Wiring Diagram Software

Perhaps ?

How about a text wiring list, and maybe a few photographs showing preferred routing and dress styles? I've always found it easier to wire using a from-to-color-length table, than a wiring diagram.

On Tuesday, September 10, 2019 at 7:27:14 PM UTC-4, John Larkin wrote: A "a from-to-color-length table"? Sounds like something worth investigating... I wonder how that might work f or us?

I need to make sure we don't mix up 5V and 12V (for sure), because that ten ds to blow sh!t up. Last month, I instituted a program where all wires of a certain function (i.e., 3V, 5V, SDA/SCL, Ground, etc..) have to be the sa me color across all product lines. Some of these get stocked in different gauges, of course.

Look, I'm not dealing with the sharpest pencils in the drawer here.

The other day, our Senior designer (who really is a genius, BTW) did a simp le board layout for a multi-power power distribution panel. Just some ins- and-outs with an LED and dropping resistor so you know it's powered-up.

Well.... it's a through-hole board (due to the connectors used), but he put an 0402 LED on the board? WTF?! It's the only SMD on the board, and you need a microscope to hand-solder it. WHY? There's enough space to put two 40-pin DIP's on the board - it's not for lack of space. People just don't think things through sometimes. Very frustrating!

Of course, $10 with JLCPCB will fix the problem with a board revision.

Anyway, back to the problem at hand: System schematics / wiring diagrams. Thanks for the suggestions thus far. (And I feel better now having bitched to near-total strangers about the adversity in my engineering work life.) :)

Nice.

Not what I was looking for, but can probably find a use for that somewhere. Maybe with the interns? (i.e., the Arduino crowd).

rototypes and production units.

blocks). Each block would include the wiring pinouts, etc... We probabl y have about 40 or 50 major functional blocks of stuff that goes in our box es. Most of our builds roughly resemble something we made before, with sev eral tweaks here and there as to exact components, number, etc...

e and tie-wrap goes. I just want something simple, easy to use, quick, tha t has the end result of a skilled tech getting the box built right. Right now, the team is using EagleCAD, which is horrible for the tasks, high lea rning curve, .. just awful.

am.

alled "SmartDraw" tonight, which looks interesting. (TBD?)

Try KiCAD. It's free. It's a a schematic capture package designed to do the same job as EagleCAD. I've not done much with my copy, but it does seem to me to be easy to use. Then again, I've used other, similar programs going back to OrCAD and earlier so I may have low expectations.

he same job as EagleCAD. I've not done much with my copy, but it does seem to me to be easy to use. Then again, I've used other, similar programs goin g back to OrCAD and earlier so I may have low expectations.

Thanks, but I'm NOT looking for schematic capture or PCB design. I need more of a systems-level wiring diagram.

Something along the lines of Visio (although that's not my first choice).

Visio was quite dsappionting for me, on another computer there were lots of location errors in the drawings.

John Larkin wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

That is one of my best spreadsheets.

In military parlance, it was referred to as a "wire list". EVERY electrical product has one.

My sheet allows color choice, wire tag name, begin termination, end termination, cut length, and finished length, and part number of the finished 'wire'. It has a cover sheet and can be added to an assembly's documentation set.

The color choices are standard EIA three letter color abbreviations and when chosen, the cell changes to that color so there is a visual reference too.

So, a kit has the wire list reference, the builder/assembler calls up the spreadsheet or prints it or a print is included, and he or she can begin building all the wires (and cables) included in the assembly. Individualized cables can each have their own wire list and part number, of course. One can use it to define a set of individual wires or an assembled, finished cable.

Hard to make a mistake.

mpm wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

I use Solid Edge 3D CAD. They do wiring and the routing now.

It really is a fantastic 3D CAD product.

The best ain't cheap though. That level costs about $450 a month.

the same job as EagleCAD. I've not done much with my copy, but it does see m to me to be easy to use. Then again, I've used other, similar programs go ing back to OrCAD and earlier so I may have low expectations.

Sadly, schematic capture is what you need for systems-level wiring diagrams .

Schematic capture programs do offer you more facilities than you are asking for, but the less complete solutions tend to leave out stuff that you actu ally need. Visio struck me that way when I did try to use it for that kind of job.

