×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Wiring diagrams - with real wire

Wiring diagrams - with real wire

Wiring diagrams - with real wire

(OP)
Our technicians generally do not understand, and are not expected to understand, schematics or ladder diagrams.  They build moderately complex industrial control panels from what are essentially simplified pictorials, showing each and every actual wire going, e.g., from terminal A of contactor N to terminal B of contactor R, a single line per wire.

In color.  The color of the actual wires.  Including wires that are not just one color, e.g. red with a black tracer, black with a red tracer, etc.

The question:  How to represent the wires?

I've had a little success overlaying a line drawn with 'hidden' linetype in one color with a second line drawn in 'dashdot' linetype in another color on another layer.  But I get blank areas where there's no color, the result doesn't really look all that great, and it's kind of a pita to draw the same line twice.

Suggestions?

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: Wiring diagrams - with real wire

Per basic drafting practices, show the color next to the line. i.e., RED, BLU, GRN, WHT, BLK, etc. Plus the gage size.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 05
AutoCAD 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

RE: Wiring diagrams - with real wire

You could make custom linetypes with the words indicating the color and gauge.

RE: Wiring diagrams - with real wire

Hi Mike,

You might give the multiline command a try, it might allow you to do what you need.

HTH
Todd

RE: Wiring diagrams - with real wire

(OP)
Yes, we do annotate the lines with color designation and gage.

Todd, thanks.  That command has potential.

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: Wiring diagrams - with real wire

(OP)
update:

The mlstyle editor is not a model of clarity or ease of use, but it works.  Five hidden lines in dark gray with a contrasting fill color works pretty well for combinations like yel/blk and orn/blk.  The dashdot linetype worked surprisingly well for blk/red, which came out visually distinct from red/blk(with hidden lines).

I'm still not real pleased with the solid color mlines, ex. yellow fill and center between dark gray continuous lines.  At some scales, the border overpowers the color, but it still beats the hell out of a wide yellow line on a print.

Luckily, the boss didn't ask for radiused corners, yet.

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources