Instrumentation LOOP drawings are vital in electrical system design because they communicate wiring and control system relationships. They accurately detail wiring interconnections for power, signal, and communication control point wiring. This article presents setups and methods combined into a standard engineering procedure that produces DIAGRAMS from SOCKETWorx and its SaaS Electrical Data Worksheets.
SOCKETWorx as a Service (SaaS) shifts electrical design and engineering to the cloud, and DIAGRAMS communicates with it to produce AutoCAD® drawings from corporate symbology from any CAD workstation globally.
- Engineering Data Worksheets
- Electrical wiring and equipment naming Conventions
- Drafting symbology naming and methods
Procedure Execution
- Adding and populating control point information into SWx Elec Control Points
- Assigning Default DIAGRAMS AutoScripts to SWx Elec Control Points
- Batching AutoCAD drawings from CAD Workstations using DIAGRAMS.
The step-by-step procedure trains users to enter engineering information using SOCKETWorx Data Worksheets. It transitions into training on the procedures to batch drawings, where DIAGRAMS and its AutoScript symbol technology are used.
The demonstration video offers an overview of the procedure from start to finish.
Demonstration Video
Procedure Scope and Methods
Data Structure
- Data Workbooks are the foundation of SaaS Electrical:
- SWx Elec Enclosures. Termination enclosures that have wire exiting or entering.
- SWx Elec Control Points. All wired electrical assets and their wiring information
- SWx Elec Wiring Catalog. Wires and cables to be used
- Naming conventions are required for control points and all the electrical equipment that wires them. Termination enclosures, conductor pathways, and the conductors joining them require ID Tags. SaaS Electrical columns will be populated with values according to the described constraints.
- Control Point Identification tagging.
Tag = Tag Type + ' -' + Tag Number. Duplicates can exist.
Tag Type is a text string up to 255 characters long
Tag Number is a text string up to 255 characters long - Wiring Junction Boxes tagging
Junction Boxes (JBox#) are text strings up to 255 characters long, where the last four characters represent unique Identification that will aid in identifying conduit and tray pathways to and from. - Wiring Junction Box Terminations
Terminal Strips (JBox#TS) and Terminal Blocks (JBox#TB#) are text strings up to 255 characters long. If numeric values are entered, and the column will be used for sorting within Data Worksheets or Reports, add leading zeros to integers when values exceed 10. For example. T-00, T-01, T-02....T-10, T-11,,,T-99 will sort in this order vs T-1, T-10, T-11.....T-2, T-21. - Cables and Wires
Cable# = ##-EqupmentTag/DeviceTag-?$
When Cable is between Junctions, ##-EqupmentTag/DeviceTag-?$ is a text string like 01-JB1100-C1 where,
##-
- Control Point Identification tagging.
00 - Single Pair or Triad Cables
01 - Multiple Pair or Triad Cables
02 - Communications Cables
EquipmentTag/DeviceTag
Destination Equipment ID Tag less hyphens or spaces. eg. JB-1100 = JB1100
?
C - Control Wiring
N - Communications Wiring
P - Power Wiring
$
1 - Cable 1 to the same Equipment/Device
2 - Cable 2 to the same Equipment/Device
$ - Cable $ to the same Equpquipment/Device
The three SWx Elec tables can all be deployed, but this article simplifies deployment by describing how only the SWx Elec Control Point Data Worksheets can produce loop drawings.
Data Sources
As one can expect, the data structure is hinged to naming conventions. SaaS Electrical methods start from the origin of power, signal, or communications and end at connected electromechanical devices.
Industrial systems are comprised of electrical and mechanical equipment. Electrical, Instrumentation, and Controls (EI&C) systems are governed by their physical proximity between them and permissible routes for interconnection. Figure 1 is an Equipment top view or area plan. It is being used solely to describe and set electrical equipment naming conventions.
SaaS Electrical does not produce 3D models or 2D layouts, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 - Example industrial equipment, cable tray, and conduit pathways
So often, engineers and designers produce loop drawings without physical layouts because they are experienced in specifying wiring pathways and junction box requirements once Process and instrumentation Diagram (P&ID) drawings are provided to them. This procedure relies on extracting control points from P&IDs and loading them into the SWx Elec Control Point AutoScript Data Worksheets.
Figure 2 - Example P&ID drawing with instrument bubble symbology for control points
SaaS Electrical accumulates control points and wiring information from these sources via manual take-off efforts unless other extraction means are possible.
Drafting Methods
This procedure deploys DIAGRAMS and its default Loop AutoScripts. Drawing automation is accomplished by learning and adopting the naming conventions of loops broken down into wiring segments between junctions, set forth as illustrated in Figure 3, where the electromechanical devices are located on the left, and wiring is detailed to the right through junction terminals to points of control.
DIAGRAMS automatically drafts LOOP drawings using default AutoScripts.
LOOP drawings are relatively complex, compounding as control point wiring passes through junction box terminals, demanding more cables. The Loop AutoScripts and SaaS Electrical have provisions for up to 3 cables per control point and can be expanded for other edge cases. Browse to the Loop Wiring group. It can be found under the Diagrams ribbon tab, under the Symbol Library ribbon section.
Default Loop Symbology naming conventions are based on wire counts, cable positions, and junctions.
Default Loop AutoScript naming conventions are just based on wire and junction box counts because the cable positions are inherent.
This AutoScript example is named '2Wire wSheild-1 JBox' and includes 4 DIAGRAMS symbols.
This procedure uses default content for all loops.
Procedure Execution
STEP 1 - Adding Instruments into SaaS Electrical
Navigating to AutoSript - Loop Drawing Data Worksheet
SaaS Electrical includes a set of standard Assignment and AutoScript Data Worksheets under SWx Elec Control Points.
The default Data Worksheets contain columns that satisfy most electrical control system design requirements. Additional columns are easily added.
From the primary navigation, (1) select connections and the (2) SWx Elec Control Points data table within them to get started.
Once tables load, navigate the Data Worksheets and load AutoScript - Loop Drawings.
Adding New Rows To Data Worksheets
Numerous Header Controls support engineering and design tasks centered around data and documents. Use the Add/Delete row control to add up to 1000 rows or delete all selected in the first column.
Users add rows in quantities relative to their scope of work. In this example, were adding 20 instruments to produce four drawings with four instruments on each..
Launching Worksheet Mode.
Once 'NewRows' are added, launch worksheet mode to enter data.
AutoScript - Loop Drawings Data Worksheet Columns
Every column is visible on default AutoScripts, so populate them with data as soon as information becomes available.
This workbook has three active functions where SaaS Electrical depends upon data.
- DWG Loop - Must contain a Loop Drawing filename to be listed in DIAGRAMS for creation.
- Tag Type and Tag No will concatenate with a hyphen separator in Tag, Column F.
- Slot, Rack, and Chnl concatenate with period separators in Address, Column C.
ProTip - keep concatenated columns, or any other restricted columns, out of groups where multi-column copy-down or fill-down operations will benefit bulk entry because they will prevent those operations.
All other columns represent engineering and wiring information visible on Loop Drawings.
Junction Box and Cable Assignments
The Assignment-JB... data Worksheets contain columns that must be populated to detail Loop wiring fully.
Assignments - JB Cable Routes. has columns for the Junction Box, Cable, and Terminal Strip ID Tags for up to 3 cables.
Assignments - JB# Terminations. have columns for the Terminal Block ID_Tags for up to 3 Junction boxes. Each JB# has its own Data Worksheet.
Once information on the Loops has been added to the Assignment Data Worksheets, complete step 2.
STEP 2 - Assigning DIAGRAMS AutoScripts and their drawing positions
The default loop symbology is available and can be used to compose AutoCAD loop drawings as described in this procedure.
Important. Users can draft and deploy AutoScripts themselves. Substitute or modify default symbology easily.
This step includes enabling Data Worksheets for AutoScript assignment, setting AutoScript control point data overrides, and selecting border templates for each.
Important. Every user will replace the ECE border templates with theirs. This is a simple procedure but not covered here,
Enabling Data Worksheets for DIAGRAMS Automated Scripts.
Each Data Worksheet has provisions for the Automated Script option. After activation, two AutoScript buttons will appear as row controls. Their roles are described below, but first, launch the Data Worksheet create/edit popup. Located on the Column setup page, activate it by checking the box.
Assigning AutoScripts to Control Points one-by-one
Once active, these two buttons will be added to the row controls.
(1) AutoScript Assignment
One-click launches the AutoScript Assignment popup window.
Select one and close.
(2) AutoScript Datasheet
One-click launches the AutoScript Datasheet popup window.
Enter the AutoScript (X, Y) insertion point within the drawing file coordinate system.
Review all column data that will become visible with drawings because of companion block attributes with symbols.
Optionally, override control point column data by entering override values.
Row controls are used to make changes one-by-one, and the header controls enable bulk updates.
Assigning AutoScripts to Control Points in Bulk
Once active, the AutoScript header controls become applicable. They take action on selected rows.
The drop down list of processors are grouped into two sections. The Drawing Template and Drawing Titleblock processors lauch pop up window with a list of drawings. The other group of processors requires that rows be selected first.
Prior to Bulk Assigments, set column filters to query rows so that the 'check/uncheck-all' selection option can be used. Otherwise, multi-select rows using column 1 to process them.
The AutoScript bulk update processors can be executed in any order and at any time.
They are presented here in sequence from the top to the bottom.
Drawing Template Assignments.
Within AutoScript Data Worksheets, there must be columns that set AutoCAD drawing filenames. These columns all begin with DWG. This processor launches the Assign Drawing Template popup window with a distinct list of Drawing filenames and the Drawing Script Template Name assigned. To change templates, select one or more using column 1 and click the Select AutoScript button. Optionally, border templates can be assigned by using the row control in column 2.
Important. Users must replace or modify this default ECE 'LoopBorder with Field Divider' border with their border.
Drawing Titleblock Information.
This processor is dedicated to ladder wiring diagrams with rung numbering. There is a column to enter start numbers.
Important. DIAGRAMS has settings to repurpose AutoCAD tables for rung numbers. These tables must be added to symbol libraries and border templates for these start numbers to become visible. Generally, rung wire numbering is not deployed on Loop drawings, so it is not described here.
Assign DIAGRAMS AutoScript.
Launches the assignment popup window and displays AutoScripts in groups. Use the global filer to search by name or scroll through the groups. Once selected, the associated image displays to aid in the selection process.
ProTip. Use the column filters to query specific rows so the first column 'Check All' option can be used.
Bulk Clear Component AutoScripts.
Removes AutoScript associations, and preserves (X, Y) coordinates if they exist.
Set AutoScript X & Y Positions.
Launches the bulk edit popup window. The first four columns are presented along with Columns G and H. These are the only editable columns where X and Y Offsets from AutoCAD World Coordinate System (0,0). This provides the instructions for DIAGRAMS to insert at these coordinates them automatically.
STEP 3 - Producing AutoCAD Drawing Files
Create New Projects
DIAGRAMS is designed to enable drafting from its default symbol library within any AutoCAD drawing file.
However, the AutoScript processor requires a project be set that it is set to use the default Configuration and SymbolLibrary XML files. AutoScripts can be run from projects with or without databases. Consider that a database is required to join off-page connectors, and bulk update from the Project Manager.
Reference these legacy self-help content on creating new projects:
https://support.ecedesign.com/en/support/solutions/articles/24000091888-creating-projects
After creating new projects, open them by using the DIAGRAMS Control Center palette from AutoCAD®
Next launch the SOCKETWorx AutoScript panel (2), browse to a SaaS Electrical Connection (3), select a Script View (4), and double click on Drawings (5) to create them.
If drawings are already open or already exists within the project, an option dialog will display with options to clear and recreate it.