UseofAutoCADAutomationfor

Electrical Layouts
ElectricalLayouts

02.07.2015
Rahul Srivastava
ElectricalEngineeringDepartment

Contents
1. Problems and challenges in AutoCAD Drafting
2. Working with BackGround Drawing
3. AutoGeneration of Drawing Template
4. Block References and Attributes
5. BOM Extraction
6. BOM Extraction : Automation
7. AutoCAD Symbol Library
8. Benefits of Block Attributes & Other Useful Tools
9. Design tools

1. ProblemsandchallengesinAutoCADDrafting:(1/3)
1.Backgrounddrawingrevision:
Drawingsizebecomesverylarge,resultsindifficulttoworkandfatalerrors.
CurrentWorking:None
Current Working : None
Everytimeanewrevisionofplotplan,archotherdepartmentdrawingsarereleased,that
needtobeupdatedinallElectricalDrawings.Changethetext, dimensionasperscale.
CurrentWorking:Cleaningofbackgrounddrawings,insertinginelectricallayoutsas
blocks.Taskdoneforalldrawings.(Verytimeconsuming).
Key Plan Revision itself is a very time consuming and error prone task
KeyPlanRevisionitselfisaverytimeconsuminganderrorpronetask.
CurrentWorking:Keyplanitselfbecomeheavytoreducethesizetakeslotoftimeand
againinsertingineachdrawingisverytimeconsumingtask.

ProblemsandchallengesinAutoCADDrafting:(2/3)
2.DrawingQuality:
Date,revisionnumber,projectcodeetc.
Current Working : Every revision of drawing it need to be check and manually entered.
CurrentWorking:Everyrevisionofdrawingitneedtobecheckandmanuallyentered.
Textarenotproperlyalignedandtextsizevariestoomuch.
CurrentWorking:Notool/guidelineavailable.Drawingqualitydependsondesigner
workexperience.(Acomprehensiveguidelineisrequired).
Electricaltags/textandbackgroundtextmixedup.
Current Working : Manually moving of background text/object to see the clear electrical
CurrentWorking:Manuallymovingofbackgroundtext/objecttoseetheclearelectrical
tags/texts.

ProblemsandchallengesinAutoCADDrafting:(3/3)
3.BOMGeneration:
Manuallycountingofblocks.
Current Working : By using Bcount command. Cable Trays, Wires, cables and conduits are
CurrentWorking:ByusingBcountcommand.CableTrays,Wires,cablesandconduitsare
measuredbyusingplinecommand.
Extractfrom3Dmodel(CableTrayonly).(forProposalandininitialstageof
project(IFR)themodelisnotupdated.
Nostandardsymbollibraryisavailable.
Current Working : No company standard Block library is available Some projects have
CurrentWorking:NocompanystandardBlocklibraryisavailable.Someprojectshave
symbollibrarybasedonITBrequirements.
Tagnumberrevision.
CurrentWorking:Manuallyupdatingofequipmenttag.Nos.

2.WorkingwithBackGroundDrawing
B k
Backgrounddrawingrevision:PossibleSolution:
dd
i
i i
P ibl S l ti
AnXrefisanexternalreference'toanotherAutoCADdrawingfile.Onefilecanreferencemany
other files and display them as if they were one These are used in larger projects for many
otherfilesanddisplaythemasiftheywereone.Theseareusedinlargerprojectsformany
reasons:
Theykeepthefilesizesdown.
Theyallowmanyuserstoworkonindividualcomponentsofaproject.
EverytimeanXrefisloaded,itisthemostrecentversionofthedrawing.
Xref'scanbeupdated,added,orunattachedfromthemaindrawingatanytime.
YoucanXrefdrawingsthattheythemselvesXrefotherdrawings(nesting).
In these days of networks and the Internet, many projects are produced this way. People
InthesedaysofnetworksandtheInternet,manyprojectsareproducedthisway.People
fromanywhereintheworldcancollaborateonaprojectinrealtime.

Introduction XRef
Wh E t
WhyExternalReference?
lR f
?
OneofthemostpowerfultimesavingfeaturesofAutoCADistheabilitytohaveonedrawing
become part of a second drawing while maintaining the integrity and independence of the
becomepartofaseconddrawingwhilemaintainingtheintegrityandindependenceofthe
firstone.
Whenyoudrawingisattachedasanxref,thereferenceddrawingislinkedtothecurrent
drawing;anychangestothereferenceddrawingaredisplayedinthecurrentdrawingwhenit
isopened.
Ad
Adrawingcanbeattachedasanxreftomultipledrawingsatthesametime.Conversely,
i
b
h d
f
li l d
i
h
i
C
l
multipledrawingscanbeattachedasexternalreferencestoasingledrawing.
ThisfeatureisprovidedbytheXREFcommand,shortforexternalreference.
p
y
,

Introduction XRef
Thesymbolsthatarecarriedintoadrawingbyanexternalreferencearecalleddependent
symbols,becausetheydependontheexternalfile,notonthecurrentdrawing,fortheir
characteristics.Thesymbolshavearbitrarynamesandincludeblocks,layers,linetypes,text
styles,anddimensionstyles.

