Electrical Design Software | Elecdes Design Suite by Scada Systems Ltd

Sources of Information for Wiring Diagrams

The wiring diagram program gathers details about the devices and connections to the devices from various Elecdes, Ebase and Paneldes reports and working files.

Installation and Configuration

Device list

The device list is obtained from the Project cache files, in the "cache" directory. You may select the project from which the device list is obtained.

The cache files are updated whenever an Ebase report is generated. You will be warned if the cache files are out of date and given the option to automatically update them.

Terminals for each device

The list of terminals for each device is obtained from the following sources, in order of preference:

  • Wiring diagram template.

    If a wiring diagram template is provided for a device, and specified in the catalog entry for that device, then this will control the layout of the terminals.

    The template is inserted directly into the wiring diagram. This allows you to draw any terminal layout and graphical appearance that you require.

    Note that the terminal list for the device is obtained from one of the sources listed below. The template controls only the layout in the wiring diagram.

  • Device terminal catalog files, CATXnn.DBF (nn is the manufacturers code).

    If the device is listed in a terminal catalog file, the terminal number and physical position within the body of the device is specified for each terminal. The terminals are arranged in the wiring diagram, as they would appear if the device were viewed from the front.

    The dimensions given in the catalogs are in physical units. You must set the scale to represent these sizes on your wiring diagram.

    To enable the wiring diagram program to search the terminals catalogs, clear the Ignore CATX term pos box.

  • Multi-Terminal Device terminal layout.

    For Multi-Terminal Device symbols the terminals in the wiring diagram are arranged identically to the MTD symbol terminals inserted in the schematic drawing.

  • Device catalog files, CATDnn.DBF (nn is the manufacturers code).

    The terminal numbers are obtained from the component entry in the device catalog files. Multiple subcomponent entries that comprise a single device will be drawn in order of subcomponent number.

    The terminals are arranged on the wiring diagram in the same pattern as the standard terminal layout of an Elecdes device symbol:

    T1  T4

    T2  T5

    T3  T6

  • Schematic terminal attributes.

    The terminal numbers are obtained from the attributes of the device block inserted in the schematic drawing.

    The terminals are arranged on the wiring diagram in the same pattern as the standard terminal layout of an Elecdes device symbol:

    T1  T4

    T2  T5

    T3  T6

Missing Info

If the Wiring Diagram Generator fails to find a suitable set of terminals for a device from sources listed above, the entry in the device list will contain the text "Missing Info!".

A wiring diagram can not be drawn for devices with missing information. The connections to the device can not be resolved from the conductor schedules without suitable terminal numbers. Check that the required catalog files are available, and that any catalog sub-directories are selected in the EDS preferences.

Connections to devices

The list of conductors connected to the devices is obtained from the Elecdes wire and cable core (conductor) schedules (<projectname>FromToWire.DBF and <projectname>CORSCH.DBF). Connections in the Elecdes wire schedule may be ordered using Elecdes wire order blocks.

The Wiring Diagram Generator will also check for connections to polarised terminals by the presence of a specified SIDEn in the TERMSIDE column of the connection reports. These connections will be placed on the specified side, unless overridden manually by restricting connections to one side or the other.

For more information about polarised terminals, see How to Report the Connection Side on a Terminal Strip.

These schedules must be updated following any changes to the schematic/loop drawings in the project. You will be warned if the relevant conductor schedules need updating.

Ferrule(Wire Label) Information

The ferrules / wire labels, for the conductors connected to the devices, are generated identically to the Elecdes ferrule (wire label) report, <projectname>FERR.DBF. The ferrule (wire label) reporting options for ferrule (wire label) delimiters are used to generate the wiring diagram ferrules(wire labels).

These are used for optional annotation information such as IEC labels.