Mastering a less capable tool still takes time.

for us?

ends to blow sh!t up. Last month, I instituted a program where all wires o f a certain function (i.e., 3V, 5V, SDA/SCL, Ground, etc..) have to be the same color across all product lines. Some of these get stocked in differen t gauges, of course.

mple board layout for a multi-power power distribution panel. Just some in s-and-outs with an LED and dropping resistor so you know it's powered-up.

ut an 0402 LED on the board? WTF?! It's the only SMD on the board, and yo u need a microscope to hand-solder it. WHY? There's enough space to put t wo 40-pin DIP's on the board - it's not for lack of space. People just don 't think things through sometimes. Very frustrating!

ed to near-total strangers about the adversity in my engineering work life. ) :)

I used to (before the advent of low-cost-quick-turn pcbs) do a lot of hand wiring and wire wrap. I'd output a netlist from whatever cad software (orca d, mostly) and wrote some code to massage it into a human friendly, procedu ral from-to list.

Start with the power networks, then go on to nets my chip/pin, for instance u1.1 -> u5.2, u1.2 -> u3.4, u1.3 -> u2.1 , etc. until u1 is completely w ired. Then go to whatever pins remain on u2, etc., etc.

You can also do some preliminary testing, such as firing up the power suppl ies and verifying that they go where they should and don't make smoke befor e wiring other signals. That can save a ton of troubleshooting time.

I also did poor-man's bed of nails testing. I'd program a micro to generate several easily identifiable (by scope) signals and plug those signals into some board nets (address & data bus, for example) and then look (with scop e) at the appropriate places on the board to make sure they were where they 're supposed to be. Opens were "no signal" and shorts were obviously mangle d.

I also used a signature analyzer (like this:

Ahh, good times.

prototypes and production units.

ed blocks). Each block would include the wiring pinouts, etc... We proba bly have about 40 or 50 major functional blocks of stuff that goes in our b oxes. Most of our builds roughly resemble something we made before, with s everal tweaks here and there as to exact components, number, etc...

ire and tie-wrap goes. I just want something simple, easy to use, quick, t hat has the end result of a skilled tech getting the box built right. Rig ht now, the team is using EagleCAD, which is horrible for the tasks, high l earning curve, .. just awful.

gram.

called "SmartDraw" tonight, which looks interesting. (TBD?)

he same job as EagleCAD. I've not done much with my copy, but it does seem to me to be easy to use. Then again, I've used other, similar programs goin g back to OrCAD and earlier so I may have low expectations.

There's no question that one could use Kicad for system-level wiring diagra ms. You'd just design components to represent each of your wired units, be they transistors or refrigerator-sized racks or entire buildings. And again , you could output a perfectly usable netlist.

My first cad software was DaSoft, a CPM based program using character-based

generator rom in my monitor to properly display the angles. We produced man y perfectly good boards with that system, a big step up from Bishop Graphic s.

Good times back then, being the smartest person in the room.

Sounds to me like you just need a basic drawing tool.

How about powerpoint? You can draw blocks and then interconnects with different colors. It's been years, I dont know if you can build a library of "parts". For many, learning curve is nil

For non-Windows there is LibreOffice and similar tools. I use Linux Dia for a lot of simple drawings like this.

There are some cable harnesses that are basically impossible to wire from a drawing.

John Larkin wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

wire

Drawings work if the draftsman knows how to depict a finished product with all the sheets required to reproduce the defined device.

Break-out points are not noted on an electrical drawing. And many physical whole product drawings use a simplified representation of the cable.

A wiring harness is a small (chassis sized) or large (helicopter sized) item, and are a detailed sub-assembly. IF repeat performances of the same identical build is wanted some semblance of capacity to make identical complex assemblies should be paramount in whomever the task is assigned to. Including the drawing of how to build it.

They are not merely defined by the wire list (a harness), but have physical logistical solution particulars added (jigs and fixtures and nail boards etc.) The helicopter example is 150 foot long cable assembly X2, and many factors are examinined such as wire stress, and twisted pair turns per inch, strain relief points, etc.