need to draw a cable to be made, or make
pretty wiring diagrams for a manual or similar. For instance, one of
the things I have on my list today is to produce a print of a cable we
need manufactured so we can get quotes on it. That is, basically a
drawing of the cable, plus a drawing of the pin connections, plus a
small table of the pin connections, perhaps with some callouts.
I also regularly need to come up with drawings for inclusion in a
product manual... For instance, take a drawing of the screw terminal
block on a product, and then show how it would be wired in a typical
application. Today, a single drawing takes me enough time that I
usually just skip the drawing, since I'm also usually not happy with the
results.
I have yet to find a tool which will allow me to do these types of
drawings in a professional manner. I'm thinking something Visio-like,
or perhaps even cad-like, with stencils, or templates, or tools, or
parts libraries, or similar that will allow me to rapidly produce
drawings like this. Of course, the end result is what matters (along
with how long it takes), and really what I'm looking for as an end
result is those crisp, clean prints you see which don't look like they
were drawn on Microsoft Paint by a two year old.
Ideas?
-forrest
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Vitaliy
> In my design work, I often need to draw a cable to be made, or make
> pretty wiring diagrams for a manual or similar. For instance, one of
> the things I have on my list today is to produce a print of a cable we
> need manufactured so we can get quotes on it. That is, basically a
> drawing of the cable, plus a drawing of the pin connections, plus a
> small table of the pin connections, perhaps with some callouts.
>
> I also regularly need to come up with drawings for inclusion in a
> product manual... For instance, take a drawing of the screw terminal
> block on a product, and then show how it would be wired in a typical
> application. Today, a single drawing takes me enough time that I
> usually just skip the drawing, since I'm also usually not happy with the
> results.
>
> I have yet to find a tool which will allow me to do these types of
> drawings in a professional manner. I'm thinking something Visio-like,
> or perhaps even cad-like, with stencils, or templates, or tools, or
> parts libraries, or similar that will allow me to rapidly produce
> drawings like this. Of course, the end result is what matters (along
> with how long it takes), and really what I'm looking for as an end
> result is those crisp, clean prints you see which don't look like they
> were drawn on Microsoft Paint by a two year old.
AutoCAD is the industry standard for 2D drawings. If you have the budget, I
would go with a 3D program like SolidWorks, or even PRO/Engineer (they can
both produce drawings from 3D models, although I have zero experience with
the latter). The software ain't cheap, and have pretty steep learning
curves.
One of the things we do at my company, is work with other companies to
produce cables. Sometimes we get nothing more than a rough pencil sketch
with the pinout from the customer, which is then converted to a CAD drawing,
and sent back to the customer for approval. Here's an example:
http://www.obd2cables.com/img/techdrawings/146601_techdrawing.pdf
I'm sure that whichever cable vendors you work with, should be able to come
up with a quote, and supply a drawing based on a rough sketch or even a text
description ("it's kind of like this cable, only different").
Best regards,
Vitaliy
PAUL James
All,
I second the motion on Solidworks. We switched over to Solidworks early
this year
(From PRO/E, and AutoCad), and there is a learning curve. However, I
don't believe
it is extremely steep, especially if you have some experience with
another CAD package.
It will take a bit of work to learn, and become proficient with, but it
can be done.
I have been using it since the first of this year, and I have made some
rather intensive
drawings and models. And that is starting from zero knowledge of
Solidworks. I did
attend the training given at the facility of the vendors we bought it
from. And I bought
a copy of a self paced DVD based training course for my personal use.
We got a network
Version with 3 seat licenses, and the cost was about $9k (IIRC). That
includes the cost
of the training class. Also, with solidworks, you can import a 2D
drawing, and use that
As a basis for making a 3D drawing that you can then display on your PC
screen, rotate, move,
Look at, etc to make sure you have what you want. You can also send it
to a 3d printer if
you're fortunate enough to have one. Then you have a 3d model you can
hold in your hand.
It's a very good program. I can recommend it without reservation. The
only downside to it
Is the cost. But for a corporate entity, it isn't too bad.
Anyway, that's my nickel's worth. It ultimately comes down to you and
what you decide is right for you.
Regards,
Jim
Steve Smith
Look in Yahoo groups for "olddosorcad" it probably the best...
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: piclist...@mit.edu [mailto:piclist...@mit.edu] On Behalf Of
Forrest W Christian
Sent: 11 November 2008 18:49
To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public.
Carl Denk
basic drawing needs, the least expensive will do nicely, you don't need
solids, rendering or 3D.
This will give you drawing skills with Autocad, if you have the
opportunity somewhere with a need for Autocad, this would be helpful.
The drawing file will be Autocad compatible in many versions which is
many industries standard. Free viewers of Autocad files are available.
Conversion to other file formats including PDF are free. The basic
drawing skills are not difficult to be proficient with.
cdb
and 3D capabilities of AutotraxEDA from Kov software might do what you
want - and it is less than US$500 - you can download a trial version.
Colin
--
cdb, co...@btech-online.co.uk on 12/11/2008
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Vitaliy
drawing of a cable, and in the corner of the drawing there was a bunch of
overlapped text. I could make out
TOP COPPER
BOTTOM COPPER
TOP SILK
BOTTOM SILK
Use what you're most comfortable with, right? :)
Xiaofan Chen
> AutoCAD is the industry standard for 2D drawings. If you have the budget, I
> would go with a 3D program like SolidWorks, or even PRO/Engineer (they can
> both produce drawings from 3D models, although I have zero experience with
> the latter). The software ain't cheap, and have pretty steep learning
> curves.
Interestingly I can see that even at Pro/E shops, AutoCAD is still used
for 2D drawings. Pro/E is really powerful and interface well with E-CAD
packages (Mentor/Cadence/etc). But it is rather expensive.
Xiaofan
Bob Axtell
--Bob
Alex Harford
<forr...@imach.com> wrote:
>
> I have yet to find a tool which will allow me to do these types of
> drawings in a professional manner. I'm thinking something Visio-like,
> or perhaps even cad-like, with stencils, or templates, or tools, or
> parts libraries, or similar that will allow me to rapidly produce
> drawings like this. Of course, the end result is what matters (along
> with how long it takes), and really what I'm looking for as an end
> result is those crisp, clean prints you see which don't look like they
> were drawn on Microsoft Paint by a two year old.
What about Google Sketchup? I don't have any experience with it, but
it might be worth a look.
http://sketchup.google.com/
I know that the examples may have taken years to draw and perfect... :-)
http://picasaweb.google.com/gallery.sketchup/Engineering#5199951185766206242
There are even some vendors providing parts libraries.
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/search?uq=03489337265062407477
Alex