Design Software

[pineguy]

can anyone recommend any software for building the panels to house the PLC system and all the components? To this point I've been using Visio but it's a fair bit of work.

[TConnolly]

I use Autocad Electrical. When you draw the schematic you define a catalog number for each component. Then when you start your panel layout ACADE gives you the footprint of the catalog for the components in the schematic.

[Big Country]

I like using just plain old AutoCad make your blocks as you go and draw it out yourself. Sounds slow but its not to bad after you have a bunch of blocks drawn and stored back somwhere to use. You can also use other peoples blocks.

[1sand0s]

Not sure how much you are doing but if you don't like the price of AutoCAD you could look into TurboCAD. I used it for a few years and it saved me some money. The new version will do 3D but I expect you are mostly doing lines and dots. $150 is better than hundreds to thousands

[Big Country]

Yeah I looked at Auto Cad LT but the company just buy's full blown version. And sometimes it just easier to go with the flow than to try and explain to them that it will save them money.

[pineguy]

Hmmmm, so maybe Visio is the best option for me. I will look into TurboCAD though.

[TConnolly]

If you don't want to spring for the cost of Autocad but you want autocad functionality and compatibility with autocad files then look at Intellicad/Cadopia.

[panic mode]

I saw screenshots and FAQs for ProgeCad (never used ti though), they have version which is free and it is supposed to look and feel like AutoCAD and work with AutoCAD files as well. Comercial version also doesn't cost an arm and leg.

[beegee]

We use E-plan, it has a lot of automated functionality and we have macros from the suppliers with completely defined products. It is however quite expensive.

[Chris Elston]

I was an AutoCad 2000 user, then installed a menu system to help me draw: http://forums.mrplc.com/index.php?autocom=downloads&showfile=146 Then since I live in Indiana, I heard of a company called VIA in Marion, Indiana making an add-on package for autocad. Wow what an improvement. It saved me 50% engineering design time job after job and generated an automatic BOM when I was finished. I followed VIA until version 17.0, then AutoDesk bought them out and made AutoCad Electrical. So I use AutoCad Electrical. I believe in this software because I have designed allot of machines in AutoCad format, and I went through the learning curve of seeing how much faster and more accurate it makes my PO’s. So ever since then I'm stuck. I use it because from a ground up blank paper design, it's fast, efficient, and accurately generates wire numbers, BOMs, and catches 99% of common mistakes on my electrical diagrams that my electricians never seen before the old "autocad" only days. I don't know the value of the other software packages, but based on my situation, day in day out of new designs on a weekly bases, I am sold. I suppose if you don’t draw as much as I do, you can’t justify the cost of AE 2008. You’ve got to weigh your usage. As a rule of thumb, let’s say a 100 I/O system takes you an hour per I/O point to design. That’s the quote line I use for generic stuff. So you quoted 100 hours of engineering to design the system. Using AE 2008, it only takes 50 hours to design the same system. I’ve proven it over and over. No since in cutting back my quoting rules, no one else is doing it, so I still quote at 100 hours, even though I know I can do it 50 hours. Make sense?

[ElecPneuGuy]

Bottom line is that you should probably use AutoCAD. I would bet that overall 99% of people have autoCAD and would expect that the drawings be in that format. I am still using ACAD 2000, but do have an interest in the Acad Electrical. Like in a previous post, once you've got your library of symbols made that you use, you can be pretty quick. What have you decided? (you could go to emule and try to get a "demo" version)