ProcedureforWorkingwithXref
X fM
XrefManagerpalette
l tt
TheXREFcommandprovidesvariousoptionsforattachingandmanipulatingexternal
referencesfilesfromXrefManager.

ProcedureforWorkingwithXref
Att hi E t
AttachingExternalReference
lR f
DWG I
DWG,Image,DWF,DGN
DWF DGN

10

ProcedureforWorkingwithXref
E t
ExternalReferenceDialogbox
lR f
Di l b

11

ProcedureforWorkingwithXref
A il bl
Availableoptions:
ti
ReferenceType selectionhastwomodes:
Attachmentmode theexternalreferencesthatareattachedinthismodewillbeincludedin
thedrawingwhenthedrawingitselfisattachedasanexternalreferencetoanotherdrawing.
Overlaymode
Overlay
mode theexternalreferencesthatareattachedinthismodewillnotbeincludedin
the external references that are attached in this mode will not be included in
thedrawingwhenthedrawingitselfisattachedasanexternalreferencetoanotherdrawing.
RetainPathselectiondetermineswhetherornotthefullpathtotheexternalreferenceis
saved.
InsertionPoint,Scale, andRotation selectionaresimilartoinsertionofablock.

12

ProcedureforWorkingwithXref
D t hi E t
DetachingExternalReferenceDrawings
lR f
D
i
Detach selectionintheXrefManagerdialogbox detachesselectedexternalreference
drawing(s)fromthecurrentdrawing.
Iftheexternalreferenceiscurrentlybeingdisplayedaspartofthecurrentdrawing,it
disappearswhenyoudetachit.

ReloadingExternalReferenceDrawings
Reload selectionintheXrefManagerdialogbox updatesselectedoneormoreexternal
referencedrawingsattachedtothecurrentdrawing.
g
g
TheReloadselectionisprovidedtoreloadtheexternaldrawingwhensomeoneiseditingthe
externaldrawingatthesametimewhenitisattachedtoadrawingthatiscurrentlyopen.

13

ProcedureforWorkingwithXref
Unloading External Reference Drawings
UnloadingExternalReferenceDrawings
UnloadselectionintheXrefManagerdialogbox allowstounloadoneormoreexternal
referencedrawingsfromthecurrentdrawing.
UnliketheDetachoption,theUnloadoptionmerelysuppressesthedisplayandregeneration
oftheexternalreferencedefinition,tohelpcurrentsessioneditingandimproveperformance.
Thisoptionisalsousefulwhenaseriesofexternalreferencedrawingsneedstobeviewed
duringaprojectonanasneededbasis.Ratherthanhavingthereferencedfilesdisplayedatall
times,itcanbereloadwhenyourequiretheinformation.

14

ProcedureforWorkingwithXref
Bi di E t
BindingExternalReferenceDrawings
lR f
D
i
Bind selectionintheXrefManagerdialogboxallowstomakeexternalreferencedrawingdata
apermanentpartofthecurrentdrawing.
AutoCADdisplaystheBindXrefsdialogboxwithtwochoices:Bind andInsert.
Bind selectionbindstheexternalreferencedrawingasanordinaryblockinthecurrent
drawinganditrenamesthedependentsymbolsandusethemasyouwoulduseanyother
namedobjects.
Insert selectionbindstheexternalreferencedrawingtothecurrentdrawingasifitisinserted
selection binds the external reference drawing to the current drawing as if it is inserted
inthecurrentdrawingjustlikeinsertingadrawingwiththeINSERTcommand.

ChangingandSavingthepath
Browse selectionintheX
selection in the Xref
refManagerdialogboxdisplaysSelectNewPathdialogboxwhich
Manager dialog box displays Select New Path dialog box which
allowstoselectdifferentpathorfilenamefortheselectedexternalreferencefile.
SavePath selectionintheXrefManagerdialogboxsavesthepathofthecurrentlyselected
externalreferencefile.
15

ProcedureforWorkingwithXref
Addi D
AddingDependentSymbolstothecurrentdrawing
d t S b l t th
td
i
XBIND commandpermanentlyaddsselectedsubsetofexternalreferencedependentsymbols
tothecurrentdrawing.
Thedependentsymbolsincludetheblock,layer,linetype,dimensionstyle,andtextstyle.
AutoCADrenamesthedependentsymbolsthatisaddedtothecurrentdrawing.

16

ProcedureforWorkingwithXref
C t lli th Di l
ControllingtheDisplayofExternalReferences
fE t
lR f
TheXCLIP commandcontrolsthedisplayofunwantedinformationbyclippingtheexternal
referencedrawingsandblocks.
Clippingdoesnoteditorchangetheexternalreferenceorblock,itjustpreventspartofthe
objectfrombeingdisplayed.
Thedefinedclippingboundarycanbevisibleorhidden.

17

ProcedureforWorkingwithXref
O ti
Optionsinclude:
i l d
New selection(default)definesarectangularorpolygonalclipboundaryorgeneratesa
polygonalclippingboundaryfromapolyline.
ON/OFF selectionscontrolsthedisplayoftheclippedboundary.
Clipdepth selectionsetsthefrontandbackclippingplanes.
Delete selectionremovestheclippingboundaryfortheselectedexternalreferenceorblock.

18

3.AutoGenerationofDrawingTemplate

AutoGen:

Demo
AutoIns:

AutoUpd:

19

4.BlockReferencesandAttributes
Wh C t Bl k?
WhyCreateaBlock?
TheBLOCK commandenablesadesignertocreateanobjectfromoneormoreobjects,saveit
underauserspecifiedname,andlateritcanbeinsertedintothedrawing.
Whenblockreferencesareinsertedinthedrawingtheycanbescaledupordowninbothor
eitheroftheXandYaxesandcanberotatedastheyareinsertedinthedrawing.
Theblockreferenceactsasasingleunitwhenoperatedonbycertainmodifycommands.
Blockreferencecanalsobedraggedanddroppedfromonedrawingtoanotherthrough
DesignCenter.
DesignCenter

20

BlockReferencesandAttributes
CreatingBlockDefinition
BlockDefinitiondialogbox
InsertingBlockReferences
Insertdialogbox
Nested Blocks
NestedBlocks
ExplodeCommand
Multiple Inserts of Block References
MultipleInsertsofBlockReferences
BaseCommand

21

BlockAttributes
Att ib t
Attributesarespecialtextobjectsthatcanbeincludedinablockdefinition.
i l t t bj t th t
b i l d d i bl k d fi iti
Attributescanbeusedforautomaticannotationduringinsertionofablockreference.
Ifanattributeistobeusedonlytostoreinformation,specifywhetherornotitwillbevisible
whenattributeisdefined.
Iftheattributeisusedasanote,label,orcallout,considertheeffectofscaling(whetherequal
If
the attribute is used as a note label or callout consider the effect of scaling (whether equal
orunequalX/Yfactors)androtationonthetextthatwillbedisplayed.
Thescalingfactor(s)ontheattributewillbethesameasontheblockreference.Attributetext
thatisdefinedashorizontalinablockwillbedisplayedverticallywhenthatblockreferenceis
insertedwitha90degreeangleofrotation.
Allowstoextractdatafromeachinsertedblockreferenceandsavedinafileinaformthat
databasehandlingprogramscanuse.

22

BlockAttributes
C
Componentsassociatedwithattributes:
t
i t d ith tt ib t
TAGistheidentifieroftheattributedefinitionandisdisplayedwherethisattributedefinition
islocated,depictingtextsize,style,andangleofrotation.Thetagcannotcontainspaces.Tags
appear in the block definition only not after the block reference is inserted
appearintheblockdefinitiononly,notaftertheblockreferenceisinserted.
VALUE ofanattributeistheactualstringoftextthatappears(ifthevisibilitymodeissetto
ON)whentheblockreference(ofwhichitisapart)isinserted.Whethervisibleornot,the
valueistieddirectlytotheattribute,which,inturn,associatesitwiththeblockreference.Itis
thisvaluethatiswrittentothedatabasefile.
PROMPT iswhatyouseewheninsertingablockreferencewithanattributewhosevalueis
is what you see when inserting a block reference with an attribute whose value is
notconstant.

23

BlockAttributes
F
Four
primary
i
commands
d are available
il bl to
t manage Attributes:
Att ib t
ATTDEFCommand definestheattributesthatisincludedintheblockdefinition.
ATTDISP Command controlsthevisibilityoftheattributes.
ATTDISPCommand
controls the visibility of the attributes
EATTEDITCommandprovidesvariousoptionstoeditattributeswithoutexploding
theblockreference.
EATTEXTCommand extractthedatafromthedrawingandsavestoafileinaform
thatdatabasehandlingprogramscanuse.

24

BlockAttributes
ATTDEF
ATTDEFcommand
d
ATTDEFCommanddefinestheattributesthatisincludedintheblockdefinition.

25

BlockAttributes
Blockswithattributesinsertedinamannersimilartothatforinsertingregularblock
references.Ifthereareanynonconstantattributes,AutoCADpromptsforthevalue.
TosuppressthepromptsforattributevaluessetthesystemvariableATTREQ
To
suppress the prompts for attribute values set the system variable ATTREQ to0(zero).The
to 0 (zero) The
valueswilleitherblankorsettothedefaultvaluesiftheyexist.UseEATTEDIT commandto
establishorchangevalues.

ATTDISPcommand
ATTDISP Commandcontrolsthevisibilityoftheattributes.
ON selectionmakesallattributesvisible
OFF selectionmakesallattributesinvisible.
Normal selectiondisplaystheattributesthewayitwasdefined.

26

BlockAttributes
EATTEDIT
EATTEDITcommand
d
EATTEDIT Commandprovidesvariousoptionstoeditattributeswithoutexploding
theblockreference.

EditAttributesdialogboxwithAttributetabselection

27

BlockAttributes
Edit Att ib t di l b
EditAttributesdialogboxwithTextoptionstabselection
ith T t ti
t b l ti

EditAttributesdialogboxwithPropertiestabselection

28

5.BOMExtraction
EATTEXT
EATTEXTcommand
d
EATTEXTCommandextractthedatafromthedrawingandsavestoafileinaformthat
databasehandlingprogramscanuse.
ModifyIItoolbar

ChoosetheAttributeExtractcommand

Toolsmenu

ChooseAttributeExtraction

On screen prompt
Onscreenprompt

eattext (ENTER)

29

BOMExtraction
TheDataExtraction
Th
D t E t ti
B i (P
Begin(Page1of8)
1 f 8) pageletsyouextractblockattributedatatoatable
l t
t t bl k tt ib t d t t t bl
inthecurrentdrawingortoanexternalfile.

TheDataExtraction DefineDataSource(Page2of8) pageletsyouselectadrawingfile

30

BOMExtraction
TheDataExtraction
Th
D t E t ti
S l t Obj t (P
SelectObjects(Page3of8)pageallowsyoutoselectwhichblocksand
3 f 8)
ll
t
l t hi h bl k
d
attributesintheselectedblockswillhavetheirdataextractedtothespecifiedtableand/or
file.
TheDataExtraction SelectProperties(Page4of8)page letsyouselectthepropertiesfor
dataextraction.

31

BOMExtraction
Th D t E t ti
TheDataExtraction
R fi D t (P
RefineData(Page5of8)
5 f 8) pageletsyourefinetheselecteddata.
l t
fi th
l t dd t
TheDataExtraction ChooseOutput(Page6of8) pageletsyouchoosetheoutputformat.

32

BOMExtraction
Th D t E t ti
TheDataExtraction
T bl St l (P
TableStyle(Page7of8)
7 f 8) pageletsyouchoosethetablestyle.
l t
h
th t bl t l
TheDataExtraction Finishpage(Page8of8) letsyoucompletethedataextraction.

33

BlockAttributes
R d fi i
RedefiningaBlockandAttributes
Bl k d Att ib t
TheATTREDEF commandallowstoredefineablockreferenceandupdatesassociated
attributes.

BlockAttributeManager
TheBATTMAN commandprovidesameansofmanagingBlocksthatcontainAttributes.
Allowstoeditattributedefinitionsinblocks,changetheorderinwhichAttributesare
promptedforattributevalueswheninsertingablock,andremoveattributesfromblocks.

34

6.BOMExtraction:Automation

AUTOCADBLOCK
AUTOCAD
BLOCK
LIBRARYMANAGER

DEFINEATTRIBUTE(S)

TAGNO.REVISEINEXCEL

BOMOFCURRENT
DRAWING(INEXCEL
FORMAT)

REVISED DRAWING
REVISEDDRAWING

INSER
RTBLOCKANDITTSATTRIBUTES
FROM
MLIBRARYINTOCURRENT
DRAW
WING

IMPORTBLOCKTAGS

EXPORTBLOCKATTRIBUTE(S)
CURRENTDRAWING

35

7.AutoCADSymbolLibrary:DesignCenter&ToolPalettes

36

AutoCADSymbolLibrary:BlockLibraryManager

37

8.BenefitsofBlockAttributes&OtherUsefulTools
ExportandImportBlockInformationfromexternalfileto/fromAutoCAD
TextAlign
Text Align
AutoincrementofBlockAttribute
IncrementTooll
TextMask
AdvanceTrimCommand
Cable/conduitLengthMeasurement
LayoutstoDrawingsautogeneration
yp
g
g
TypicalInstallationdrawingandBulkMaterialBOMgeneration

38

9.DesignTools
CableTray
ConduitSystem
PowerPlan

39

40